Every race in Equestria and beyond has stories of coming back from the dead, but to many that's all they are. To Rainbow Dash, they're her last hope if she wants to see Twilight again.
Stories of someone coming back from the dead are a staple in every culture. For most, they are little more than fairy tales and rumours, passed down over generations. Any truth to them lost to the ages.
For Rainbow Dash, they're her only lead. Her only chance to see her friend again. They lead her to a strange mare who knows things she shouldn't, setting Rainbow Dash on a journey through a world no living pony was ever meant to see. She will stop at nothing to bring Twilight Sparkle home.
A small, wooden shack sat alone in the middle of a barren landscape. The ground was brown and lifeless, not a single blade of grass daring to break through the surface and touch the light baking the land from high in the sky. This place was not tainted by an evil or scorned for its people's deeds. Rather, it was simply forgotten and left to rot alone in its own small corner of the world. Unable to support much in the way of life, civilizations largely overlooked what known to the rest of the world simply as “the badlands”.
A figure made its way slowly through the sun-scorched land, shrouded in a tattered, midnight blue cloak to ward off the heat of the sun. The figure, equine in body but otherwise unrecognizable, trotted slowly towards the seemingly abandoned shack sitting atop a rocky mound. Heat radiated from the land waves, distorting and bending the image of the rickety old home.
Before the figure even reached the door it opened with an ear-piercing creek, the noise cutting through the silence filling the void of land. The figure halted momentarily, before proceeding towards the door, much more cautiously than they had been. Through the doorway blessed shade could be seen; the promise of a reprieve from the unrelenting sun.
With a few more steps they were inside the rickety building, shrouded in the cool darkness that masked everything inside from their unadjusted eyes.
“It is not very often that I see another roaming these lands,” an old, feminine voice croaked from somewhere within the darkened depths. “Not very often at all... rarer, still, are they a pony such as yourself.”
The figure's hooded eyes narrowed as they slowly adjusted to the dim light within the shack. It was plain, with only two doors in the main room; the one they had just come in, and one on the far wall. All around the small central room were shelves stocked full with boxes and bottles, most having totally blank labels or no labels at all. The clutter was kept to the shelves, the center of the room clear of anything except a small, circular rug. There were only a few dirty windows, closed by wooden boards rather than the last remnants of the shattered glass that still clung to the frames.
The voice had come from a crotchety looking mare sitting in a rocking chair in the corner. Her coat was a dull grey either naturally, from age, or simply from the dust. Her mane was thin and straight, white hairs streaming down her back and over her shoulders. The ghost of a golden hue still clung, but it had long since faded and been bleached by the sun.
“No one comes here without a reason, and that reason is always to find me. So tell me, what is it you seek?” The old mare asked, blinking her pale blue eyes as the pony shut the door behind themselves.
The cloaked pony hesitated, instead opting to look around the room they found themselves in.
Smiling, the mare stood from her chair. “Come now, rainbow one; you reek of desperation. Why have you come to me?”
The pony started at such an identifying trait, one they had thought well-hidden. The old mare just laughed a wheezing, breathy laugh. Sighing, the cloaked pony lowered their hood and revealed their dulled, dusty rainbow mane.
The old mare grinned a toothless grin. “There you go, Miss Rainbow Dash, isn't it so much nicer without that hood of yours? Now tell me what ails you.”
Rainbow gave the mare a suspicious glare. “How do you-”
“I deal in secrets, dear. If you wish for it to be hidden, I see it plain as day. Of course, I do have some troubles dealing in the unhidden aspects of life,” the mare cackled, motioning to her dull, lifeless eyes as she moved carefully across the rug on her floor.
“Then you already know why I'm here,” Rainbow deadpanned, examining the old mare's cutie mark as she went over and started rummaging around on her shelves. It was a half of a pomegranate, with three seeds laying in front of it starting to sprout. .
The old mare pulled a jar off the shelf, too coated in dust to see its contents. She took off the cap and sniffed it before nodding in approval. The cap was put back on and it was carried with her back to the rocking chair. “I might, but you'll never get anywhere in this world without having to ask for help from time to time.”
Rainbow frowned, but eventually relented, sitting down on the carpet in the middle of the floor. “I need you to bring somepony back for me.”
“Back from where, my dear?”
“Back from the dead.”
Again the mare laughed. Or perhaps it was a coughing fit. “You know that’s impossible. I’m afraid your search is futile.”
“Please,” Rainbow seemed unphased by the answer. “I need your help. Please.”
Perhaps it was the desperate, pleading tone or the look in the pegasus’s eyes, but for a moment the elder frowned, looking straight at Rainbow despite her lack of vision. “I gather she was very important to you.”
“Please,” was all she replied, hanging her head.
There was silence for a time, while the grey coated mare seemed to consider the request. Eventually, she said; “It’s no easy task, you know. There’s a reason it’s called impossible.”
Rainbow shook her head. “It wouldn’t be the first impossible thing I’ve done.”
She took another long moment simply gazing at Rainbow Dash, nursing the jar in her hooves. Eternities of silence passed before she spoke again. “Are you prepared to give your very soul to bring this pony back? Should you fail a fate worse than death awaits you.”
“I need- Equestria needs her back. I don’t care what happens to me,” Rainbow Dash responded firmly, a fire burning in her voice that the old mare seemed to pick up on.
“I can help you,” she said slowly, “but it won’t be easy, nor do I work for free.”
“Name your price. Anything.”
The mare chuckled quietly. “You are far too eager, but you’ll soon be needing a little confidence, I suppose. Tell me, have you heard of the titan arum? It’s commonly referred to as the corpse flower after the stench it emits. There’s more to its secrets, however. Secrets that only those who know the truth of the badlands can hope to discover.”
Rainbow frowned, looking out the window at the dry and desolate landscape. “A flower? Nothing grows out here.”
“Look again,” she prompted, waving her hooves around, gesturing beyond the walls of the shack. “What do you see?”
Unsure what she was supposed to be looking for, Rainbow complied, moving over to the window and looking out. She was used to the landscape by now; it had taken days to find this place. Outside was nothing but dry, cracked dirt and dead or wilting plants. “Nothing,” she answered, “all the plants out there are dead.”
“Exactly!” The mare shouted excitedly, though it was no less breathy than usual. “All the plants are dead. But dead plants don’t grow. That is the secret of these lands; it’s not that nothing grows, it’s that whatever grows here dies. Or, more accurately, whatever grows here is killed. These badlands are like a vacuum; anything that resides here too long has its very life sucked out of it into the land, where it lays dormant, just waiting to be tapped into.
“And that is what we can use to bring your dear friend back. The titan arum can use that magic to grow an actual corpse; the smell is no mere coincidence.”
“I don’t need a corpse,” Rainbow growled, “I need a pony.”
The mare made a show of sighing. “I can grow your friend a new body, but her soul is another matter entirely, which brings me to what I need from you; first, you must venture to the Land of the Dead and find her soul. Second, I need a particular flower that grows only in the Fields of Elysium to bind her soul to the new body. Lastly, as payment, you must bring me a special fruit that grows only in the underworld.”
“Deal,” the pegasus said without a second of hesitation. “How do I get to the Land of the Dead?”
“You haven’t even begun to grasp the task ahead of you,” she said, shaking her head sadly, “but I suppose we have a deal. Come back to me in one week prepared for your journey; I’ll have everything ready for you to cross the Acheron. Oh, and one last thing I need; a sample of your friend’s magic. Anything will do - a feather, a clipping from her hoof, a strand of hair - anything so long as it was once a part of her. The flower will need a base to begin growing the body.”
A saddle bag hidden beneath her cloak was flipped open and Rainbow rummaged around in it for a moment, finally extracting a blackened brush. A few hairs were still clinging to the bristles. She tossed it into the mare’s lap. “Will that do?”
She examined it with her hooves a moment, carefully plucking a strand of hair and smelling it, noting the faint scent of ash that clung to the brush as she handed it back. Eventually, she nodded. “Yes, that will do.”
“Good. I thought I might need something like that. I’ll be back in a week,” Rainbow dropped the brush back into her bags before turning away. She was already on her way out the door, once more flipping up her tattered hood, when she stopped. “Thank you, Miss-”
“Harvest,” she replied with a small smile. “Just call me Harvest.”
“Thank you, Harvest.”
Harvest laughed as Rainbow took off, a rainbow trail arching across the sky. “Don’t thank me just yet,” she muttered, standing from her chair and selecting an empty jar off one of the countless shelves, safely stowing a few strands of purple mane. “You have no idea what’s coming.”
Rainbow Dash soared as quick as her wings would carry her across the brown skies of the badlands. Even the air here felt wrong; thick and oppressive. Her mind wandered as she set her sights on the distant mountains of Canterlot as a marker, hurrying back to Ponyville.
Ponyville…
How long had it been since she’d been back home? More than half a year, at least. She’d all but circled the world, tracking down every rumour, every story or legend or fairytale. Her search in Equestria had led her to the Gryphon Kingdom, then to the sands of Saddle Arabia, to the dense jungles of the Zebra homelands. Dead end after dead end.
Yet every story and legend held one thing in common; an elderly mare with knowledge no ordinary pony could possess. The descriptions changed from place to place, but it was always a pony mare with a pomegranate cutie mark. Seeing that mark was when she knew she’d finally found it.
She’d finally found a way to bring Twilight Sparkle back to life.
It was the dead of night by time she saw Ponyville on the horizon, only a handful of lights illuminating various windows. The sight alone made her feel at home, but it also brought with it memories she’d rather forget as she made her way lazily over the town. Rainbow Dash felt herself touch down before she even realized she’d landed. In front of her was a sight that made unbidden tears pool in the corner of her eyes.
Near the center of the hamlet stood the charred remains of a once mighty tree. Though the rubble had long since been cleared away and anything salvageable had been taken, the blackened outer walls of what used to be Ponyville’s public library still stood, serving as a grim reminder of the fate of their resident librarian.
Rainbow had been home only a handful of times since beginning her tireless quest, and everytime she came here. Moving on autopilot she walked slowly through the ruins, only half paying attention to her surroundings, lost in her own thoughts. Until she reached what once was the center of the mighty tree, where a small green sprout had pushed through the blackened soil.
Her saddlebags were opened and a small bundle of lavender flowers were extracted, picked fresh from the fields surrounding the town. She set them down in front of the tiny sapling, carefully inspecting its two small leaves for signs of insects or infection. She’d had to find a book on the matter to take proper care of it. Only when she was confident it was growing fine did she allow herself to relax back onto her haunches, staring down at the flowers.
“Hey, Twi,” her voice was cracked, lacking every trace of her usual confidence. “It’s been a while, I know. I’ve been so many places, seen so many things - I think even you’d be a little jealous,” she chuckled dryly despite the wetness slowly rolling down her cheeks. “Saddle Arabia was beautiful - I wish you coulda’ been there - but a little too hot for my taste. They had some strange magic there, Twi; you shoulda’ seen it…”
Rainbow trailed off as though expecting a response. Eventually, when none came, she continued; “I… I think I finally found it. A way to bring you back. Every story I ever heard about the dead coming back to life all pointed to this mare, and I finally found her. Maybe… maybe she’s just pulling my leg. Maybe she’s gonna rob me blind of all the supplies I bring out but… well, I guess it’s a good thing I kept a few strands of your mane.” She cringed, shaking her head sadly.
“Okay, even I’ll admit that sounded creepy. Look, point is, I don’t know what I’m getting myself into - when do I ever, right? - but this is my best shot. If this turns out to be a dud I’m back at square one. Don’t you worry though; Rainbow Dash doesn’t give up that easily. No matter what I’ll find a way to bring you back and then…” a strangled sob cut her off and the little seedling was watered by salty rain.
After a few deep breaths Rainbow regained control of her voice. She laid down, uncaring of the soot rubbing into her coat. “I’ll bring you back, and then I’ll take you to all the amazing places I’ve been. For once I can be the one to teach you about all the strange magics of the world. Like how the gryphons use these little round disks with runes on them and…”
Her voice droned on in the silence of the ruins for a long time. Stories of distant lands filled the stale air, until eventually they slowed to a stop, replaced by the gentle breathing of a mare in a tattered cloak sleeping. Her long journey from the badlands had finally caught up with her, and she wouldn’t wake until Celestia’s sun rose over the hills. Eventually, when her eyes fluttered open, it was to the sound of somepony calling to her.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” A deep voice shouted from behind, the sounds of footsteps coming closer. “You hear me? What-”
Rainbow smiled sadly, yawning and stretching as she stood. “Hey, Spike,” she said, turning to face the little dragon. “Long time no see.”
The purple scaled dragon stopped dead in his tracks, eyes growing wide as he glimpsed the tell-tale rainbow mane beneath the hood. “R-Rainbow… you’re-”
“Spike, darling, who are you- oh, goddess. Rainbow Dash!” Rarity rushed forward, not even noticing the soot and the dust as she wrapped the pegasus in a crushing hug. “Where in Equestria have you been!?” She shouted, her angry tone at odds with the desperation in her clinging hooves. “We’ve all been worried sick!”
Rainbow felt herself blush self consciously as she returned the hug. “Actually… not in Equestria, for most of it. It’s a long story.”
“A long story we have plenty of time for,” Spike said coldly, crossing his arms. “One I’m sure the rest of the girls would like to hear as well.”
Finally, Rarity released Rainbow from her deathgrip, either not noticing or pointedly ignoring the fact that her white coat was more black wherever she’d touched the pegasus. The few tears rolling down her cheeks contrasted with the glare she now held. “You’ve been gone for ages. We thought something might have happened. You just up and disappeared after…” she trailed off, glancing around the ruins of the library.
“I know, Rarity,” Rainbow sighed, guiltily hanging her head. “I… needed some time, then… well, I’ll catch all you girls up on what happened, okay?”
“You didn’t even say goodbye,” Spike shouted angrily. “I don’t care if you ‘needed some time’; you should have told us where you were going. We needed you to be here with us, but instead you just up and left!”
Rarity flinched at the venom lacing his words. “Spike, dear, I know-”
“NO!” Spike ignored the unicorn’s attempted plea, instead advancing on Rainbow. “Losing Twilight was hard on everypony, and you just left us. You abandoned us to do who knows what. We got nothing from you; not an explanation or a goodbye or even a Celestia damned postcard! I don’t care where you’ve been; I care that you weren't here with us. You…” he trailed off, clenching his eyes shut. Eventually he added in barely a whisper; “You didn’t even come back for the funeral.”
By time the dragon’s tirade was over there wasn’t a single dry eye left. Least of all his own. Rainbow frowned. “I was looking for a way to bring her back.”
“You what!?” Rarity and Spike gasped in unison, looking at the mare as though she’d insulted them.
“Look, I’ll explain everything, okay? Just… gather the girls and have them meet me at Sugarcube Corner. I need to go get some stuff,” Rainbow said, not waiting for an answer as she took to the air, flying away from the stunned pair. She didn’t even bother to glance back as she made for her cloud house still hanging in the sky. It had drifted further from Ponyville in the time she’d been gone, and she made a mental note to push it back into place before she left again.
Alighting on her porch Rainbow felt her stomach twist. It had been a long time since she’d been in her house. Even when she’d come back to Ponyville the handful of times, it was usually only a short stop at the library.
It wasn’t her home anymore. Not without Twilight there.
Twilight…
Rainbow was awash with emotions she couldn’t even begin to name as she stepped through the door, a veritable tidal wave of dust washing over her.
“Pretty sweet, huh Twi?” Rainbow asked with a cocky smile, flitting about the tall, vaulted ceilings of her house.
The lavender alicorn chuckled, shaking her head at her friend’s antics. “Yes, Rainbow; pretty ‘sweet’,” she made a show of making air quotes. “I see why you like it so much.”
Rainbow just grinned wider. “Oh, you haven’t even begun to see anything yet; just wait. I’m telling you, Twi; this is gonna be the greatest sleepover of your life.”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight set her saddlebags down next to a couch made of cloud, skeptically prodding at it with a hoof and finding it surprisingly solid. “Speaking of, when’s Fluttershy supposed to be getting here?”
“Huh? Oh.” Rainbow landed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Fluttershy had to bail; I guess one of her animals got sick or something, so it’ll just be us two. That okay?”
Twilight nodded. “That’s too bad; I hope it gets better… whatever it is.”
“Knowing Fluttershy it could be anything. I’ll put bits on it being… like… a skunk.”
“I’ll take that action,” Twilight responded, narrowing her eyes challengingly. “Let’s see… based on the current season, and knowing the local fauna and climate, I’ll guess it’s one of her birds.”
Rainbow chuckled. “You’re on, egghead; how about loser pays for pizza tonight?”
“Deal.” Twilight stuck out her hoof, which was quickly taken and shook by the pegasus.
“C’mon; let’s settle this quick. I’m gonna order their largest pizza with all the toppings they charge extra for.”
The alicorn laughed, following her back to the door she’d just entered through. “I’ll order breadsticks. With extra dip.”
Rainbow gasped, holding a hoof to her chest. “Are you trying to bankrupt me? You’re bluffing!”
“Try me, featherbrain.”
Despite everything, Rainbow laughed at the memory. It was just after Twilight had gotten her wings; she’d figured it was high time Twilight experienced living like a proper pegasus. She just wished she hadn’t lost that bet.
Twilight went nuts on the dip.
Rainbow was painfully brought back to the present as she caught sight of a picture out of the corner of her eye. She wandered over, picking it up and wiping away a thick layer of dust. Pinkie Pie had handed them out as gifts at the party after they’d all defeated Nightmare Moon; it was all six of them together, smiling brightly at the camera.
It felt like lifetimes ago now. In some ways it was.
Before the tears could start anew Rainbow set it back down, focusing on what she was there for. She made her way quickly up to her bedroom, swiping a few tattered books off a shelf that was once adorned with trophies and stashing them in her bags as the cloak was discarded on the floor. Twilight’s mane brush was stashed safely in a drawer, and as she was about to leave to meet her friends she caught sight of herself in the mirror out of the corner of her eye.
An unfamiliar mare gazed back at her. That rainbow coloured mane left no doubt it was her in the reflection, but her coat was closer to grey than blue, caked tight with dust and dirt and her once vibrant mane was fairing no better. Rainbow was surprised Rarity had even touched her in her current state. A quick sniff told much the same story as her appearance.
A shower was in order.
It wasn’t long before steam filled the bathroom, hot water pouring over her and carrying away weeks of filth. Rainbow’s aching muscles were soothed by the gentle heat and she found herself relaxing against the cloud wall, half-heartedly scrubbing at her coat with bar of soap. The task of keeping her eyes open rapidly became a losing battle and before Rainbow realised what had happened the sound of the shower was drowning out her snores.
“Let me outta here!” Rainbow Dash shouted, pounding her hooves against the bubble of magic that held her captive. It was the same for the rest of her friends - and Discord. “I swear to Celestia I’m gonna kick your flank outta Equestria myself when I get out of this!”
Discord sighed distractedly, gazing forlornly at the void that surrounded them. “It’s no use; Tirek’s powers are far too strong now.”
His voice alone sparked a brand new inferno in Rainbow. “Mind your own business, Discord,” she spat, not even slowing her efforts to punch her way to freedom. “You’re the one that got us in this mess to begin with.”
“She’s right,” Applejack agreed, bucking at her own bubble with what little stable footing she could get. “Twilight’s still out there, an’ she needs our help. We gotta find a way outta this before-”
There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly they weren’t floating in an empty black void.
Where they found themselves was much worse. The fields outside Ponyville had become a battleground, craters and scorched patches littered the landscape. In the center of it all stood Tirek and Twilight, facing each other.
“Their release,” Tirek said, his confident grin audible in his tone, “for all the alicorn magic in Equestria.”
Rainbow’s heart sank as she saw the look on Twilight’s face. “Don’t do it!” She shouted, desperately hammering the side of her bubble.
“We aren’t worth it,” Fluttershy agreed solemnly.
“Oh but you are, Fluttershy,” Discord sighed, idling fiddling with the medallion Tirek had given him. “You’re the one that-”
“Enough!” Tirek shouted, stomping his hooves. “I want an answer, and I want it now.”
Rainbow Dash was helpless to do anything but watch as Twilight stared up at her friends. She could practically see the alicorn’s heart breaking.
“No, Tirek,” She said, charging her horn with sparking energy, large arcs of lightening shooting off in every direction. “When I beat you, I’ll free them myself!” Her shout was accompanied by the deafening explosion of magic from her horn.
Tirek just barely had time to summon a barrier before it hit him, the force alone enough to push him back. “You lied to me, Discord!” he shouted, teleporting out of the way and firing a volley of his own at the alicorn.
“Atta’ girl, Twilight!” Applejack shouted, pumping a hoof.
Rainbow Dash failed to join the farmer in her celebrations, instead focusing on Twilight as she reflected Tirek’s attack with a barrier. Even from her distance she could tell Twilight was pushing herself well past her limits, even with the condensed magic of four alicorns.
“Are your friends truly so meaningless to you!?” Tirek shouted, keeping up his assault as beam after beam of stolen magic was fired. “You’d sacrifice them all for power?”
“I will never sacrifice my friends!” Twilight yelled back, focusing on dodging as she charged another attack of her own. “I’ll save them - and Equestria - no matter what!” With that proclamation she let loose the largest blast of magic yet, and it struck its mark head on. Tirek’s barrier groaned under the pressure, but held.
Until another beam of magic hit him from another side, small and thin, it slipped around his barrier and attached to his side. The effect was instantaneous; his barrier shattered and Twilight’s beam engulfed him, his shouts ringing out across the field as he visibly shrunk in size.
Tirek’s cries were quickly joined by Twilight as the alicorn fell to the ground, clutching her head in her hooves. Her main blast fizzled out, but that tendril remained, attached to Tirek’s side as he continued to shrink.
Discord gasped. “Twilight no! You can’t!”
“What’s going on?” Rainbow demanded, everypony watching in horror as Twilight writhed on the ground.
“She’s absorbing all the magic Tirek stole, but her body can’t handle it. If she keeps it up-” Discord was cut off as their bubbles popped, unceremoniously dumping them on the ground.
Rainbow Dash caught herself quickly, rushing over to Twilight and holding the alicorn upright. “Twi? Twilight? Can you hear me?”
Her cries died down gradually as she was surrounded by her friends, and when Twilight opened her eyes they were glowing a blinding white. “I’m sorry girls,” she whispered, her voice weak. “It was the only way.”
With a pulse of magic a rainbow coloured beam shot from her horn straight into the sky, a ring flying out from it and washing over the land. Ponies all over Equestria found their cutie marks returned to them in an instant.
Twilight went slack in Rainbow’s hooves, her breathing shallow and her coat visibly singed and smouldering from the massive amount of magic that had been forced through her.
“T-Twilight?” Spike ventured hesitantly, holding her hoof in his claw. She smiled down at him, tousling his spines.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
She closed her eyes, and one final beam of magic arced out of her horn before her breathing stopped entirely.
“Twilight!”
Rainbow Dash jolted upright, heart hammering in her chest as cold water poured down on her. “Ponyfeathers,” she cursed, making quick work of finishing her shower despite the freezing temperature. When she’d toweled off she didn’t even bother running a brush through her mane. Saddlebags were thrown over her back and her house was left behind her. She remembered why she hated coming back.
Sugarcube corner was only a quick flight away, and by time Rainbow arrived she could see all her friends gathered inside with a ‘closed’ sign on the front door. The bell jingled cheerfully as she let herself in. Immediately all eyes were on her, but she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling of unfamiliarity. They were still her friends, no matter how long she’d been gone.
“Hey, girls,” Rainbow greated, feeling the awkward tension in the room. It was dead silent after her entrance, nopony daring to even move a muscle.
Until Fluttershy cut through it like a hot knife, rushing forward and dragging her childhood friend into a hug that would put a bear’s to shame. Everypony else quickly joined in, needing no further invitation. Even though she’d never admit to it, Rainbow returned the hug just as forcefully as it was given. It had been far too long.
And it was far too short for her taste.
Applejack was the first to pull away, leveling a glare that would wilt a tree at her. “Where the hay have you been!?” She demanded as the rest of the girls slowly let her go.
Bashfully rubbing at the back of her neck, Rainbow found herself unable to meet their expectant gazes. “I’m… sorry it’s been so long,” she said slowly. “I’ve been pretty busy.”
“Doing what?” Pinkie asked, lacking much of the flare she usually carried. “You didn’t even come home for the funeral.”
“There was no need for a funeral,” Rainbow argued, ignoring the almost offended looks she got as she started pulling the books out of her bags. “Not when I’m going to bring her back.”
“Y’all are what now,” Applejack asked incredulously.
The pegasus flipped open a book, skimming the pages until she found the passage she was looking for. “According to ancient Equestrian legend, a hero was able to bring his lover back from the dead with the aid of a mare with a pomegranate cutie mark.” She flipped open another book. “There are a couple Gryphon stories about a pony with a pomegranate cutie mark traveling through their lands and bringing sick gryphons back from the brink of death. Saddle Arabia’s ancient king is said to have lived multiple lives after clawing his way out of the underworld. When asked how he did it, he said ‘a mare with a pomegranate mark found him in the Elysium Fields and told him his work was not over’. There’s a story passed down by the Zebra about-”
“Stories,” Spike interrupted sharply. “All you have are stories. You abandoned us for stories.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Don’t you see? Every race, every culture has stories about coming back from the dead. And every time it’s with the help of a mare with a pomegranate cutie mark. She goes by different names and has different methods, but it’s always the same mare.”
“So they all share the same ancient root myth,” Spike shook his head dismissively. “It doesn’t mean anything. Ponies don’t come back from the dead.”
“I found her. The mare with the pomegranate cutie mark. She’s going to help me bring Twilight back.”
Spike’s jaw hung open, mirroring everypony else in the room. The dragon fumbled for words a moment, before eventually throwing his hands up. “That’s it. I’m done. I can’t listen to this anymore.”
With that, he walked out the doors, not even turning back as Fluttershy called out to him. “Rainbow…” she stopped, unable to say anything more. Maybe there wasn’t anything else to say.
“That’s what this has been about?” Applejack practically hissed. “You’ve been traipsing all over the place chasing, what, fairy tales? And you just left us all here to pick up the pieces? We needed you here, with us.”
“Twilight needs me,” Rainbow shot back without a second’s hesitation, flaring her wings defensively. “I thought you’d all be happy I found a way to bring her back!”
“She’s not coming back!” Rarity sobbed. Fluttershy and Pinkie instantly hugged her from either sighed as she fell back onto her flanks. “Twilight’s dead, Rainbow Dash. She died to save us and all of Equestria. The least you could do is have some respect for her sacrifice.”
“She died because of us!” Rainbow all but shouted. “She died to save us because we trusted Discord. If we hadn’t fallen into that trap she’d still be here. We should have known better,” Rainbow snorted, chest heaving as she turned away from the gathered mares, stunned into silence. “You don’t get it,” she muttered, packing her books back into her bags and heading for the door. “You say I abandoned you? No… you all abandoned Twilight. I’ll do it myself if I have to.”
“Rainbow Dash!” The pegasus’s retreat was halted as her tail was caught in Applejack’s teeth. “Y’all need help,” she stressed, “You’re grieving for your friend and you’re grasping at straws. I ain’t gonna sit here while you kill yourself over this obsession. I already lost one of my friends.”
“Let go of me, AJ,” she growled, cracking her tail like a whip and forcing it free of the farmer’s grasp. “I don’t need ‘help’, I need Twilight back. We all need Twilight back. If you won’t help me, fine. I already know what I have to do.”
Without giving time for another argument she hurried out the door, leaving her friends behind. What did it matter what they thought? She knew there was a way. She knew what she needed to do. They’d see soon enough, they just needed to stay out of her way.
Rainbow landed once more on the doorstep of her house, slamming the door shut behind her. There was planning and packing to be done, and nopony was going to stop-
There was a knocking at her door.
“Go away, Fluttershy!” She shouted over her shoulder, emptying her saddlebags and preparing them to hold everything she’d need.
The knocking continued. This time, accompanied by a voice; “We need to talk, Rainbow Dash.”
The pegasus froze. The door opened in a golden glow. Celestia ducked her head to step through her front door. “Spike sent a letter,” she said simply.
Rainbow Dash glared at the Princess of Equestria. “Are you going to try and stop me, too?”
“I’m given to understand you’ve already been told it’s impossible?” Celestia asked calmly, watching patiently as the pegasus flitted about her house.
“Not the first impossible thing I’ve done,” Rainbow snorted.
The Princess nodded slowly. “Indeed. Though I fear this is another matter entirely. It’s-”
“Shut up!” Rainbow shouted, throwing her half-packed saddlebags to the floor. An anger she’d forgotten she’d been repressing smoldered back to life. “I don’t care what you say! You’re responsible for Twilight’s death, too!”
Celestia was visibly stunned at the outburst, her eternally calm facade cracking ever so slightly.
The pegasus wasn’t done.
“When Tirek came back, you sent Discord after him, and when that blew up in your face what did you do? Did you take responsibility and try to fix it? No. You ran and you hid. You put everything on Twilight - just like you always have - and she’s the one who paid for it. You shoved your magic into her and just sat there and waited for Tirek to find you. You did nothing, and Twilight died for your mistakes!”
“I know,” Celestia muttered, barely above a whisper as her teeth ground together.
Rainbow didn’t hear her. “And now, I’ve found a way to bring her back - to fix your mistakes - and you’re here telling me it’s impossible. You should be working just as hard as I am to bring her back.” By the end of her shouting Rainbow was hovering in the air, muzzle to muzzle with the solar Princess. Their eyes met, and for the first time she noticed the tears trailing down Celestia’s cheeks.
“I know!” Celestia yelled, stamping her hoof and shaking the clouds beneath them. The shear force of her cry pushed Rainbow back down onto her hooves. “I know it’s my fault. I know she died because of me! I’m not here to tell you not to go. I’m here to beg you to save her.”
It felt like the breath had been knocked from Rainbow’s lungs. “W-what?”
Silence rang like a deafening gong, Celestia trying to catch her breath and Rainbow too shocked to say much more. Eventually, the princess managed to continue in a quieter tone.
“Please, Rainbow Dash; please. Bring Twilight back to us. You said you found her, right? The mare that can cross to the other side?”
Rainbow stumbled over her words for a second. “Y-yeah, I-”
Celestia bowed. “Please, save her from my mistake.”
Too stunned to do anything, Rainbow watched with wide eyes as Celestia’s tears dripped onto the floor, her head low. There was a bright flash that filled the room, and before she knew what was happening a midnight blue alicorn stood next to her sister, glancing around the room a moment before realizing the situation she’d teleported into. However, instead of questioning anything, Luna simply nodded solemnly at Rainbow Dash before similarly prostrating herself.
“Please,” Luna said quietly. “Twilight died because of our own fears, our own shortcomings, and she did so to save our ponies. We will help you in any way we can.”
“Of course I’ll bring Twilight back,” Rainbow answered slowly. What else could she say? The two most powerful beings in the world were before her, bowing and pleading with her to do something she was going to do anyway.
The alicorns stood, and when they did Celestia’s tears had stopped but the dark tracks on her cheeks still told of her sorrow. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”
“We shall help you prepare for your journey. It will not be easy; only a handful have ever made it across the divide, and fewer still have returned,” Luna explained.
Celestia cleared her throat, and when she spoke her voice was as strong as a ruler’s should be. “Nopony can know what it is you’re about to do, Rainbow Dash. Death is a part of life and to defy that natural order is a crime against the fundamental laws of our world and we cannot condone it. However…” she trailed off, and her sister finished in her place.
“You found a way to bring her back on your own without our help. You will do so no matter what we tell you. Privately giving you our support is… pushing the boundaries, but Twilight did not deserve the fate she received.”
Rainbow Dash eyed them curiously for a moment, absorbing the information, and something occurred to her. “You knew? The entire time you knew there was a way to bring her back?”
The alicorns hesitated, and it was a male voice that answered for them. “We’ve always known.” All eyes turned to the suspiciously Discord shaped lamp on a table. “We immortals have been here since the dawn of existence. Nearly, anyway. Occasionally, ponies - and others - have managed to return from the dead. It didn’t escape our notice.”
“You.” Again Rainbow felt the flames of anger well up in her chest, only so much more potent and visceral than what she’d felt towards Celestia. An endless inferno contained in her gut, flames that had been smouldering and growing ever since the day that Twilight had been taken from her.
By Him.
Discord pulled himself off the lamp, jumping off the table and falling through the clouds only for his proper sized body to come up behind the pegasus. “I know,” he said, “Believe me, Rainbow Dash; I know. I’m not here to ask your forgiveness, I’m here to help.”
Rainbow acted without thinking. She turned and upon seeing that mismatched face did the only thing she could; she punched him. Right across the jaw. His head snapped to the side, but otherwise he didn’t respond to the assault. She screamed wordlessly and hit him again. Then again.
“Rainbow Dash! Sto-” Luna was held back as Celestia put her leg out. Their eyes met and the elder sister shook her head.
“You!” Rainbow Dash’s rage poured out of her in waves, every punch seeming to only stoke her anger hotter. “You! You killed her!”
Discord simply took it, closing his eyes and accepting the punches. “I know,” was all he could say.
With each consecutive strike Rainbow’s hooves carried less and less force, and her shrieks of rage petered out. By time she stopped hitting him his face was swollen and purple and bloody. Only when he was sure she was finished did Discord step away from her. He snapped his claws and the injuries faded.
If she could have, Rainbow would have punched him again. Instead she glared, panting raggedly. “I don’t need your help,” she growled.
“You’ll need all the help you can get,” Celestia said finally, bringing attention back to her. “The Underworld is not a place to be taken lightly. You need to prepare yourself for it.”
Rainbow huffed, shaking her aching hooves. “I have a week before I leave. I have plenty of time.”
“To underestimate this task will be your death,” Luna said, summoning forth a large pouch with a flash of her horn. “Go buy supplies enough for a three week journey; we shall discuss more when you return.”
The bag of bits was placed in Rainbow’s hooves, and her eyes widened as she felt the weight. “This is…”
“A paltry sum. We told you we will do everything to help you bring Twilight back. That is a small price to pay. No go; we will wait here. There is a… conversation we need to have.” Luna gave a pointed look to Discord.
Rainbow nodded, shooting a deadly look of her own at the draconequus as she shuffled past the three most powerful beings in the world and out the door. They watched her fly off, before eventually the princesses turned to Discord.
“She really did a number on you,” Celestia noted, not even bothering to hide the satisfaction in her voice.
Discord frowned, rubbing his jaw. “Hurts like the dickens, too. Hiding it with an illusion doesn’t lessen the pain any.”
“We have more important matters,” Luna cut in firmly. “For instance, just how Rainbow Dash found Harvest when we all agreed not to interfere, as per our contract with him.”
All eyes looked to Discord - including his own, after he took them out and held them at arm’s length. He shrugged. “She was going to find her eventually. All I did was knock a book off a shelf.”
“A book that was supposed to be locked deeper in the Canterlot Archives,” Celestia deadpanned. “If he finds out about this we’ll have a serious problem on our hooves.”
“He won’t find out,” Discord waved his paw dismissively, floating around Celestia while lounging on his back. “Like I said; I knocked a book off a shelf. She’d have found it eventually. Do you really think a restricted sign and a gate were going to stop her?”
Luna frowned grimly. “I hope you’re right. It’ll be one thing if he comes to us about it. If he takes it out on Rainbow Dash…”
A week wasn’t a long time. It felt as though no time had passed at all to Rainbow Dash as she forcefully busied herself about her house, ensuring her bags were properly packed. Of course, they were; they had been since yesterday. But if she’d learned anything at all in her years spent as Twilight’s friend, it was that double checking was usually a good idea.
At least, that’s what she told herself as double checking turned to triple and quadruple checking. It was better than doing nothing, at least.
There was a flash and a pop and once more the ruler of Equestria stood in her home.
“It’s time,” Celestia said simply, as another flash brought Luna into existence next to her.
“There is still time to turn back,” the younger alicorn spoke slowly, deliberately. “You’re about to risk much more than just your life.”
Rainbow threw her saddlebags over her wings. “I’m going,” she said simply, and all pretense of talking her out of it was dropped.
Luna bowed her head slightly. “Then I wish you luck. However, that may not be enough.”
“It’s all I got,” Rainbow muttered, glancing around her house one final time, once again catching sight of that infernal picture she didn’t have the heart to move. She was glad she was leaving.
“Not anymore,” Celestia said, lighting her horn and bringing a small charm from somewhere. It was a purple six pointed star. “Take this with you. If- when you find her, she’ll know what to do with it,” she explained somewhat cryptically, threading a silver chain through a loop at the top and placing it around Rainbow’s neck. “Do not lose it.”
Rainbow pressed it against her chest with her hoof, feeling the gem push into her coat and nodding. She’d be lying if she said she had the foggiest idea what it was for, but at the very least it served as a reminder of why she was doing this.
“I also have a gift for you,” Luna said, summoning from within her ethereal main a small black box. When she flipped it open and lowered it Rainbow saw what looked to be an ordinary compass; a needle suspended in a small dome of glass. The only quirks were the lack of markings and the fact that the needle rotated in circles at a steady pace. Just as she opened her mouth to ask, Luna answered; “It’s no ordinary compass. It’s had many names over the centuries; the Lover’s Guide, the Dead Man’s Regret, Greed’s Curse, The Dragon King's Compass. It doesn’t point to any one thing, rather it points to that which the holder’s heart desires most.
“It’s not as simple as it seems; for it to work there can be no doubt in your mind, no turmoil in your heart over what it is you want. However… I don’t think that will be a problem for you,” Luna explained, passing the compass into Rainbow’s hooves and watching as the spinning quickly slowed and stopped, the arrow pointing east, towards the badlands.
Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, I think I’ll do just fine.” She looked up, nodding to each of the alicorns. “Thank you. I’ll bring Twilight home safe.”
“We know you will,” Celestia smiled, hesitating only a moment before reaching down and grabbing the pegasus in a short hug. “May the sun protect you.”
“May the stars guide you,” Luna continued, adding a hug of her own after Celestia stepped back.
“May the winds carry you, through calm and storm alike,” Rainbow finished, smiling fondly at the old pegasus saying. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that. Not since flight camp.”
Luna and Celestia traded a look. “We thought it was appropriate,” Celestia said, her smile fading as she looked out the window. “It’s time you left. We would accompany you further, but we have already shirked our duties enough this past week, and ponies are growing suspicious. Though if I may ask, before we go, what have you told your friends?”
Snorting, Rainbow shook her head. “I haven’t talked to them much since I came back. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them I found a way to bring her back, they think I’m going nuts or something.”
“Probably for the best,” Luna admitted in a somber tone. “If they knew the truth of your words they’d likely insist on going with you. One pony slipping into the land of the dead might not be noticed, but five would draw too much unwanted attention.”
“They’ll see soon anyway,” Rainbow said distractedly, checking her bags were secured after slipping the compass inside. “I should go. It’ll take a few hours to make it back out to Harvest’s place.”
Celestia nodded. “Indeed, we-”
“Hey! You forgot about my gift!”
“Discord.” The name was practically growled out as Rainbow searched the room with her eyes. “Where are you?”
The draconequus didn’t appear, but his talon did, holding a weathered scroll. “Busy, and not particularly wanting to get punched again, but I do have something you might find of use.”
Rainbow turned her nose up at the offered paper. “Why should I trust you?”
“You don’t have to,” his voice said, “I know I wouldn’t. But I would be remiss if I didn’t offer; Twilight gave her life for Fluttershy. For that I owe her everything, and I pay my debts. Please, allow me to give back just a little of what she gave to me.” His claw brandished the scroll again, and with a begrudging sigh Rainbow snatched it, unfurling it and squinting quizzically at a near indecipherable mess of lines.
“The hay is this?”
“That, my dear, is a map. The only one of its kind, long thought lost to the ages.”
Celestia gasped. “Discord, you actually found it?”
His all-too-smug face appeared, and Rainbow had to hold her hoof still with every last shred of her will. “I did. You see, Rainbow Dash, within the Underworld is… well, you’ll know it when you see it. For now think of it as a maze. That map is the only chance you have of making it through. Rumour has it it was drawn by a mighty king from Saddle Arabia on his journey back to the mortal realm.”
Against her better judgment, Rainbow rolled the map and shoved it into her bag, pointedly ignoring the face hovering in front of her as she made her way to the door. “Thank you, Celestia, Luna,” she nodded to each in turn, “I’ll have Twilight back before you know it.”
Celestia cleared her throat. “One last thing, before you go. I must ask you keep our involvement in your quest an absolute secret. To explain why would require a story longer than we have time, but suffice to say that our names must not be mentioned to anyone, least of all while you’re on the other side.”
Raising an eyebrow curiously, Rainbow nodded slowly. “Sure, I guess. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Farewell, and good luck,” Luna called as the pegasus took to the early morning skies, the sun not rising.
“How in Equestria did you find that?” Celestia asked, watching the fading silhouette in the distance.
Discord’s face gave the distinct impression of a shrug. “She’s not the only one who’s been busy since Twilight died. I wanted to be prepared.”
“Have you spoken to Fluttershy?”
He frowned deeply. “Not since the funeral, no. I can’t bare to face up to her now.”
“She doesn’t blame you, you know?” Luna said, turning away as Rainbow faded from sight entirely. “But then, I don’t think Fluttershy could ever hold any malice in her heart. I doubt the others share in her kindness.”
Taking a breath, Discord materialized fully, visibly droopy. “I don’t deserve her forgiveness or anyone else’s. Until I’ve righted my wrongs I don’t deserve her as a friend. Maybe I’ll never be able to face her again, but…” he sighed. “I’m okay with that.”
“Is Fluttershy okay with that?” Luna let her question hang in the air as she turned to her sister. “It’s about time for the sun to come up, is it not?”
The elder lit her horn with a nod. “Your journey has begun, Rainbow Dash,” she said as the moon and the sun slowly exchanged rule over the sky. “Do not falter.”
Far away in the distance, Rainbow Dash watched as the sun began poking over the horizon, bathing her in the first warm rays of morning light. Ponyville was a blur beneath her, but just before she passed its outer limits she banked and came in for a landing on a hill just beyond the last few houses of the town. The hill was dotted with stones and markers of varying age and surrounded by other similar hills, all wrapped in a soot-black fence. Atop this particular mound was a monument that stood above the rest; a simple, six pointed star, a little taller than the average pony.
She landed right in front of it, examining the beautiful etching upon a brass coloured plaque. ‘Here rests Twilight Sparkle’ it read, ‘Princess of Equestria, Element of Magic, and a dear friend’. There was more, but Rainbow didn’t bother to read it. A bigger monument had been put up in Canterlot, honouring the Princess who gave her life for Equestria, but this was where she’d been buried.
“Hey, Twi,” she said, and for the first time she didn’t cry. Before, she’d never been able to face Twilight’s tombstone, preferring instead to leave flowers at the library. But now… now she knew the pain would end, the grave a temporary wound on her heart rather than the timeless scar it had been. “I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I’ll be there soon. Just hold on a little longer, okay?”
Rainbow lifted her hoof and pressed it against the star, and for a moment in the polished stone she could have sworn she saw Twilight looking back at her, but the image was gone with a blink of her eye. She smiled, and still no tears fell. “I’m coming.”
“Are you leaving again?”
Rainbow Dash jumped at the familiar voice as Fluttershy came and sat down next to her, lavender flowers tucked under her butter yellow wing. “Yeah,” was all she could say.
Fluttershy smiled sadly. “Everypony’s really worried about you. You never answered when I came to your house, and nopony’s seen you since you came back. We thought you might have left already.”
“Spike still mad at me?”
“He’s… frustrated. You’ve been gone almost as long as she has,” she nodded to the tombstone. “It’s like we lost you that day, too, and it’s been hard on him. On all of us.”
Rainbow snorted, pawing at the dirt. “I wasn’t going to sit around on my flank doing nothing, you all should know that.”
Despite the tears gathering in her eyes, Fluttershy giggled quietly. “You’ve never once sat around when you thought there was something you could do to help a friend. But this time… I don’t think there’s anything you can do. All the girls took what you said pretty hard, but I think Spike’s the worst. It’s been more than a year now, and having you come back and say what you said?” She shook her head. “It opened a lot of wounds.”
“I’m not going crazy,” Rainbow muttered.
“I don’t think you are. I think you’re sad, and you don’t know what to do. I think you’re grasping at straws because you can’t accept that she’s really gone. I think you feel guilty about something that was never your fault.” Fluttershy paused, frowning at the glare growing on the other mare’s face. She sighed, and changed tactics. “Spike still wakes up, sometimes, calling her name in the middle of the night.”
Rainbow’s glare softened. “So do I.”
“I think we all have,” Fluttershy agreed. “But it’s gotten worse since you came back. What you said really hurt him, Rainbow.”
“I’m going to bring her back, ‘Shy. We’ll all be together again, and we won’t have to be sad anymore.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I know I can’t stop you from going, but promise me; no matter what happens or what you find out there, promise me you’ll come back. No matter what.”
Rainbow Dash finally looked up from the grave, giving her friend a cocksure smile. “I’ll be back. With Twilight. Promise.”
With that she took to the air once again, disregarding local aviation regulations as she rocketed towards the rising sun in the east, towards where she knew a wrinkled old mare was waiting for her. Fluttershy watched her go with an odd sort of half-smile even she couldn’t fully explain. Despite everything, Rainbow Dash was still Rainbow Dash, even if she didn’t always look it.
The flight was long, but Rainbow flew faster than she had since that day. It felt as though a portion of the weight had been lifted from her. For the first time in a long time, she could see the lavender light at the end of the tunnel.
Mind wandering as she flew almost on autopilot, she found herself lost in memories of days gone by as Ponyville faded over the horizon.
“That’s it, Twi!” Rainbow shouted enthusiastically, having to force herself to stop from doing a celebratory loop. “You’re really getting the hang of it!”
Twilight’s wings were flapping out of sync and she wobbled dangerously, eyes never straying too far from the ground. “Are you sure!?”
Giggling, Rainbow made sure sure to stay close enough to catch the alicorn if something happened. “Yeah! I know it doesn’t really seem like it, but you’re doing good for your first time in the air. Now we’re gonna try turning, okay?”
“Not okay! Not okay!” Twilight shouted, shaking her head and dropping a few terrifying feet before catching herself. “I can’t even stay hovering!”
“Relax, egghead. You’re fine as long as you don’t start over thinking it.”
“I am not overthinking it!” Twilight snapped. “I am treating this with exactly as much care as being hundreds of meters above the ground should be treated! Need I remind you I was not born on a cloud?”
Rainbow laughed again. “Twi, we’re about a dozen feet above my house. I promise you’ll be fine if you fall, and that’s if I don’t catch you. Now come on; just like a taught you. I thought you liked learning?”
“Theoretically!” Twilight hissed. “I liked learning the theory behind flying. Practical learning has never been my forte!” Regardless of her protests, the alicorn did slowly start to swivel to the right, still staying in place. Eventually, when she’d rotated a full 180 degrees, she came face to face with a grinning pegasus.
“See? Was that so bad?” Rainbow asked, already knowing the answer as Twilight nodded rapidly, seemingly too focused on her wings to even speak as her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth adorably.
“Yes,” she said eventually, when she was sure her wings would keep flapping on their own. “Yes it was. Can we please go back to practicing flight positions on the ground now?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Where’s your adventurous spirit, egghead?”
“You’re hogging it all, featherbrain,” Twilight quipped back, bobbing in the air as she practiced controlling her elevation. She sighed, steadying out again. “Okay fine. What’s next then?”
“Hmmm…” Rainbow rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Well, at this point my dad started throwing me off clouds until I got good enough to fly back up to Cloudsdale myself, but-”
Twilight gasped. “He what‽”
“Relax, Twi; it’s a pretty normal pegasus thing. If you can hover you can fly, if you can fly you can soar, he used to say. But I don’t really think that’s gonna go over well with you.” She chuckled as Twilight gave a glare practically daring her to try it. She almost took the bet, but held herself back. “So we’ll do something a little different.”
With no further words, Rainbow flew straight up into the air a moment before snapping her wings to her sides. “Catch me!” she shouted, as her momentum stopped, then reversed.
“Rainbow!” Twilight screamed, panicking as the pegasus really did seem content to let herself fall, not even trying to control her descent. Before she even knew what she was doing Twilight was flying as fast as she dared to line herself up with Rainbow’s descent.
With a grunt Twilight caught her, though she was unable to hold up the extra weight and before long there were now two ponies falling out of the sky. One of them screaming. Just as the alicorn swore she should have hit the clouds, she felt her momentum halt gradually. Slowly she peaked an eye open, realizing they weren’t falling anymore.
“Hey you,” Rainbow greeted cheekily, holding the alicorn bridal style just above the clouds. “I knew you wouldn’t let me fall.”
Twilight didn’t share the mischievous mare’s maniacal grin. “Rainbow Dash!” She shouted angrily. “What did you think you were doing!?”
The pegasus shrugged as she set them both down on the clouds, letting Twilight out of her hooves. “You flew farther than you have since you got those wings of yours. And nothing bad was gonna happen; you fell, I caught you. Just like I promised I always would, right?”
Despite the look in Twilight’s eye, she couldn’t seem to find the words to disagree. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she muttered eventually, pouting cutely and turning away.
“Awe cmon, Twi. It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Twilight seemed firm in her stance. “Yes, yes it was.”
Despite herself Rainbow couldn’t help but acknowledge the adorableness of the pouting alicorn. “Oh alright, fine; I owe you one, and you get to choose what the next lesson is, okay?”
Seeming to perk up, Twilight peaked at Rainbow out of the corner of her eye. “I can choose the lesson? Anything I want?”
Rainbow nodded hesitantly. “Anything,” she said, already feeling a sinking feeling of dread.
“Books,” Twilight said simply.
Rainbow Dash blinked, not quite sure she’d heard correctly. “Twi-”
“Books,” Twilight repeated in a hiss. “I want to learn more about pegasi customs and traditions. From books.”
Slapping a hoof to her face, Rainbow shook her head. “Twi, I meant flying lessons.”
“You didn’t specify, and you promised I could pick the next lesson. I pick books. Got a problem with that, featherbrain?”
Rainbow sighed. “No…” she grumbled, noticeably wilting in the air as she followed the alicorn towards the library. And her precious, precious books. “Dumb Book Princess.”
Shaking herself from her memories, Rainbow set her face in a determined scowl. She’d crossed over into the badlands; she needed to focus. Harvest’s shack should have been close. Rainbow scanned the featureless terrain carefully, looking for anything familiar to her that would point the way.
Before the sun reached its zenith she spotted a familiar building, just as rickety and rotten as she remembered, but to her it shone like the golden sun. That little shack was every last hope she had. Rainbow wasted no time in coming in for a landing, not even bothering to knock as she burst through the dusty door, the interior no less dank than the last time.
“Harvest?” She called, noticing the distinct lack of the old mare. Silence was her only answer. “Harvest‽” Rainbow called again, a sliver of fear spearing her heart. “Harvest!”
Finally, a voice answered; “I’m out back, dear.”
Rainbow trotted back out the door and around the corner, finding Harvest sitting in a small fenced in area, a watering can next to her. In the ground at her hooves was a small purple sprout with a single green leaf. Harvest gently brushed the leaf with her hoof, humming in thought a moment before gently pouring a few drops of water over the plant.
“Is that it?” Rainbow asked as Harvest stepped back. She nodded.
“That’s it. Funny, how such a small flower could hold such power, isn’t it?” Harvest asked, though her tone made it clear she wasn’t looking for an answer. “The titan arum. Of course, it’s little more than a rather... odorous flower without the right touch and the right magic.”
“How long will it take?” Rainbow circled carefully around to the mare’s side, not daring to get too close to the plant.
Harvest chuckled. “I doubt you’ll need to concern yourself; it should be finished growing long before you return. The body will be kept alive and healthy beneath the soil, too, so you needn’t worry about rushing. However, I doubt you’re keen on waiting much longer either. Are you prepared for your journey?”
Shifting her bag and feeling her lighter-than-air saddlebags rustle on her back, Rainbow nodded. “I’m good to go.”
“Really?” Harvest raised an eyebrow, blindly waving a hoof about until she felt the side of Rainbow’s bag, feeling her way under and lifting it. “These bags of yours feel pretty empty to me.”
“Heh, that’s magic for ya,” Rainbow chuckled, trailing off as she looked to her saddlebags, emblazoned with her cutie mark on the clasp. “They were a gift from a friend of mine. Bigger on the inside and light as a feather no matter what you put in ‘em. Great for flying.”
Harvest smiled knowingly. “A gift from this friend?” She asked, motioning to the sprout.
“Yeah…”
“Well then, it’s best you not keep her waiting.” Harvest stood, dusting off her flanks before leading the pegasus back into her house. “Come along, we have a long walk ahead of us.”
Rainbow obeyed, ducking into the shack, glad to be out of the scorching sun. Inside, Harvest made herself busy searching through various cabinets with practiced ease. Eventually, with a small noise of success, she withdrew something but stashed it in a pair of bags of her own before Rainbow could see what it was. “You’re coming with me?”
“Only to the entrance of the realm of the dead. I’m… no longer welcome beyond the divide,” she half-explained, throwing her bags over her back and motioning Rainbow to follow her once again as she exited the door. “Besides, there are still a few things you must know if you wish to succeed.”
Already Rainbow’s wings were itching against her back, but she stayed grounded as together they started across the barren land. Harvest walked across the rough terrain with an ease that made Rainbow wonder if her blindness wasn’t all an act. Eventually, when the mare didn’t say anything more, she asked; “What do you mean?”
Chuckling, Harvest shook her head. “You are about to venture to a realm forbidden to living ponies, and you haven’t the foggiest idea what to expect on the other side, do you?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Winging it usually works out fine for me.”
“Not this time,” Harvest said, her usually light tone taking on a serious note. “Listen, child, and listen well; the land of the dead is not a place to be trifled with. Some basic rules; first, you are not to reveal the hand the Princesses and Discord played in you making it to the other side.”
“How did you-”
Harvest swiftly shushed her. “I told you, I know anything you wish to hide, and despite how resourceful you may be, there’s simply no way for you to have the items you do. Second,” she continued smoothly, “whatever you do, don’t lose those gifts; they are the only way you’ll make it out alive and with your friend’s soul. Third, don’t die; for a living pony to die while in the underworld is a fate worse than just death. Your soul will be forever left wandering until every last shred of who you were is gone and you fade forever.”
Rainbow gave a weak smile. “Sounds fun.”
“You have everything you need to find your friend,” Harvest ignored the failed attempt to lighten the heavy mood. “But there are still a few things you should know. Your friend’s soul likely ended up in the Elysium Fields given who she was and how she died. Ordinarily you’d be judged worthy and have no problem entering the fields upon your death. However, as you’re not dead, you won’t be judged at all and must prove your worth. The trial is different for everyone, but it’s usually some form of trial by combat. Your compass will guide you. Do not doubt it.
“Once you find your friend, you will have to find a certain flower called a Poppy of the Soul somewhere in Elysium. Locating it is up to you, and it must be picked only while it is in bloom. Finally, my payment; the Fruit of Life. Or death, depending on who you ask. This fruit grows only in the heart of the Underworld, and you’ll have to make it through the Labyrinth of Lost Souls to find it. Ordinarily an impossible task, but you are very fortunate to have a friend resourceful enough to find a map.”
Rainbow growled. “He’s not a friend.”
“Of course,” Harvest chuckled. “With those three things, return to the entrance and exit the same way you enter, then come back to me.”
“Speaking of entering, you haven’t told me how I’m going to do that yet.” Rainbow noted, glancing around the barren land. “We’ve been going nowhere.”
Harvest frowned. “Patience was never your strongest point, was it?” She paused, carefully swiveling her ears a moment. “We’re almost there,” she said, turning slightly.
“Almost where!?” Rainbow shouted, flaring her wings. “We’re in the middle of nowhere! There’s nothing out here!”
The old mare tsk’d. “You sighted ponies can be so blind,” she muttered, coming to a stop and forcing Rainbow to do the same. “We’re here.”
“What’s here?”
“Listen,” Harvest stressed, flicking her ear. “Don’t you hear it?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but trained her ears forward, struggling to hear anything at all aside from the wind blowing over the desolate land. Faintly, not quite far away but as though through a wall, she could hear a vague sound. It was almost like… rushing water? “A river?”
“Exactly.” Harvest reached back into her bag, withdrawing two golden coins, wethered with age untold. “Take these; you will need them to return to our realm.”
Stuffing them into her bag, Rainbow watched as harvest withdrew two more of the same coin, placing one in Rainbow’s hooves. “What’s this one for?”
“The fee,” Harvest said, taking a small knife out of her bag. “There is a price for a living pony to be ferried across the divide.” Before Rainbow could react the knife was placed against her foreleg and in a quick slice her skin was cut, a few drops of blood weeping down her leg.
“Hey!” Rainbow cringed as the other coin was pressed into the wound until its one side was dyed red. Harvest ignored her as she worked, placing the coin blood-down into the soil and stepping on it, pushing it in.
“Reveal yourself, mighty Acheron.” Harvest called, her voice growing more firm than it had ever been.
Suddenly, the dirt in front of them shimmered and shifted like sand, flowing and fading as a thick grey fog poured out of where the coin had been pressed into the earth. Rainbow watched with wide eyes as the ground turned to water, flowing in a rough current past them and extending away until it vanished into the ever thickening fog. The other side was entirely hidden. The clouds surrounded them, offering only a couple feat of visibility in any direction as the air grew colder and wetter until they could see their own breath.
The sound of rushing water filled Rainbow’s ears, but it wasn’t the only sound. The faint creaking of wood could be heard in the distance, coming closer.
“Listen to me carefully, Rainbow Dash,” Harvest said urgently. “Charon will ferry you across the Acheron, but he will not do so for free - that coin is your payment. But be warned; you are not to give it to him until you reach the other side, do you hear me? He must not get that coin while you are still on the water, and whatever happens you are not to get out of the boat.”
Rainbow looked at the coin in her hoof, noticing the slight tremor running up her leg. She took a deep breath, then nodded. “Right, gotcha.”
From the depths of the fog a small boat appeared with no driver, drifting across the current towards them, guided by an invisible force.The rotting wood groaned as it ran aground in front of them. Despite herself, Rainbow felt her heart hammering in her chest, her legs suddenly feeling heavy. For a moment, she questioned what she was about to do.
Then she remembered the look on Twilight’s face as the alicorn died in her hooves, and she boarded the boat without a second thought. “Wish me luck,” Rainbow called as the boat rocked and shifted itself back into the water. Her voice shook worse than her hooves.
“Give my husband my regards, if you see him,” Harvest called as she was swallowed by the fog. Everything around Rainbow disappeared into a grey abyss, and she was alone save for the rushing torrent beneath her. For a time she sat, glancing around nervously, in silence. Until, suddenly, it was broken.
“Payment,” a booming voice said from all around. Rainbow nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping her head around to locate the sound of the voice. She clutched the golden coin to her chest, noticing a small black pot in the boat with her, a few similar coins laying inside.
Her voice cracked as she said; “Not until you take me all the way across.”
The voice came back, louder, right in her ear. “Payment. Now.”
A shiver raced down Rainbow’s spine. “No. You’ll get it when I’m there.”
“Then you will sink to the bottom of the Acheron,” it roared, and for a moment the boat rocked extra hard, forcing the pegasus to cling to her seat. Not for the first time she considered taking her chances flying the rest of the way, but she held herself steady, clutching the golden disk tightly, frowning pensively.
“Then you’ll never get your coin,” she threatened back, and the rocking stopped. Rainbow smirked, reaching her hoof out and holding the coin over the edge of the boat. “Take me all the way across, and you’ll get your payment. You have my word. Try anything, and you’ll never see it again.”
The voice didn’t return, but the ride was noticeably smoother over the rushing water. Rainbow grinned victoriously, retracting her hoof slowly. When again the voice didn’t return, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief, settling into her seat. What felt like hours passed lost in the fog. There were no further demands for payment, and Rainbow took the silence as a chance to attempt to relax, breathing deeply and steadily. A trick, she noted, she’d learned from Twilight.
Rainbow was shaken from her reverie as the boat gave a violent shudder and a groan, once more beaching itself on solid ground. “Payment,” the voice said, and Rainbow rolled her eyes as she stood, ensuring there was actual ground below her before tossing her coin into the bucket and jumping out. By time she looked back the boat was gone, lost in the fog covering the river.
She turned, and took in her surroundings. The river stretched on behind her to either side, curving inward slightly. The ground was rough rock and dirt, deep red in colour, almost brown. The air was thick and stale, and above her were swirling grey clouds covering the entire sky. The landscape itself seemed almost normal; she was at the bottom of a steep hill, the rest obscured behind it. With a few flaps of her wings she reached the peak, and all notion of normalcy vanished.
Rainbow Dash stood on a small outcropping overlooking a sheer cliff, dropping straight down for what almost seemed to be miles, the bottom mostly obscured by a deep black haze. The cliff face stretched on in either direction for as far as she could see, though it bent inwards slightly, forming almost a semicircle with the horizon. Ahead, down in the chasm, was what she could only describe as an endless pit. Far below everything was swallowed in a haze of inky, unnatural blackness. From within she could hear… something. It sounded like the muffled wails of a thousand voices. It was a cacophonous din that melded together and formed an entirely unpleasant sound that permeated the air and buzzed in her ears. Beyond the giant chasm, barely poking over the horizon, was a large castle like structure, it's tallest spire piercing the clouds that filled the sky. Its base sat at what seemed to be the center of the pit, equally lost in the thick fog.
For a few, long moments, Rainbow stood in awe, failing to entirely comprehend what she was seeing, or where she even was. Eventually, she managed to shake herself out of it, turning away from the cliff and digging through her bags, pulling out the compass and flipping it open. The arrow wobbled slightly as she turned to where it was pointing - thankfully not towards the castle, but off to the side along the cliff edge. Rainbow nodded to herself, flipping it closed.
It was the little things that reminded Rainbow Dash where she was. Reminded her that this wasn’t all a dream or just a strange part of Equestria. Once she’d wandered far enough from the pit the wailing sound faded and silenced, replaced by nothing at all. The landscape was even more barren than the badlands, and twice as rough and rugged. No winds at all blew across the rocks, despite the constantly swirling clouds above. Day or night were equally meaningless when the sky could not be seen; she could have been in a cave for all she knew. One of the strangest things was the total lack of shadows, as though there were no light source at all, despite her being able to see everything just fine.
It was unnerving; things that would usually look ordinary and unassuming took on a creepy, unnatural feeling without a shadow.
Rainbow rolled her neck, hearing a few tell-tale pops and cracks that told of how long she’d been flying, tensed and alert to her surroundings. As she flew steadily a few feet above the ground she was careful to stay low, just in case. Many stories had mentioned undead guards and monster roaming the underworld, ready to attack any unsuspecting travelers. So far, though, she’d seen nothing at all. Except rocks and dirt. While she didn’t know how long she’d been flying in a straight line - time was hard to track and held little relevance to her anyway - she knew it’d been a while. The rumbling of her stomach told her as much. The request was ignored, however, as Rainbow gained a little more altitude to check over the next couple hills, only to find more, slightly taller hills. She groaned.
“Just how big is this place?”
There was nothing around to answer the question. At the very least the terrain seemed to be growing rougher, as though she were approaching a mountain range. If she was, it was still hidden beyond the horizon.
Her stomach growled again, and her wings seemed to give an aching pulse in agreement.
With a sigh Rainbow Dash relented, banking around in a tight corkscrew and landing in the dirt, a cloud of dust kicking up beneath her. No one rock looked any more or less interesting than another, so she picked one at random and dropped her saddlebags next to it. After rummaging around for a moment she withdrew with a canteen and two granola bars. The more substantial food would have to be saved for when she needed to sleep if she had any hope of her supplies lasting. Celestia had said three weeks.
Three weeks…
Rainbow scanned her surroundings. Featureless rocks and dirt, a dull sky filled with swirling clouds and a total void of sound. There were no signs of life anywhere around her. The realm of the dead lived up to its name. Three weeks in this place? Absentmindedly chewing on one of the bars she reached inter her bags and took out the compass, flipping it open. The needle shifted slightly, but didn’t turn.
Three weeks in this place was a small price to pay.
As she stared into the compass, out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash saw something shift. It was small and fast and hardly there at all but it made her jump back, holding her compass tight to her chest. She focused, ears swiveling around searching for whatever had moved, but there was nothing, just her saddlebags in the shadow of a rock. Had she imagined it? Rainbow turned around, carefully scanning the surrounding hills.
Nothing.
“Get ahold of yourself, Dash,” she scolded herself, shaking her head. “There’s nothing out here; it’s in your head.”
Despite the certainty in her words, she couldn’t shake the anxious ball building in her gut. She reached for her bags while keeping her eyes on her surroundings. Despite the ache still pulsing through her wings she got the distinct feeling she needed to be moving on. Now.
Her heart dropped when her hoof swiped through empty air. Where were her bags?
Rainbow turned fully. Her bags were gone. How? They’d been right there just a second go. She knew she’d left them in the rock’s… shadow…
The rock’s shadow was gone. Nothing had a shadow in this place. Not since she’d arrived had she seen a single shadow. Had the shadow somehow taken her bag? Just to be sure she circled around the rock, inspecting it carefully. No shadow, no bags, nothing. Just a rock.
Then she noticed something that made her heart stop cold.
She had a shadow.
“O-okay, that’s weird…” Rainbow trailed off after hearing the high-pitched squeak in her voice. She waved her hoof, watching as her shadow acted like a shadow, following her movement. It was as if she could feel its eyes on her, watching her. There was no way it was an ordinary shadow.
“...”
Rainbow jumped and spun around, crouching down defensively. “Who’s there!?” She demanded, noticing nothing. At least, at first. The more she looked, the more she realized the problem, as several of the large rocks scattered across the hill had shadows. As she watched more shadows grew right before her eyes, stretching out from the bases of rocks and mounds until they mirrored the objects casting them. They all pointed in different directions, or rather, they all pointed towards her.
Backing up, Rainbow’s heart leapt into her throat as she felt her flank press against a rock. She glanced back just long enough to confirm the boulder once again had a shadow.
“Rainbow Dash…”
There was a definite voice now, right in her ear. Rainbow jumped, fanning her wings and launching a few feat into the air. “Who’s there?” She asked again, unable to keep the tremor from her voice. The shadows followed her as she flew slow circles around them, looking for the source of the voice. It had a familiar ring to it, and her every instinct was telling her to run, but she couldn’t. Not without her bags; she’d be helpless without them.
“I’m Rainbow Dash,” the voice answered, and a shiver ran down Rainbow’s spine as she recognized the voice this time; it was her own. She watched as the shadows disconnected themselves from the rocks, flowing along the ground towards her. No, not her; towards her shadow, still cast below her on the ground. Her shadow seemed to absorb the others, growing larger and blacker with every passing moment until once again the landscape was devoid of shadows. All except Rainbow’s own.
Then, it stopped mirroring the flapping of her wings. It grew upwards, emerging from the ground until it was a fully formed pitch black pegasus pony. Except the light blue saddlebags it wore. It lifted its hooves and examined them as though they were alien to it. Rainbow could do nothing but stare as it looked itself over, nothing but a silhouette of a real pony, before it turned a looked up at her. “I’m Rainbow Dash,” it repeated, glancing between Rainbow’s wings and its own.
Rainbow saw what was coming next and decided it was time to put an end to it. Holding her compass tightly in her hoof she flew down, hind hooves outstretched and lined up with its head. Her hoof made contact, but it didn’t feel like anything she’d ever hit before; it molded around her hoof and was sticky like tar. She pulled away when she felt tendrils of shadow crawling along her leg. When Rainbow landed she turned just in time to see a hoof-shaped dent in the thing’s face fill, the shadows flowing like liquid. She snorted.
“Alright, you’re the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. Gimme back my bags and I’ll be outta here. I don’t want any trouble.”
The thing tilted its head, its face blank and featureless as it regarded her. It looked to the saddlebags on its back. “I am Rainbow Dash,” it said as it turned to her again. “My bags.”
That voice was hers, but it sounded wrong. Alien. The thing’s jaw didn’t move at all, its copied voice without inflection or emotion. Rainbow snorted. “You are not me, and those bags aren’t yours. Last chance; hand ‘em over.”
“You are not me” it said, flaring its wings as Rainbow Dash did the same. “It’s your fault.”
Rainbow hesitated for just a moment. “What?”
The thing took a step forward. “It’s your fault,” it repeated in Dash’s voice. “You killed her.”
Rainbow growled, launching herself forward and punching the shadow across the face again, keeping contact to a minimum as the shadows tried to crawl up her foreleg. “You asked for it,” she barked. The thing seemed unphased as it returned a similar blow that Rainbow just barely managed to duck under, returning a swift kick to the gut.
The shadow pony stepped back, grabbing Rainbow’s leg and pulling her off balance before delivering its own kick. Rainbow felt the air forced from her lungs as she staggered back, remembering the compass clutched in her hoof. Whatever happened, that thing couldn’t get it.
“You asked for it,” the shadow said and launched forward, and Rainbow recognized the punch to be her own too late as she dodged the wrong way and got a faceful of shadowy hoof. It stuck to her cheek and the tendrils of shadow squirmed along her fur. She tried to pull away but the shadow grabbed the back of her head and held her. A cooling sensation spread out from the point of contact, washing slowly across her face.
Rainbow screamed, punching into the thing’s chest fruitlessly as shadows covered her eyes and her vision was lost in darkness. In a panic she flared her wings and took off, feeling the shadow lose its grip as she shot off into the sky. Slowly her vision returned as she felt the shadow flowing off her face like drops of water. She looked down just in time to see the shadow pony take off as well and give chace.
“Oh no you don’t.” Rainbow banked around and flapped her wing harder, rocketing off into the distance as she spared a glance to her compass. She was still going the right way. Behind her the shadow gave chase, though it visibly struggled to keep up and globs of blackness seemed to be flaking off of it and falling away. It slowed down slightly as a particularly large blob of shadow fell away, and Rainbow took her opportunity to flare her wings wide and stop her momentum, making a hairpin turn and soaring back towards the shadow. It too flared its wings, but it stopped to slow; Rainbow rocketed past and her leg kicked out. She smashed into one of its wings, the joints pulling apart like taffy before snapping apart completely, the black wing and pony falling to the ground.
Circling around, Rainbow dove down and snatched her bags from the thing’s back. Before she could pull away it grabbed her leg. “I am Rainbow Dash!” It screamed in her voice. “You are not me! It’s your fault she’s dead! I am Rainbow Dash! I am-” It stopped as it hit the ground. Hard. The shadows splattered across the ground like drops of water and once more became the flat silhouettes they came from. Rainbow, having just barely stopped herself before she hit the ground, shuddered as the shadows slithered along the ground in multiple pieces, trying to form back together.
Deciding it best not to stick around, Rainbow flew quickly away, double checking her compass as she slung her bags back over her shoulders. She glanced behind her in time to see the shadow start to rise up, only for it to fall apart again. Breathing a deep sigh of relief Rainbow focused ahead once again, slipping the compass into her bags and ensuring the straps were tight around her barrel. Her heart still hammered in her chest, and she was constantly checking behind and below for any shadows. Thankfully, she saw none.
The thing’s words still danced in her head. “It’s your fault.” Rainbow frowned, shaking her head sadly. She chuckled humorlessly to herself. “As if I didn’t know that already.” Looking back again, there was still nothing there, and no shadows marred the landscape. Allowing herself to push the thing’s accusations out of her mind, Rainbow Dash focused back on the task at hand as the ground flew by beneath her.
She didn’t know how long she’d been flying, but eventually her wings ached too much to keep going. Rainbow knew pushing herself beyond her limits wouldn’t help anypony. Despite the lingering memory of the shadow creature, she touched down on the ground and continued on hoof. Every sense stayed on high alert as the hills became more akin to small mountains and valleys, gradual slopes giving way to steep drops and a few sheer cliffs. Still, the compass pointed ever onwards, and so Rainbow Dash pushed forward. Time had lost all meaning; for all she knew she could have been wandering for days. She’d had to eat by now, some canned vegetables that looked much more appetizing on the label, but she kept moving while she ate. The terrain became more and more rough until she was forced to fly more than walk. Her wings complained with every beat, and she couldn’t help but feel sluggish in the air. It was as if this place was sapping her strength every time she had to fly.
Rainbow groaned as she forced her wings to carry her just a little higher over the edge of a cliff, collapsing at the top and panting heavily. Again she wondered how big this place was. Ahead of her looked like the mountain range surrounding Canterlot. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered, wiping the sweat from her forehead. The thought of continuing was halted as her wings twinged painfully. She sighed, looking back at her ruffled and matted feathers.
“Maybe it’s time for a quick nap…” Trailing off, Rainbow glanced around the small outcropping she’d landed on; it was almost perfectly flat, and about as big as a hoofball field. There were no other rocks or any features to cast shadows, and that alone calmed her some. Whatever that… thing was, it seemed to need to be cast by something to stay together; the second it moved away from the rocks it started to fall apart.
Rainbow Dash sighed, trying - and failing - to shake the lingering fear as her bags were set on the ground. Despite how much she told herself that thing was miles away by now, she couldn’t help but see it out of the corner of her eye, no matter where she looked. Every dark patch of dirt or rock was a shadow just waiting to attack. It didn’t help any that her exhausted mind was playing tricks on her. The deafening silence was starting to get to her, and she could’ve sworn she’d started hearing things that weren’t there. This place wasn’t natural.
A dark blue sleeping bag was pulled out of her saddlebags and unrolled on the softest-looking rock. Clouds would’ve served her just fine, but there weren’t any as far as she could see except the ones swirling high above. She didn’t want to take her chances messing with those. Another can of preserved fruit was downed, and Rainbow took a moment to sit atop her bedroll. She absentmindedly gazed out across the mountain range she found herself in, somehow just as featureless as the hills before. Just… taller, now. More of an obstacle to overcome than just terrain to pass by.
Out of the corner of her vision she caught a metallic glint, and she looked down at the pendant resting against her chest. She held it up, examining the gem in the shape of Twilight’s cutie mark. Celestia said it would be important, eventually.
“Twilight…” Rainbow dropped it, feeling it bounce against her fur. She smiled despite herself, pressing a hoof against it. “I’m coming for ya, Twi. I dunno how much longer but… I’m coming.”
With that she crawled into her sleeping bag, laying on her back and staring up at the sky. Her eyes were drooping before she knew it, her body’s exhaustion catching up with her all at once. But just as she started drifting, her body jolted awake. There, out of the corner of her eye, she’d seen something. Or… thought she saw something. Rainbow sat up, swiveling her ears. The only sound was the crinkling of her sleeping bag. Nothing moved. Nothing cast a shadow. There was nothing there.
She sighed and laid back down, eyes following the gentle swirling clouds. Suddenly she didn’t feel all that tired, despite the exhaustion wracking her body. Huffing, Rainbow rolled onto her belly, ruffling her wings gently before settling in and closing her eyes. And holding them closed. And not falling asleep. She groaned. The ground wasn’t that uncomfortable. She’d slept in worst place - Applejack’s tress coming to mind - but for some reason it eluded her.
Well, not just any reason. Really, she knew why she wasn’t about to fall asleep that easily.
With another groan Rainbow slid out of her bag and sat atop it. She went to reach for her bags but paused, glancing over her shoulder and catching sight of her wings. More specifically, the disastrous state of her feathers. Cringing, the pegasus extended one of her wings out to gauge the damage. Sure enough, her wing looked like it’d been through a tornado. Going to sleep with her feathers that bad usually only made them worse by morning. At least, that’s what she told herself as she occupied her mind with the monotonous task of preening. Her thoughts wandered even as she tried to keep focused.
Rainbow Dash laughed, shaking her head slowly. “Twi, please, you’re killing me.”
The alicorn blushed, glancing all around her for whatever it was Rainbow had found so funny. “W-what?” She asked eventually, a blush forming the longer she was laughed at. “You said to meet you here at noon, right? Is… am I late?”
“No, Twi, you’re not late,” Rainbow said, able to contain her laughter to the occasional chuckle. “I said to be here ready to practice.”
Twilight again glanced around the clouds she stood on, just out front of the pegasus’s cloud home. “And… I am?”
For a moment, Rainbow’s mirth seemed to die, and she regarded Twilight curiously. “No, Twilight; you’re really not. Look.” She motioned with a hoof to something behind the alicorn.
Turning around, Twilight eventually did a full circle. When she came back around the growing frown on her face had officially stretched to a properly concerned look. “What? What am I missing?”
Rainbow’s own face fell. “Twi, your wings. They’re a mess.”
“My… wings?”
A cyan hoof met a cyan face at the genuinely confused tone. “Don’t tell me Celestia didn’t teach you anything about having wings?”
Twilight rubbed one of her forelegs awkwardly. “Not… really? She offered, but I told her I could get you and Fluttershy to help. I don’t… what’s wrong with them?” The alicorn spread her - admittedly pretty impressive - wings, glancing them over. “I just had a shower last night, they should be fine,” she muttered, more to herself as she leaned in and sniffed herself skeptically.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Rainbow’s hoof dragged down her face almost comically slowly. “Twi, do you even know what preening is?”
“Preening?” Twilight echoed, glancing between her friend and her wings. “It’s something birds to, they use their beak to straighten their… feathers… oh. Wait, pegasi have to do that too?”
Rainbow could only sigh and nod her head. “Yes, Twilight, pegasi have to preen. Gryphons, too; anything with feathered wings. How did you not know that?”
Blushing self-consciously, the alicorn folded her wings back against her sides. “Hey! It’s not like I was born with these things, and there aren’t a lot of pegasi in Canterlot. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t think you’d need to be told! You…” Rainbow trailed off, staring at her friend as something occurred to her, and she grimaced at the thought of it. “You mean… you haven’t preened once since you became an alicorn?”
“I didn’t know I had to!”
Rainbow Dash pinched the bridge of her muzzle, hissing through her teeth. “Alright, let’s see the damage. Spread ‘em.”
Cheeks still glowing a dull shade of red, Twilight complied, once more fanning out both her wings as the pegasus approached. Rainbow ignored the alicorn’s eyes on her as she gently grabbed a wing, running a hoof through the lavender feathers. She whistled lowly. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she mumbled, folding that wing and circling around to the other. After giving it much the same treatment, Rainbow groaned.
Twilight adjusted her wings slightly and turned to face the pegasus when she didn’t say anything more. “Rainbow?” She asked carefully. Rainbow just sat there, scratching the back of her head. “Is… is it bad?”
“Yeah… yeah it’s…” she winced sympathetically. “Pretty bad. Come on, let’s get you sorted.” Rainbow turned, motioning with a wing for Twilight to follow as she lead the way towards her house. “You can’t fly in that condition. Well, you shouldn’t, at least.”
Hesitating only a moment, Twilight walked alongside the pegasus. “What are we going to do, exactly?”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “Apparently I’m going to teach you how to preen yourself. Because that is totally what I wanted to do today.”
“H-hey! It’s not my fault!”
Frowning at the actual hurt in Twilight voice, Rainbow glanced back over her shoulder with a light smile. “Relax, Twi, I’m just messin’ with you. I don’t mind. Now come on; it’s gonna take a while.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled at the memory, carefully examining her wing before folding it back against her side. Twilight had gone almost three months without ever preening, and her wings had shown it. It had taken almost an hour to get just one of her wings even resembling proper shape, and that was before Twilight had started asking all her question. If she had to give the alicorn one thing, it was that Twilight was as good a student as she’d always been.
She frowned as she looked out over the mountain range awaiting her, and found herself yawning. Rainbow once again crawled into her sleeping bag, some of the ache having drained from her wings after her careful preening. At least she’d be ready to set out first thing when she woke up. She closed her eyes and focused on her memories, ignoring the lingering shadows in the corners of her mind as she fell into a somewhat peaceful sleep tinted lavender.
Some time later Rainbow jolted awake, a cold sweat covering her body and her heart hammering in her chest. She didn’t remember what had woken her up, but she didn’t waste long in packing up. Double checking her bags, Rainbow stopped just long to eat something before checking her compass and setting out again over the mountains. When she looked back, she didn’t see anything there, but once again there was the feeling in her gut that told her she needed to move.
Still that little compass pointed ever onward, past the increasingly rocky slopes and the deep valleys far below. Rainbow flew steadily, careful not to over exert herself. She didn’t know how much time was passing, didn’t know how long she’d been in the land of the dead. She knew she’d had to sleep once, but she didn’t know how long she’d been asleep. Time was meaningless here, and the last thing Rainbow wanted was to burn herself out without the faintest idea how much farther she had to go. Nopony had told her the underworld would be so expansive. The landscape had been nothing but rocks and dirt for so long now, the idea of a grassy field seemed almost like a dream. The silence was deafening, swallowing any noise she made. Not even an echo of her voice came back when she shouted into the valleys.
It was so endlessly quiet that, when she did hear something, for a moment she thought she’d lost it. When the noise persisted she instantly went on high alert, constantly scanning the mountains passing by below her in an effort to spot anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing, but the sound continued and grew louder. Until she recognized what it was; water. Somewhere ahead, there was flowing water. Rainbow lifted her head from watching the ground to watching the horizon. Beyond the mountains, there was a thick, grey fog that seemed to swallow the horizon. It stretched on endlessly in either direction, more like a wall than anything else. She double checked, and sure enough her compass was pointing straight into it.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” she mumbled to herself as the wall of fog grew closer, filling her entire view as the sound of rushing water grew louder still. At the very edge of the fog the mountains stopped abruptly. The entire world seemed to just disappear into the dense vapour. Before long she was right in front of it, touching down on the flat terrain. Just before the fog the earth gave way to a jagged cliff, dropping straight down. From the depths of the chasm rose the sound of rushing water, deafening in volume this close if only due to the surrounding silence.
A chilling wind rose up from the shrouded river below, blowing up out of the abyss and swirling the fog. Rainbow stuck her wing out, gauging the strength of the wind. She withdrew it quickly, staring wide-eyes down the pit. If she so much as tried to fly anywhere near the wall she’d be tossed around like a ragdoll at the air current’s whimsy. She looked left, then right, the fog endless in both directions. However, far in the distance to her left she could make out… something. It looked to be a pole of some kind, sitting just barely at the edge of the fog.
Without a better option and with no other visible marks, Rainbow set off towards it. The rushing water drowned out her hoofsteps, but she was thankful to finally be able to hear something. As she drew closer the pole became more defined and she spotted a second one behind it, and it wasn’t long before it clicked.
It was a bridge. A rickety, rotting, wooden suspension bridge.
“You have got to be kidding.”
She approached the thing skeptically. Sure enough, it was a simply bridge, wooden planks held aloft by two ropes attached to either pole. No side rails to speak of. It swayed gently - suspiciously so given the strength of the wind coming up from the gorge - and was visibly wet from the fog. The wood was cracked and rotting, many boards missing from the walkway and the rope was in much the same condition. At the very least, the poles anchoring it to the ground seemed strong enough, but it was a small comfort.
There were very few things Rainbow Dash would cross that bridge for.
The compass helpfully pointed into the fog.
She sighed.
“I’m gonna be so mad if this kills me,” Rainbow grumbled, hesitantly moving a hoof out over the chasm. The wind rushing up set her coat hairs on end as she set it down on the bridge. It gave a very unhelpful groan. With most of her weight still on her hind hooves Rainbow shuffled closer, her other front hoof coming down on a board. At least this one didn’t creak.
Her wings sprang open for balance on instinct alone, but the wind nearly sent her toppling over. Rainbow jumped back onto the safety of the ground, breathing heavily and shooting a glare back at her traitorous wings. For a moment longer she looked for another way around the fog, but something told her crossing that bridge wasn’t optional. She took a few deep breaths, shimmying up to the bridge again and once more lowering her front hooves onto it, slightly faster this time. The bridge swayed slightly, but held as she slowly put some actual weight on it.
Rainbow pressed a hoof to the lavender star dangling around her neck and took a full step, all four hooves hitting the wooden boards. They protested, but held fast. She let out the breath she’d been holding. “Okay, not so bad, right? Just… one hoof at a time.” True to her word, one step at a time she pressed into the fog. The sound of rushing water filled her ears and overtook even the sound of her own thoughts. The bridge swayed, but she pushed forward. Glancing back, the edge was still just barely visible.
Then, something occurred to Rainbow Dash: Why was she crossing the bridge? She was… looking for something, right? She frowned, her hooves halting their progress. What was she looking for? It was something important, wasn’t it? Why did she feel like she needed to cross this bridge, no matter what? Rainbow didn’t know. The boards beneath her let loose a cracking, splintering sound, and she turned and ran back to the edge of the cliff, all but jumping from the bridge.
Breathing heavily, Rainbow held her head in her hooves. What was she doing, crossing that thing? She must have been crazy to try that! Whatever she was looking for on the other side wasn’t worth it. There was no way-
Rainbow gasped as she felt the six pointed star bounce against her chest. Twilight.
She looked down to the pendant, then back to the bridge. How had she forgotten? She’d never just… forget like that. How could she? But… she had. Something about that bridge - or maybe it was the fog? - had made her start to forget things.
The compass still pointed firmly across the chasm.
Was this supposed to be one of the trials Harvest had warned her about? Wasn’t it supposed to be trial by combat? Not this… whatever this was. She sighed, debating looking for another way around the fog, but something deep inside her already knew it would be a fruitless search. Somehow, she knew that she needed to cross that bridge. No matter what it did to try and stop her.
“C’mon, Dash,” she chided herself, hopping from hoof to hoof to get her blood pumping. “It’s a cloud that’s gotten too big for its own good. No matter what, you’ll never forget.” Rainbow looked down to her pendant, a crooked smile on her muzzle. “I can’t forget.”
The pegasus took a few more deep breaths, shaking out her hooves and wings. A thought struck her, and she grabbed the necklace in her teeth. No matter what, she wouldn’t forget. With a nod to herself, Rainbow charged forward before she could give it a second thought. The bridge creaked and groaned but held fast under her hooves. The fog all but swallowed her, but she didn’t even look back to check. Her eyes were set forward in a determined glare, watching the boards pass by beneath her. The wind and water howled in her ears and seemed to actively block out all other thoughts. Her mane and tail billowed wildly, whipping around in the intense winds.
For a moment she wondered why she was running across a bridge, but when her jaw clenched she felt the lavender star in her teeth. She smiled. Rainbow pushed forward without relent. The bridge was long, and she realized she didn't know how long she’d been running. Didn’t remember.
But she remembered why she was running. Everytime it tried to make her forget, she felt that necklace in her mouth, and remembered. Her mind fogged like the air around her, and she was aware of things slipping from her grasp. Still, Twilight stayed firm. Nothing could take that from her.
For Twilight she thought, as the fog started to brighten gradually. Growing thinner with every step. A light shone from ahead of her, bright and blinding. Rainbow ran towards it, her hooves relentlessly beating against the wooden boards. She could see the far side of the chasm now. It was covered in a layer of bright green grass, waving gently in the wind. With a final leap, Rainbow jumped from the bridge, eyes firmly set on the other side. Her jaw clenched around the pendant.
A mare landed on her hooves in a grassy field, skidding to a stop. She blinked, blinded by an intense light for a moment. She held up a hoof, blocking out and squinting to see. Slowly her eyes adjusted to a large, empty clearing. Grass surrounded her, and endless blue sky stretched on above her. In the center of the clearing was a large, circular building of stone pillars and arches with an open roof. She breathed deeply of the warm air, the lingering scent of grass on the air. She’d not smelled grass in so very long.
She paused, lowering her hoof and blinking the spots from her eyes. Where… was she? The grassy field was bordered on all sides by a deep chasm, beyond which she could see more grassy fields. The mare looked behind her and say a wooden suspension bridge stretching across the chasm, fading into a cloud of fog that seemed to just engulf the bridge. Beyond the fog was yet another grassy field.
“Hello?” She called. Or, rather, tried to call. Becoming aware of a large metallic thing clenched in her jaw. Curious, she spat it out into her hoof, examining a purple six pointed star. Twilight.
Something within the mare jolted at the sight. A name came to mind, but that was all.
A name…
What was her name? Who… was she? Her mind started whirling at a million miles an hour, searching for something - anything. But there was nothing. She couldn’t remember anything, about who she was or where she was. All she could remember was that name; Twilight. And… something else. Twilight… needed her? She needed Twilight? This Twilight pony was important, she knew.
“My, it’s been a long time since someone has crossed the Lethe. Longer, still, since they’ve been able to resist becoming a shade. You’re rather interesting,” a deep, masculine voice said. The mare jumped, snapping her head around. Next to the bridge sat a large patio chair, atop which laid a fairly nondescript gryphon. A brown coat and white feathers tipped with a dark blue hue. Despite his words he seemed wholly uninterested as he reclined on his back, staring at the sky through a pair of tinted lenses.
The mare quirked her head. “Where am I?”
The gryphon examined a talon. “Welcome to Elysium. Or, rather, the entrance to Elysium.”
“Where’s that?”
“Ah-ah,” the gryphon tsked, shaking his claw back and forth. “That’s not how this works; you asked your question, now I get to ask mine. Who are you?”
“I…” she trailed off, frowning as she stared down at her cyan hooves. As though looking for a clue she looked back at her cutie mark, a colourful lightning bolt. Was her name Bolt? No, that wasn’t right. Her brow creased. It was on the tip of her tongue, she was sure of it!
The gryphon grew impatient. “Well, let’s try something a little easier then. Tell me what you do remember. There must be something still in there, if you’re not a shade.”
“Twilight,” the mare answered without hesitation, surprising herself. “There’s… somepony I need to find. Twilight is her name.”
“Ahh, I see.” Finally the gryphon stood from his chair, languidly stretching as he stepped up to the pegasus mare. He was taller than her by at least two heads. He sniffed, his eyes growing wide. “You’re alive, as well. Well now, you certainly are a fascinating creature.”
The pegasus took a step back from his imposing stature. “Can you help me find her?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “You don’t even remember who you are yet, and you’re already wanting to look for this Twilight of yours? Well, I suppose to carry you across the Lethe this mare would have to be quite special. I assure you; if she is here, you need not be in a rush. Now, try again; what is your name?”
She looked again to her cutie mark, noticing it on the clasps of her saddle bags. A lightning bolt. A rainbow lightning bolt. She gasped. “Rainbow…” her tongue rolled over the name slowly, and it stuck, bringing with it; “Dash. Rainbow Dash.”
“Very good. You can ask me one, if you wish.” He seemed to be enjoying this little game of questions.
Rainbow squinted at her saddlebags, then to the pendant around her neck. “Where is Elysium? I’m from Equestria.”
The gryphon frowned almost imperceptibly. “You know, usually you’re supposed to ask my name after giving yours; it’s the polite thing to do.” When the mare didn’t alter her question any, he sighed. “Fine. Elysium is… well, it’s eternal paradise for those who were worthy in life. You’re in the realm of the dead, little mare.”
“The… dead?” Rainbow Dash echoed, once again taking stock of her surroundings. It seemed pretty normal to her. She gasped. “A-am I…?”
He laughed again. “No, somehow you journeyed here alive. Honestly it’s quite impressive. However, that was two questions, so I get to ask two now, too. Who are you?”
Rainbow gave him an odd look. “I told you; I’m Rainbow Dash.”
“No, little mare; I know your name. I want to know who you are. What were you in the land of the living? What was your job? Your dream? Where did you live? Who is Rainbow Dash?”
She took a moment to ponder his question. Slowly, more memories came back, seamingly being dragged back from the abyss with her name acting as an anchor. “I… I was a Wonderbolt. I lived in Ponyville with my friends, and I-” Rainbow paused, her jaw hung open as memories rushed back to her. “I’m the Element of Loyalty.”
The gryphon grinned at her. “And why did you come to the land of the dead?”
“Twilight,” she said, and suddenly everything fell back into place, and once more Rainbow Dash was Rainbow Dash. “My friend, Twilight, she died. I’m here to bring her back.”
He laughed. Hard. Rainbow just watched as he doubled over, cackling madly. He barely managed to calm himself enough to say; “Truly, you are a remarkable mare, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty. To not only enter the land of the dead in search of your fallen friend, but to retain yourself across the Lethe… most would consider you standing before me impossible.”
“I’ve done a lot of impossible things,” she growled, taking a suspicious step away from the gryphon. “Who are you? And why did I forget everything?”
He regained his composure, clearing his throat gruffly. “You forgot yourself because you crossed the Lethe; one of the rivers bordering the underworld, separating it from the Elysian Fields. The river is where most souls go when they die; those who were neither exceptional enough to reach Elysium or evil enough to be locked in Tartarus are christened in its waters. Their mortal memories are lost, so that they may be reborn back into the realm of the living. When you crossed the Lethe it tried to do the same to you. It washed your soul of your life, but your devotion to this Twilight of yours brought you back.
“As for who I am,” he paused, bowing low to the ground. “My name is Cronus, and I am the guardian of the Elysian Fields. I’m the one you seek.”
Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. “How’s that?”
Cronus motioned to the colosseum sat in the middle of the field with a grand, sweeping gesture. “If you’re looking for your friend in Elysium, I’ll be the one who decides if you’re worthy or not to enter the fields. This is the Elysian Coliseum.”
“You said I was already in Elysium.” Rainbow argued.
“I said you were at the entrance to Elysium,” Cronus corrected, walking towards the coliseum and motioning with a wing for the mare to follow. “I’ll admit; I’m quite impressed with you already, so I have no problems in giving you a fair trial. However, I must still test your worth if you wish to enter Elysium proper.”
Rainbow Dash hesitated, watching him cautiously. “Am I just supposed to trust you?”
Cronus looked back over his shoulder, giving the mare a shrug. “I suppose that’s up to you, isn’t it? If you wish to enter Elysium, you must prove yourself worthy in the arena. If you want to stand around debating whether you can trust me, well, I won’t stop you. I’ve grown rather bored of the trials, anyway.”
Glancing around, Rainbow took stock of where she was. This certainly wasn’t the same underworld she’d been traveling through up until now. It was bright and sunny, lush green grass beneath her hooves. She could feel a gentle wind rolling through her mane, and if she focused she could hear the gentle babbling of water from the chasm she’d crossed. If the Elysian Fields were supposed to be paradise, this sure seemed to fit the bill.
She was snapped out of her reverie as she realized the gryphon had gone on without her, already nearing the large stadium in the center of the field. Deciding it best to at least see what he was talking about, Rainbow moved to catch up, only to stop dead in her tracks as she noticed the black shape beneath her hooves. Her shadow.
Heart suddenly beating a mile a minute, Rainbow backed away from it, only for it to follow her. Her wings sprang open and just as she was about to launch herself into the relative safety of the sky she felt a claw settle over her back.
“Easy,” Cronus said calmly, suddenly appearing beside her. He motioned to his own shadow, which mimicked his action. “They’re normal shadows, not the shades you likely experienced wandering the underworld.”
Rainbow took a long, slow breath. “Right… okay… I knew that.”
The gryphon chuckled, shaking his head. “Sure you did. Come on; if you want to find this Twilight of yours you’re not out of the woods yet. The coming trial will not be easy.”
Keeping one eye on her shadow, the pegasus complied. Ahead the colosseum loomed over her, polished stone pillars holding up arches that reached at least four stories up. It reminded her of the one back in Cloudsdale, but this one felt different. It looked similar, but it had an intimidating aura about it that made her remember that she was still technically in the underworld.
Cronus seemed to notice the crease forming on her forehead. “If you’d like to take some time to prepare yourself, you can-”
“No,” Rainbow said, firmly. “Twi’s waiting for me. I’ve taken long enough to get here as it is.”
The gryphon smirked at her. “Curious little mare indeed,” he muttered to himself as they passed through one of the central arches into a short stone passageway. Some tunnels lead off on either side, their destinations hidden around the curve of the building, but ahead was exactly like the stadium in Cloudsdale; an open arena. Rainbow couldn’t help but marvel up at the structure as she came out once more into the light of the sun, seats all around them forming a bowl right up to the top of the walls.
“Welcome to the Arena of Elysium,” Cronus announced, throwing out his talons and wings in a grand gesture. “Here your worth shall be tested in trial by combat, as is the ancient tradition.”
Rainbow noticed a weapon rack next to the entrance she’d come through. “Great,” she said, walking over to it and inspecting the various weaponry she found there. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Not so fast, little mare.” He snapped his claw, and suddenly Rainbow was in front of him in the center of the arena. “There are a few things we must discuss. Namely, the rules. First-” Cronus motioned to a painted white ring in the dirt, running along the circumference of the stadium. “To win is to either kill your opponent, make them surrender, or force them out of the ring.
“You have free reign over any weapon of your choice,” he nodded to the weapon rack, “If it’s not there, I can provide it.” Again he snapped his claw, and Rainbow Dash felt her saddlebags disappear from her back. A moment of panic was cut short as she saw them reappear next to the rack, the pendant from around her neck sitting on top. “Nothing is permitted inside the ring except you and your weapon. Anything already within the ring is fair game.
“Finally, you are to offer something of equal value as tribute.”
Rainbow tilted her head. “What?”
Cronus’s smile made her skin crawl. “If you win, you gain the right to live in eternal paradise. You must offer something of equal value to be lost if you fail.”
“That’s ridiculous! I don’t have anything like that!”
“Most offer their soul in exchange for a chance at Elysium. You are welcome to do the same; if you win, you’re free to come and go from the fields as you see fit. If you lose, your soul will be sentenced to eternal damnation in the depths of Tartarus. Eternal paradise, or eternal punishment. An equal wager, yes? Unless you have something else to offer you believe to be of equal value?”
Rainbow’s voice caught in her throat. How could she agree to those terms? What if she lost? She’d… “That’s fine by me,” she said before she could think about it, much to Cronus’s evident pleasure. It didn’t matter what the risk was; she wasn’t going to lose.
“Very well.” He snapped his claw and was gone. His voice came from somewhere high up in the spectator seats. “You have five minutes to select a weapon and prepare yourself for your trial.” A large hourglass appeared in the center of the ring, at least four times as tall as she was, its sand already flowing.
Running over to the weapon rack, Rainbow examined the offered weapons. Swords, spears, shields, all of various styles. If she was being honest with herself, she didn’t have the faintest clue what to do with any of it. Usually if she got into a fight her hooves alone were enough to take care of it, and Equestria hadn’t had much need for weapons in a very long time. However, she doubted highly she’d make it through a combat trial without a proper weapon. Her first instinct of a simple sword was debated for a time, until she caught sight of something strange laying at the edge of the rack. It was a long, thin blade attached to a leather band. She’d seen pictures of them before, and Daring Do had used one once, but wing blades had long faded into history. From what she remembered, they were specially designed for the fastest fliers; lightweight and maneuverable. Rainbow grinned, picking them up.
“An excellent choice,” Cronus said as she slipped the leather band over her wing, sliding it along until it was pressed against her back. The blade extended along the leading edge of her wing, protruding a few inches. Her other wing got the same, and she stepped back into the ring, watching the sand slowly drain. Taking a moment to experiment with the blades and how they moved. Mounted from near the base of her wings, they followed her movements but limited her flexibility. Nodding to herself, she took a moment to close her eyes and breath deeply. In her mind’s eye she visualized Twilight watching from the stands, cheering her on.
Rainbow opened her eyes in time to see the last of the sand fall. Cronus snapped his talon. In place of the hourglass before her was the armour clad skeleton of a pony. Its bones clicked together as it shuffled towards her slowly, the armour seeming to be the only thing holding it together. The metal looked as ancient as the bones it protected, visibly rusting and dented. She had to stop herself from scoffing as she crouched low, strafing to the side as it approached. Was that it?
“Round one has begun. Subdue or ring out your opponent by any means necessary.”
“Round one? How many- whoa!” Rainbow was forced to jump to the side as the skeleton lunged at her, a sword she hadn’t noticed before clutched in its jaw. Its bones rattled as it whirled around and went for another strike that was dodged just the same as Rainbow jumped back. She flicked her wing, holding it level and feeling her blade follow the motion. Just as the skeleton made for another swipe she charge forward, ducking under the sword and slamming her wing into it, hitting the chestplate just below its exposed neck and glancing off.
Cursing under her breath, Rainbow didn’t notice in time as her enemy recovered from the missed blow and swung. She tried to dodge, but the blade managed to catch her flank before she could fully get out of reach. Rainbow yelped, a small gash weeping blood down her hind leg. Glancing back and seeing it wasn’t deep or serious, Rainbow jumped into the air.
“Let’s see how you like this one.” She flew nearly straight up before looping and coming down, the skeleton staring up at her with its blade ready. Grinning, Rainbow rolled so she was on her back - and on the other side from the swing of its sword - and felt her blade hit its mark. The bones were hard, but her blade was sharp and with minimal resistance is sliced clean through the vertebrae holding the skull to the body. She heard the thunk of the helmet hiding the dirt, and turned to watch as the remaining bones fell apart into a pile of armour.
“Round one goes to Rainbow Dash,” Cronus announced, and she heard the snap of his talon as the skeleton’s remains dissolved into dust.
Rainbow snorted, pawing at the ground. “Gimme a challenge,” she boasted, grinning up at the empty spectator seats and seeing the purple mare she wished was watching.
The gryphon’s laughter echoed around the coliseum. “Be careful what you wish for, little mare -” there was another snap “-round two has begun.”
From the dust of the skeleton rose not one or two but three more. They all wore much heavier looking armour, lacking the visible wear from the previous one. Two had swords, while the third wielded a long, slender spear. The one with the spear glanced at each of the others, motioning with its hoof. They obeyed, splitting up and taking positions, one either of Rainbow’s flanks.
“Now that’s just not fair,” Rainbow muttered under her breath, keeping a careful eye on all three opponents. Legs coiled, ready to launch at a moment’s notice. However, none of the skeletons moved. Unlike the last one, they stood their ground and waited, watching her as she watched them. When it became clear she had to make the first move, Rainbow did what she always did; she charged forward, wings spread wide and ready.
The spearman readied its spear, crouching down. However, before she got within range for it to strike, Rainbow jumped into the air, soaring over the skeleton’s head with the aid of her wings and skidding to a stop behind it. She turned on a dime and charge again, wing angled low and aimed for the legs.
But the skeleton was faster. It turned and threw its spear, catching Rainbow off guard and forcing her to jump to the left to avoid it, where another of the skeletons had appeared, sword already raised. She just barely managed to move her wing up so her blade blocked the blow. Thinking fast, her other wing came around and slashed at the skeleton’s hind legs as she held it up. A clean hit sent one leg crumbling into dust, but she was too slow to react to the spear wielder coming up behind her. His thrust glanced her hind leg, and she crumpled. The sword she had been holding up came down on her shoulder, and she shrieked as it tore open her skin.
Panting, Rainbow caught sight of all three skeletons readying for another strike. This time, none of them would miss. “I’m not gonna let you stop me here,” she growled, ignoring the pain and tackling the sword wielder in front of her. It was caught off balance without its leg, and was toppled back out of the ring, where it dissolved into dust. Without looking back she jumped into the air, dodging another lunge from the spearman. She held a hoof to the wound in her shoulder, blood running down her leg.
“Come on, is that all you’ve got? I’ve gotten worse from crashing!” She taunted. The skeletons seemed to ignore it as they tracked her, one sheathing its sword. It reached behind it and from its back pulled a crossbow, a bolt already loaded. Rainbow easily dodged the shot, but the close call made it clear she didn’t have long before it hits its mark. She ran through options in her head, dodging another bolt that nearly clipped her wing. Ringing them out seemed like the easiest way to win, but after that worked on one of them the other two stayed nearer to the center of the circle. In her current state, there was no way she could take both of them head on. At least, not without some more serious injuries, and this was only the second round. She had no idea how long this trial was.
“What would Twilight do?” Rainbow asked aloud, yelping as another shot grazed her wing, taking a few feathers with it. She shook her head. “Zap ‘em with her magic, probably. Too bad I don’t have a horn…” trailing off, her pensive frown slowly turned into a smile. She didn’t have a horn, but what she did have might work just as well.
Rainbow flicked her feathers, testing the air, and grinned. A powerful beat of her wings later and she was rapidly circling the coliseum, just barely staying inside the ring. Her signature rainbow trail followed her, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was flying faster than she usually could. The next few crossbow shots missed entirely, the unpredictable winds blowing the bolts far off course. Channeling just a bit of her magic into her hooves, Rainbow reached back into the depths of her memories for the old stories of how pegasi used to make clouds before the weather machines were invented.
The wind currents she kicked up drew in the moisture from the surrounding air, and her magic helped to condense it in the center, a cloud slowly forming then growing bigger. By time she was done she had a cloud about the same size as a pony. It wasn’t much, but it would do.
“Thanks for wearing metal, guys!” Rainbow called, cockily blowing on a hoof before giving the cloud a swift punch. It rumbled angrily and a bright bolt of lightning arced down, attracted to the skeleton’s armour. There was an earth-shattering boom, and when the light dimed all that remained were two scorch marks in the dirt. Even Rainbow Dash looked surprised at the power of the lightning. “Whoa… it’s not usually that strong.”
“Round two goes to goes to Rainbow Dash.” Cronus’s grin was audible in his voice. Whether from her doing well or just the entertainment value was anyone’s guess. “You’ve earned a ten minute rest.”
Rainbow landed, panting slightly as she heard a snap. Before her appeared the same large hourglass from before, at its base were rolls of bandages and two ceramic pots. “Dress your wounds and prepare for the next round.”
Distracted, Rainbow limped her way over to the offered supplies. Her wing blades were thrown to the ground without much thought. One ceramic pot had clean water, which she took a few large drinks from before using it to wash her open cuts. The only one still bleeding was the gash on her shoulder. It was wide, but thankfully not too deep.
“There’s a salve in the other pot. Apply it to any open wounds.”
Rainbow jumped, forced out of her thoughts in time to see Cronus approach from the edge of the ring. She took off the lid to see a thick green paste. “So is this how you treat everyone or am I special?”
The gryphon chuckled. “I said I found you interesting, not that I liked you. The trial is in four parts, everyone gets a break in the middle.”
“Ow... “ Rainbow winced, slathering the salve over her shoulder and unrolling a bandage. With the aid of her wings she started wrapping it around her torso, covering as much of her injury as she could.
Cronus watched idly from a short distance away, still wearing his sunglasses. “I have to admit,” he said, watching the mare move to her less serious cuts. “That thundercloud was a stroke of brilliance. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a pegasus think to use their weather magic in combat.”
“Yeah, well, I wasn’t sure how well it’d work,” Rainbow admitted, finishing with her impromptu first aid and turning to face him. “Honestly I usually don’t get lightning that powerful. I figured it’d just stun ‘em or something.”
Nodding slowly, the gryphon scratched at his chin. “Ah, so you weren't aware. I think that makes it all the better that you went for it anyway.”
Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. “Aware of what?”
“Your magic - everyone’s magic - is more powerful here,” he paused a moment, “well, maybe not stronger. You just have easier access to it.”
“Huh?” Rainbow asked dumbly, and she got the impression he rolled his eyes behind his tinted lenses.
“Honestly,” he started, snapping his talons and making the remaining supplies vanish, “I’m surprised you didn’t notice sooner.”
Thinking back to when she’d first entered the Underworld, Rainbow frowned. “If anything, when I first got here I felt… sluggish. I feel great now, but it was like this place was sapping my energy before.”
“It was. The Underworld and Elysium are not the same. Do you know what the magic plain is?” He received a shake of her head. He sighed. “Back to basics, then. The world is made up of several plains, all stacked up next to each other. Think of it like-”
“A stack of pancakes?” Rainbow offered, suddenly noticing she was hungry. “Hey, you got-”
Cronus snapped his fingers and Rainbow Dash found a bowl of fruit at her hooves. “As I was saying-” he cleared his throat “-think of it like a stack of - ugh - pancakes. Each pancake is a different plain. The one at the bottom, the one upon which all other plains exist, is the plain of magic. This is the wellspring from which all forms of magic in the world come. That plain is the reason anything exists.”
“Uh-huh. Lotta magic, got it. What does that have to do with mine being stronger?” Rainbow asked through a mouthful of fruit.
Sighing again, the gryphon shook his head. “Fine. Basically, Elysium is closer to the magic plain than the Underworld. The closer you get the easier it is to call upon the magic that lingers there. Since you’re closer to the magic plain than you’re used to, you were able to channel much more energy than normal. The Underworld is farther from the plain than most others; the only two further are Tartarus and the Abyss. Those plains don’t have enough magic in them to sustain them normally, so they try and suck it out of anything that enters them from another plain.”
“Huh…” Rainbow smacked her lips, putting down an empty bowl. “Cool. So I can do more powerful weather stuff and my flying’s better. Got it.” She glanced back at the hourglass, ignoring the glare the gryphon shot at her. “Where’s Equestria in this pancake stack then?”
Cronus’s glare grew deeper at her chosen analogy. “Your mortal realm is situated in the center of it all; where there is perfect balance between the magic of creation and the void of existence. Now, as much as I enjoyed our little chat, I believe it’s time you readied yourself.” He nodded to the last few grains in the top of the hourglass. “I assure you the next two rounds will not be as forgiving as the first.”
With a snap of his claw he was gone and Rainbow Dash scrambled to her hooves, hastily fastened her blades to her wings. To her surprise the pain from her injuries was practically gone, and the bleeding from her shoulder had stopped entirely. Carefully swinging her hoof around, testing it, she found it to be mostly functional, with only a small decrease in her range of motion. “Just what was in that stuff?”
The time to wonder was cut short as, with another snap of a claw, the hourglass vanished. “Round three has begun,” Cronus announced. For a moment there was nothing. Rainbow looked around the ring, confused. Suddenly an intense rumbling shook the coliseum, the ground shaking as though there were an earthquake. She could just barely make out Cronus’s voice above the roar; “Some special rules for this round; you must destroy your opponent. There is no ring out condition. You have as much space as you want, but in exchange there is a time limit; you have twenty minutes or the match is considered a forfeit. Good luck, little mare.”
Rainbow Dash was forced to take wing as the ground began splitting open beneath her hooves, large crevices criss crossing the ring. From the depths of the earth came large, black boulders, floating under their own power and gather in the center of the stadium. Before her eyes a large, bipedal golem formed from the rocks. It was nearly as tall as the colosseum itself, its broad shoulders holding arms that dangled down into the dirt. All at once the rumbling stopped as the final few rocks floated into place on its body, and its eyes lit up a deep red. It jerked to life as if it was electrocuted, jaw falling open and emitting a roar that shook the ground like aftershocks.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The rock golem wasted no time in taking a swipe at her. It was large and clumsy but surprisingly fast, forcing Rainbow to stay on her toes as she dodged the swing. However, she wasn’t ready for the rush of air currents that followed, blowing her off course and right into the thing’s second swing with the other arm, hitting her square in the back and knocking the wind from her lungs as Rainbow was sent flying upwards. She spun in the air, vision swimming from the blow and struggling to breath. A moment of weightlessness passed and then she was falling.
Finally Rainbow righted herself, wings catching the air just as the golem tried to grab her, visibly growing confused when it caught nothing. That only seemed to make it angry as it roared again, taking a boulder from its chest and hurling it at the pegasus flying above its head like a fly. Rainbow dodged the rock easily, swooping around and landing a solid kick to the back of the golem’s head.
It did little but send a jolt of pain racing up her leg, and Rainbow was forced to dodge again when the same boulder that had been thrown at her came flying back like a boomerang, melding once more into its body. “How am I supposed to kill this thing?” She asked aloud, focusing for now on dodging its attacks while struggling to think of a plan. She doubted another lightning strike would work; it was made of rocks, for one thing. “Whoa!” Another large chuck of earth went flying past her. She took her chance while the golem’s arm was still extended and banked around, taking a swipe with her wing blade. There was a flash of sparks, and when they cleared a visible chunk had been taken out of the rock. But looking at the thing as a whole, she’d hardly scratched it.
“Well that’s not gonna work…” Rainbow cursed under her breath. Her weapons were useless, her lightning was useless. What more did she have? Make a tornado? The golem looked much too heavy for that, and she’d likely be smacked out of the air before the winds got strong enough to even effect the thing. Her options were rapidly approaching zero.
The golem roared again, louder this time, and Rainbow was forced to cover her ears from the intense volume. In that one moment she slowed, and that was all her opponent needed. With a speed that should have been impossible at its size the golem snatched her out of the air in its hand. The grip alone squeezed her painfully tight, but then it wound up and threw her into the ground like a hoofball in the end zone.
Rainbow’s ears rung from the impact, her vision blurred and a wet warmth ran down her head. She groaned, trying and failing to push herself to her hooves. The ground shook as the golem approached, and she managed to roll over onto her back in time to see the sky disappear behind a large foot made of rock. Somewhere in the haze clouding her mind she knew what was about to happen. Something told her she wouldn’t survive.
She knew she had to.
With every last bit of strength she could muster, Rainbow rolled herself out of the way just in time as the golem brought its foot down where she’d been just moments ago. The earth cracked and a crater formed where it stomped.
“Ten minutes,” Cronus announced, just barely audible over the ringing in her ears. Rainbow groaned, shaking her head in an attempt to clear the fuzz. She noticed the blood dripping down into the dirt.
The golem didn’t give her time to recover. It kicked, its foot slamming into her chest and once more sending her tumbling end over end into the air. Rainbow coughed, sharp pain lancing through her chest everytime she inhaled and a coppery taste filling her mouth. She caught herself in the air, hovering on shaking wings and wiping the blood from her lips. “Alright,” she wheezed, flying up higher despite her entire body protesting. “You wanna play that way? Fine. We’ll play that way.”
When the colosseum was a white speck far below and the enraged roars of the monster were nothing more than a faint rumbling, Rainbow stopped. She looked to her wings, noticing the bent and dented wing blades. They were removed in short order, sent falling back down to the ground as she lined herself up with the center of the arena. “C’mon, Dash. Twi’s waiting for you, can’t be dying here.”
With a firm nod to herself the descent began. Wings flapping, chest burning, head spinning, Rainbow dove. In almost no time at all she felt that all-too familiar feeling of the air fighting her. A visible cone forming around her outstretched hooves, crackling with energy. Instead of pushing past the barrier she held her speed steady, waiting for the perfect moment. The ground grew closer rapidly, but still she waiting. The golem could be seen, ready to throw another boulder.
It wouldn’t get the chance.
With a ear-splitting bang! Rainbow shattered the sound barrier, pulling up and rocketing forward at speeds she’d once found difficult to achieve. Some part of her knew she’d never been able to go this fast before. With her fore hooves Rainbow Dash slammed into the golem’s chest, dead center. Her momentum stopped for just a second, a sharp pain running up her legs, and a moment of panic raced through her mind. Was it not enough? Then she heard a cracking sound, then the shockwave of her Rainboom caught up to her and with a mighty explosion of pebbles and dust she smashed through the golem’s body. It collapsed in a pile of inanimate rubble.
Rainbow Dash was forced to pull up sharply to avoid crashing into the stone seats of the coliseum. A rainbow trail arched over the stadium as she bled off speed then descended slowly back to the ground. Landing in the center of the arena, Rainbow all but collapsed onto her back, panting heavily despite the sharp pain in her chest with every breath.
“Round three goes to Rainbow Dash.” Another snap. “Round four has begun.”
Groaning, Rainbow lifted her head just enough to see the pile of rock disappear, replaced by… nothing. She glanced around the arena, and saw nothing. She was confused, but her aching body wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her head rolled back into the dirt, and Rainbow stared up at the cerulean sky high above. Vaguely aware of the black tinge invading from the edge of her vision but unable to do anything about it, Rainbow struggled to catch her breath.
“Pathetic. Stand up and face your opponent. You’re a pegasus, aren’t you?”
Rainbow blinked, sitting upright and again looking around. Still, she didn’t see anything. Until she looked up, and her jaw nearly dropped. A pegasus hovered above her, dark blue, almost purple wings flapping steadily as the mare regarded her. She was clad in armour similar in age to the skeletons from before but easily identifiable as pegasus armour. Her mane was similar to Rainbow’s, with every colour of the rainbow, but instead of bright and vibrant the colours were dark and endlessly deep, cut short and crisp. The first thing Rainbow Dash noticed, however, was how accurate those sculptures in Cloudsdale were.
“C-commander Hurricane?”
Hurricane landed with a flourish, daintily inspecting a hoof. “Well, at least you know your history. Now act like it; stand and fight before I end this myself.”
Unable to do much else, Rainbow Dash scrambled to her hooves, mouth agape. “H-how… the Commander Hurricane? You’re, like, one of my heroes!”
“Your final trial,” Cronus’s voice explained. “Earn your spot in Elysium from a resident of the fields. Commander Hurricane Gale will be your judge. Prove to her you are worthy. Special rules for the final round are to be decided by the judge.”
Hurricane looked Rainbow Dash up and down, raising an eyebrow. “Tell me, what right do you think you have to claim a spot in eternal paradise?”
“W-what?” Rainbow tried to shake herself from her stunned stupor. Commander Hurricane was right in front of her!
Rolling her eyes, Hurricane shook her head. “Doesn’t matter; I’ll decide if you’re worthy. Is Palé still a thing?” she asked, already shedding her armour.
“Huh?” Rainbow had to force herself to pay attention and stop herself from gushing over meeting Commander Hurricane. “Uhhh… that’s the traditional style of wrestling, right? It’s still around, though I’m not too familiar with it. But-”
“Very well, I’ll give you a quick rundown of the rules; no punching or kicking, first to three points wins or you can force your opponent to submit. It’s a point if both your wings are touching the ground. A ring-out is also a point. Pretty basic, sound good?”
Rainbow nodded dumbly. Hurricane threw the last of her armour out of the ring. “Excellent, then your final trial shall be in the form of Palé. We begin on my signal. Before we fight, it’s tradition to exchange names. I am Commander Hurricane Gale. Who is my challenger?”
“R-Rainbow Dash, I’m-”
“I wish you luck, Rainbow Dash. You’ll need it. Ready? Go!”
“Wait what-oof!” Rainbow was cut off as Hurricane tackled her, ducking low and driving her shoulder into Rainbow’s ribs. An expert flick later and Rainbow found herself on her back, pinned by her wings to the ground.
“One point to me,” Hurricane grinned, backing off and allowing Rainbow to stand again. “Did you really make it through three rounds in this arena? I find it hard to believe.”
Rainbow growled, spitting out a glob of blood and crouching low as her will to fight sparked back to life, adrenalin numbing her pain. There was only one more obstacle between her and seeing Twilight again. It didn’t matter what - or who - it was. “We’ll see about that.” She charged forward. Hurricane dodged to the side with a roll of her eyes, but was caught off guard when Rainbow’s wing sprung open and wrapped around her hoof, pulling it out from under her as Rainbow headbutted into her side. Hurricane hit the ground, one wing spread to the sky to show that it wasn’t on the ground. Rainbow tried to pounce on it and pin it, but Hurricane rolled with it and before she knew what happened Rainbow was once more pinned beneath the more experienced fighter.
“Two points to me,” Hurricane jeered. “You may was well give up now.”
“I can’t do that,” Rainbow muttered as she was let up again, a wave of lightheadedness throwing her off balance as she stood. She held a hoof to her head, trying to steady herself, and it came away soaked in red.
Hurricane’s smile faded slightly. “You’re in no state to keep up the fight; just surrender.”
“Not a chance,” she said defiantly, ignoring the way her vision blurred slightly and once more adopting a fighting chance. “I’ve got too much riding on this to give up.”
“Why are you so desperate to get into Elysium, anyway? You weren’t judged worthy when you died, what makes you think you can brute force your way in?”
“I never died,” Rainbow answered, charging forward again. This time with a flap of her wings she tackled Hurricane from above and they both tumbled to the ground, their wings outstretched and kept off the ground. Rainbow landed on top of Hurricane’s back, pinning one wing to the ground. “And I’m not here to get into Elysium.” As she went to pin the other wing Hurricane managed to slip free, grabbing Rainbow by the neck and rolling until she was on top. Rainbow’s wings stayed extended upwards even as she lay on her back. She grabbed Hurricane’s hooves in her own to prevent a pin.
“What do you mean you aren’t dead?” Hurricane grunted, trying to wrestle her hooves free. “Of course you are; you’re in the Underworld!”
Rainbow wrapped her wings around Hurricane’s barrel and trapped the other mare’s wings there, rolling them so she was on top and using her wings to push Hurricane’s into the dirt. “That’s one for me,” Rainbow grinned, backing away. Hurricane leapt to her hooves.
“What do you mean you aren’t dead?” she demanded, keeping her distance.
Shrugging her shoulder, Rainbow said, “I’m not dead; I came here to bring somepony back.”
“What?”
“My friend died,” Rainbow answered simply. “I’m here to bring her back to life.”
Hurricane seemed at a genuine loss for words, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the living pegasus in the land of the dead. She didn’t have time to react as Rainbow tackled her and pinned her without hesitation. “That’s two for me.”
Standing up, Hurricane shook her head. “I admit; I misjudged you. I won’t make that mistake again.” She charged, but Rainbow was ready for it. Meeting her tackle head-on, Rainbow forced them both onto their hind hooves, each trying to throw to the other off balance as their hooves locked.
“I can’t lose here,” Rainbow muttered through clenched teeth. “Not when I’m this close.”
Hurricane scoffed. “You can’t beat me.”
“Watch me.”
Rainbow jumped back with a powerful flap of her wings, and in the split second Hurricane was off balanced she dove forward, landing on top of Hurricane. However, both of Hurricane’s wings remained off the ground, and Rainbow realised too late her flared wings as Hurricane reached up and grabbed them for leverage. They rolled, and once again Rainbow Dash found herself pinned. One wing in the dirt, the other held just inches above it in Hurricane’s hoof.
“You can’t beat me,” Hurricane repeated, emphasizing her point by pushing Rainbow’s remaining wing a little closer to the ground. “Any last words?”
Staring at the space between her wing and the dirt, Rainbow Dash’s mind raced for a way out. When she came up empty, and she looked up at the stadium, she saw Twilight sitting there. That same look in the alicorn’s eye as when she smiled up at her on that final day.
“No…” Every last ounce of strength Rainbow could muster came out with that utterance of denial, and she pressed her hooves into Hurricane’s chest. “No,” she said again, lifting the mare and freeing her wings. “I can’t lose.”
But Hurricane was stronger, grabbing Rainbow’s hooves and pinning them above the mare’s head. “You’re going to.”
“I can’t!” Rainbow practically screamed, thrashing with as much force as she could muster. It wasn’t enough, and she stayed pinned.
Hurricane shook her head. “Why is this friend so important to you, anyway?”
Rainbow didn’t answer her, continuing to try and break free. The adrenalin was fading, and her wounds were catching up to her.
“You’re throwing your life away for nothing, you know,” Hurricane shook her head at the display. “You’re no good to anypony - living or dead - if you die.”
“I don’t care!” Rainbow shouted, collapsing as the last of her strength left her in the blood soaking into the dirt. Her vision was growing faded and her hooves were numb. “I have to get her back! I have to bring Twilight back!”
“Why?” Hurricane demanded, slamming Rainbow’s hooves into the ground. “It’s just one mare. Why is she so important?”
“She’s my friend!”
“She’s dead!”
“I can bring her back!”
Hurricane growled, using one hoof to keep Rainbow’s hooves pinned and using the other to pin a wing. “Why would you?”
“Because I love her!” Rainbow’s cry shook the stadium, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. Her shoulders shook as she struggled not to openly sob. “Because I love her, and I couldn’t do anything but sit there and watch her die.
“Because it’s my fault she had to sacrifice herself. If I hadn’t fallen for that trap, if I’d gotten out, if I’d just been there with her…” Rainbow trailed off, again weakly struggling to free herself despite the pain and exhaustion wracking her body from the previous trials. “It’s my fault she died. I have to bring her back.”
Hurricane seemed to pause, regarding the pinned mare curiously as bitter tears joined the blood saturating the ground. She nodded her head solemnly, releasing Rainbow’s hooves. “All for love, is it?” Hurricane sighed as two blue wings touched to the ground. “That’s three.”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw hung open as she stared at the blue wing tips touching the dirt. Hurricane pressed her feathers into the ground a second before folding her wings and stepping away. “That’s three points. The winner is Rainbow Dash.”
Cronus appeared before the mares, a grin stretched across his beak. “Round four goes to Rainbow Dash. Congratulations; you are hereby deemed worthy of the Elysian Fields. Eternal paradise is yours.”
“W-what?” Rainbow tried to stand but found her limbs unresponsive. She’d… won? Despite her confusion, relief washed over her, and as her adrenalin drained the blood loss and injuries caught up to her and her vision faded to black.
“She’s absorbing all the magic Tirek stole, but her body can’t handle it and the magic from four alicorns. If she keeps it up-” Discord was cut off as their bubbles popped, unceremoniously dumping them on the ground.
Rainbow Dash caught herself quickly, rushing over to Twilight and holding the alicorn upright. “Twi? Twilight? Can you hear me?”
Her cries died down gradually as she was surrounded by her friends, and when Twilight opened her eyes they were glowing a blinding white. “I’m sorry girls,” she whispered, her voice weak. “It was the only way.”
With a pulse of magic a rainbow coloured beam shot from her horn straight into the sky, a ring flying out from it and washing over the land. Ponies all over Equestria found their cutie marks returned to them in an instant.
Twilight went slack in Rainbow’s hooves, her breathing shallow and her coat visibly singed and smouldering from the massive amount of magic that had been forced through her.
“T-Twilight?” Spike ventured hesitantly, holding her hoof in his claw. She smiled down at him, tousling his spines.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
She closed her eyes, and one final beam of magic arced out of her horn before her breathing stopped entirely.
“Twilight!” Rainbow shouted, shaking the alicorn desperately, not even registering her cutie mark reappearing. “C’mon Twi, you gotta get up. You gotta-” she was cut off as, in a blinding flash of light, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence appeared around them.
“Tirek,” Celestia’s low growl chilled the air around them, her gaze hardened on the centaur as he lay on the ground, skinny and frail. She stopped as her gaze fell on the alicorn in Rainbow’s hooves.
“Princess! It’s Twilight, she-” Rarity’s cry was silenced not by a voice but by what she saw. Celestia’s mane, ordinarly flowing in a calm, ethereal wind, looked more akin to pastel rainbow flames, whipping wildly around her head.
Again, the princess spoke. “Tirek.” The once chilling tone became a raging inferno. Her horn glowed a deep, angry red like the flames of the sun itself. “Your crimes here today have proven you unworthy of even the deepest depths of Tartarus.”
“No!” Tireks’ voice was as weak as he looked, struggling to his hooves and looking pleadingly at the draconequus wearing his brother’s gift. “Discord! Help me, get us out of here!”
Discord ignored his begging, watching from a few steps behind as the gathered mares surrounded Twilight. Cadence was with them in an instant, Luna standing next to her sister.
“I hereby find you, Tirek, guilty of regicide,” Celestia’s voice boomed through the scorched and smouldering field. The grass beneath her hooves was set aflame. “The penalty for which shall be eternal imprisonment in the flames of the sun. This verdict shall be carried out immediately.”
“Discord! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! I-” his pitiful plea was silenced as a beam of magic smashed into him, and he seemed to disintegrate from the sheer force of it. The blast only grew more powerful as time passed, the sound of it drowning out Celestia’s scream of rage to all but herself. When she finally relented there was nothing left of the centaur but another smoking patch scarring the landscape.
Luna placed a hoof on her sister shoulder, feeling the heaving of the elder’s chest. They shared a look, and slowly Celestia’s mane returned to normal as they turned to the circle of ponies, most too distracted to have paid attention to Tirek’s fate.
“P-princess…” Pinkie Pie spoke hesitantly, looking up. “You can help her, right? You can save her. She’s going to be okay!”
Luna looked to Cadance, who shook her head. She bowed slightly. “I’m truly sorry, Twilight is-”
“No…” Rainbow Dash hadn’t moved a muscle. She just sat there, numb to the world as she stared down at that peaceful smile, a stark contrast to the patches of burned fur and dirtied coat. “Please no… you can’t. Twilight can’t be…”
“Twilight Sparkle has died.” Celestia’s voice was a heartbroken whisper.
Tears fell onto Twilight’s face, and Rainbow didn’t even notice as they dripped from the end of her muzzle. “You can’t be dead, Twi… I… I haven’t told you…” her voice dropped to near inaudible muttering. “I never told you…”
Rainbow Dash jolted awake, her eyes snapping open. She stared up at a non descript stone ceiling, something soft beneath her and something warm covering her. She blinked, noticing the dull, throbbing ache that seemed to pulse over her entire body.
“You’re awake.”
The pegasus turned to the soft-spoken voice, her eyes falling on a familiar mare next to her. She gasped. “Commander Hurricane, I-”
Hurricane held up a hoof, silencing her with ease. “I haven’t been a commander in a long, long time. Just Gale is fine.”
“G-gale?”
She flashed a smile. “It’s what my friends call me. Hey-” Hurricane reached out and put an end to Rainbow’s feeble attempt to crawl out of bed. “-easy. Relax; you’re in no shape to be moving around yet; you’ve been out for a while. You took one heck of a beating in the arena.”
“M-my bags,” Rainbow insisted, looking around the room. It was small, made of carved stone with little else in it besides her bed and the chair Gale sat in. A small window above her head allowed a shimmering stream of light in. “I need my bags, I- I need to get going.”
“They’re right here,” Gale assured, lifting them up from the floor and showing them to the pegasus. “You necklace, too; Cronus gave it all to me to hold on to. But I’m not letting you out of that bed until your body is ready.”
Seeing the purple star hooked onto the clasp of her bags, Rainbow allowed herself to relax back into the bed despite her desire to look for Twilight. “What happened? Where am I?” She asked.
“You’re still in the coliseum. I’m not much of a medic but I did what I could for your wounds. As for what happened, you passed out; your injuries were pretty severe by the end of it, and you’d lost a lot of blood. I-”
Rainbow shook her head. “I know. I want to know what happened with our fight. I lost.”
“Ah…” Gale reclined in her chair, looking to the ceiling. “Well, technically both my wings touched the ground, so you got the point and won. But…” she gave a sideways glance to the mare in the bed. “That’s not really what you wanted to know.” Sighing, Hurricane shook her head. “I wasn’t just your opponent for the final round, I was the judge; it was my decision whether or not you were deemed worthy of Elysium..”
“I lost,” Rainbow repeated, frowning up at the legendary commander. “You beat me fair and square.”
Hurricane chuckled. “Yeah, I did. I won, and I still thought you belonged here in Elysium. You got a problem with that?” Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, but shut it with an audible click when Gale shot her a look. The commander nodded approvingly. “I didn’t think so.”
A moment of silence passed, and eventually Rainbow Dash asked; “Why?”
Seeming to debate the question, Hurricane ran a hoof through her short mane. “Why?” She echoed curiously, as though asking herself the same question. “Because… well, I can tell you it wasn’t out of pity, if that’s what you’re thinking. Honestly, I can’t quite put a hoof on it myself. Maybe it was because even after all the previous trials, how injured and exhausted you were, you still put up one heck of a fight. But I suppose…” Hurricane trailed off, watching the other mare out of the corner of her eye. “I know what it’s like, to risk everything for the pony you love.”
Rainbow visibly blushed, recalling her outburst in the arena. Gale noticed and laughed. “Relax, kid; it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. This girl of yours has got to be one heck of a mare.”
“Heh, you have no idea. Twilight’s...” She felt herself smile. “Twilight’s incredible. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. I’ll bet you mine’s better.”
Shaking her head, Rainbow gave the other pegasus a challenging smirk. “I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”
Hurricane chuckled. “Kid, my mare’s one of the best mages the unicorn tribe ever produced. Personal aid to Princess Platinum. One of the three who defeated the Windegos.”
“You’re kidding…” Rainbow trailed off, though rather than in awe she had to force herself to stop from bursting out laughing. “You dated Clover the Clever?”
Flashing a victorious grin, Gale nodded. “Not just dated; I married Clover. Who’s this Twilight, again?”
Rainbow couldn’t resist a few giggles slipping out as she said; “Oh, you know; just the wielder of the Element of magic, who fought - and defeated - the literal god of chaos. And a Changeling Queen more powerful than Celestia. And a bunch of other thousand-year-old enemies. Oh, and did I mention she’s the only unicorn to become an alicorn by discovering an entirely new type of magic?”
The look of Commander Hurricane’s face was priceless.
“Well…” Gale stuttered over her words for a second, puffing out her chest. “I guess you did alright for yourself. So, were you two married yet, or…?” She let her question hang in the air, and watched as Rainbow’s face fell from an infuriatingly smug smirk to a pensive frown.
“Actually…” she sighed, suddenly becoming aware of her situation again. Laying in bed, bandaged and broken. Useless. “I… I never told her. How I felt about her, I mean.” Rainbow fiddled with her hooves under the sheet, trying her best to glare at her past self. “There was always a reason not to, y’know? We had to do this thing, or the fact that she was always doing her Princess stuff and I was always with the Wonderbolts. It just… I always told myself it wouldn’t have worked out. And we were great friends already, and I was okay with that.
“A-and then…” she felt the tears coming again, but didn’t try to stop them. “And then she died, because of me, and I… I knew I had to bring her back.”
Hurricane nodded, slowly. “You know, as soon as I saw you, I felt like I knew you. I know why, now: You remind me of my daughter. There was this stallion she had the biggest crush on. They’d been friends since they were kids, but I saw the way she pined after him. One day, I asked her why she didn’t do anything about it; they’d have made a great pair, and he had always been there for her when she needed him. But she just smiled at me, and explained how he’d come to her talking about his feelings - for another mare.
“It broke her, inside.” Gale looked off into the distance, memories playing out before her eyes. “Still, she wouldn’t tell him how she felt. Well, eventually he gathers the nerve and asks this mare out, and she says yes, and years go by and suddenly it’s their wedding day. My daughter came to me crying the day they announced it. She’d never even thought about dating anypony else. He was the one for her. She was sure of it. She thought if they were meant to be together, they’d end up together. Somehow.
“The day comes, and we all go and my daughter has this look on her face all day - the same look I used to get, when I was young. I knew what it meant; she was about to do something stupid. They’re going through the ceremony, and that part comes up; you know the one. They ask if there are any objections, and what does my daughter do?”
Rainbow gave a hopeful smile. “Tell him how she feels?”
“I wish,” Gale shook her head slowly. “I kept nudging her, trying to get her to say something. But no; she just sat there and watched, and when it was over she stood around congratulating them and laughing with them. I watched my daughter die inside that day, and I couldn’t do anything about it. It wasn’t until a few years later I learned what she’d done, why she’d had that look.
“It turned out, just before their wedding, my daughter had confessed everything to the stallion. He told her he’d fawned over her, too, for a long time, but that he eventually accepted she wasn’t interested and moved on. He said he still loved her, but that he loved his wife more, now, and that he couldn’t leave her.”
Hurricane’s vision returned to the present, and she focused on Rainbow Dash. “I tell you this story because I see my daughter in you; you’d rather give up your own happiness for somepony else before you try and pursue it for yourself. Don’t make her mistake; I want you to promise me something, right now. In return for letting you win that match.” He eyes were full of a fire that left no room for negotiation. “When you find Twilight in this place, you don’t hesitate another second; you tell her how you feel. How you’ve always felt. No excuses, no matter what. Got it?”
“It’s not that easy,” Rainbow muttered dejectedly. “I can’t just-”
“Why not?”
Rainbow looked at the older mare like she’d grown a second head. “W-what? You can’t be suggesting I just-”
“I’m suggesting you just walk up to her and tell her you love her. Yes.” Hurricane shrugged. “Why not? What do you have to lose? You’ve literally travelled through hell for this mare. It’s clear you love her, and if you really are anything like my daughter, I can guarantee she likes you too.”
“How can you be so sure?” Rainbow snorted. “She’s… amazing. Smart and kind and everything I’m not.”
Hurricane sighed, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle. “I swear, you’re worse than my daughter. Fine, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll do everything I can to help you find her if you make that promise.”
Hesitating, Rainbow chewed her lip. “In my bags - left side - there’s a compass. Can you get it for me?”
“Compass?” Hurricane asked, arching an eyebrow even as she complied. She pulled out the small box and passed it over. “Why?”
Rainbow flipped it open, and the needle spun. Once… twice… three times. A feeling of dread shrouded her as it did slow rotations at a steady pace. It didn’t stop like it usually did. “W-what? No! It… it can’t be broken! Why…”
“What’s wrong?”
“It… it must be broken… when I crossed the bridge?” Rainbow stared as the needle spun, wracking her memory for when it could have broken. It had been working fine until she’d crossed the bridge, but she hadn’t checked it since then.
Hurricane frowned, watching as the mare’s breathing grew faster. “Hey, it’s just a compass, what’s so important about it?”
“It’s not just a compass. It’s the Dragon King’s Compass.”
Rainbow’s head snapped up to see Cronus, leaning against the stone entrance. Still in sunglasses. “Did you do something to it?”
The gryphon shrugged. “I never touched it. You’re the one that’s broken. Or, rather, your heart. Surely you know of the limits of the compass?”
For a moment, Rainbow was confused, but then Luna’s words came rushing back to her; “for it to work there can be no doubt in your mind, no turmoil in your heart over what it is you want.”
“Are you saying I don’t know what I want?” Her tone was accusatory. “I’ve never thought about anything but getting Twilight back.”
Cronus shook his head. “And I found you so interesting. You disappoint me, little mare. No, who you want hasn’t changed in the least. But what do you want, hmm? Something has changed about your heart’s desire, and the compass can no longer point you in the right direction when not even you know what you truly want.”
“What I want?” Rainbow echoed, looking back to the compass. It seemed to only spin faster. “I know what I want…”
“Sure you do, that’s why the compass is still working.” He chuckled at the glare she shot him. “You are a train, barreling towards its destination without any breaks. But what happens when you run out of track, hmm? Now, as entertaining as this has been, it’s about time you stop taking up a perfectly good room in my coliseum. Eternal Paradise awaits you.”
Hurricane spoke up, rising from her chair. “She needs rest right now; those trials almost killed her.”
Cronus exaggerated a roll of his eyes from behind his tinted lenses. “She knew what she was getting into. Besides; she’s fine. Stand up, Rainbow Dash.”
Looking between the two of them, Rainbow shrugged, more than ready to get out of bed. She jumped to her hooves, surprising herself by just how fine she felt. It was like the trials had been days ago rather than just a few hours. Dull aches and pains still reminded her of injuries but they were little more than after-images. “What-”
“You’re fine,” Cronus said with an exasperated tone. “Come on; it’s my job to guide worthy souls to Elysium.”
Hurricane stopped her before she could follow him out of the room, looking her over with an increasingly surprised expression. “That’s… not possible. It should have taken you almost a week to recover enough to be on your hooves. How…” she trailed off, and Rainbow Dash shrugged, more than happy to be out of bed as she threw her bags over her back and her necklace one more came to rest against her chest.
“No idea. Maybe it has something to do with being closer to the magic pancake thing, or whatever.” She offered, wasting no time in hurrying out the door. A glance was spared at the compass, now held in her wing, but still it refused to point her where she needed to go.
“Magic… pancake?” Hurricane asked the empty room, scratching her head in confusion. With a shake of her head she shelved the question for later and soon joined the other two in the curved stone hallway outside the small room.
Rainbow stared down at her hooves, her brow creased even as the stale stone corridor lead back into the arena. Thoughts swirled in her head in an endless loop of questions. Every now and then she glanced at the compass in her wing, watched it spin, the resumed her inward gaze. She only looked up when she realized she was about to walk into Cronus.
The gryphon shot her an unreadable look, before motioning in front of him. He’d lead them out of the coliseum, into the grassy field around it, and right back to the bridge Rainbow Dash had crossed from the underworld. However, before she could ask, Cronus gave a little smirk and with a snap of his talon the fog parted from the bridge, and Rainbow could see clear across to the other side.
It wasn’t the Underworld; it looked… well, it looked like eternal paradise. It was a field, much the same as the one the coliseum stood in, but the grass seemed to be more vibrant and it was filled with purple flowers so bright they seemed to glow. The sky was the richest blue she’d ever seen and golden sunlight warmed her face.
“Weclome, Rainbow Dash, to the Elysian Fields.” Cronus announced, motioning her forward with a wing.
Rainbow complied hesitantly, noticing even the bridge seemed different from last time; it wasn’t rotting, and didn’t sway at all. The winds that once rushed up from the river below no longer blew, and the wooden boards didn’t make a noise as she crossed. Hurricane followed behind her, and she glanced back just in time to see Cronus give her a wave. “I wish you luck, little mare. We’ll meet again when your time comes.” With that curious farewell he snapped his claw and the fog closed around the bridge once more, obscuring his little island from view.
With no other options, Rainbow pushed forward until her hooves touched land, and she felt the grass brush against her coat. There had been grass around the arena, sure, but here… it was different. Softer. The ground was warm, the sun bright and high above, a gentle wind taking the edge off the heat.
Hurricane took note of the mare’s look. “Yeah, I had about the same reaction when I first got here. At first it’s not all that different from the mortal realm, but it’s just a little bit better, y’know?”
Shaking herself out of her stupor at Hurricane’s words, Rainbow quickly looked to her compass. Still spinning. “Stupid thing.” She cursed under her breath, angrily throwing it back into her bag. “Right, so, where do we start looking? I mean, she’s an alicorn; can’t be that hard to find her, right?”
“Excuse me?” Gale raised an eyebrow, crossing her forelegs. “I didn’t say I’d just help you. I asked for something in return, and you haven’t done it.”
Rainbow grumbled. “Fine. I… I promise.” Hurricane didn’t seem satisfied, rolling a hoof in the air, motioning for her to continue. She sighed. “Fine. I promise; as soon as we find Twilight, I’ll tell her… how I feel…” Rainbow’s voice dropped towards the end, but it was still audible, and Gale seemed to mull it over.
“Alright, that’ll do for now, but I’ll be holding you to that. As for where we start looking, Elysium is a big place - almost as big as Equestria. I haven’t heard of a newcomer for quite a while, and news like that tends to travel. Especially if anyone noticed an alicorn walking around. So, wherever she is, she’s likely been there since she died.”
“Aaaand… how do we find her?”
Hurricane shrugged. “You’re the one who knew her; you tell me. This is eternal paradise; there’s something here for everyone. What is it this mare loved more than anything when she was alive? If she could spend eternity somewhere, where would it be?”
Humming in thought, Rainbow rubbed her chin with a hoof. “Somewhere Twilight would want to be forever?”
“Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow jolted awake at the shrill cry, jumping to her hooves and ready to take flight at a moment’s notice. It took her a second to realize where she was and why she was being yelled at. For one, she was in the library, and despite definitely remembering it being late afternoon, out the windows she could only see darkened sky. As for why she was being yelled at…
“Heh… sorry, Twilight…” she trailed off sheepishly, watching as the book she had been reading was daintily levitated into the air, a noticeable pool of drool soaking into the pages. “Guess I feel asleep.”
Twilight shot her a deadpan look, though it quickly melted into disgusted horror as saliva dripped from the book. “I noticed. Honestly, Rainbow, how many times do I have to clean your - ugh - drool, off of my books?”
Too embarrassed to defend herself, Rainbow just scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “Sorry…” she muttered, feeling a distinct heat in her cheeks. With a flash of magic most of the offending liquid was cleared off, and the wet pages were carefully separated before the book, too, was teleported out of sight.
“It’s… fine…” Twilight said in a way that made it quite clear it was anything but.
“C’mon, Twi; it’s just a book,” Rainbow grumbled.
“It’s just a book,” Twilight repeated mockingly. “It’s more than just a book! It’s… it’s information! Knowledge! It’s everything!”
A single eyebrow was raised. “It’s Daring Do. You’ve read it, like, a bajillion times.”
Twilight’s glare could freeze a fire. “It’s important! Books are important, Rainbow Dash. Sure, it might not be a textbook on advanced mathematics, but it’s just as important. It’s a portion of our culture, it’s a story many hold dear. It’s…” she trailed off, muzzle scrunching before her eyes lit up. “It’s like your trophies!”
“My trophies?”
She nodded rapidly. “Think about it like this; why do you keep your trophies? Why do you display them?”
Rainbow was definitely following this comparison, but having just drooled all over one of Twilight’s books, she figured going along with it was the least she could do. “Because… I’m awesome?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay, yes, but it’s more than that, right? I mean; everypony knows you’re ‘awesome’-” she made a show of making air quotes, and Rainbow had to bite her tongue to keep from objecting “-and you know you earned them. So why do you still keep them? Isn’t the achievement alone enough?”
“I mean I guess, but-”
“But you display them anyway. Because they’re important, right? It doesn’t matter how many times you see them, or how much you think about how awesome you are, they’re a part of who you are. You’re proud of them, proud of your achievements, right?
“Well, think of books like that; they’re some of their authors greatest achievements. They contain the stories and knowledge of ponies all over Equestria. Just like your trophies are a physical representation of you victories. Books are a way for ponies to live after they pass away, too. All books are important; they pass on the memories and imagination of the ponies who came before us. Just like the Wonderbolts Hall of Fame. They preserve a legacy for future generations.”
Rainbow frowned, rubbing her chin. “Yeah… I can kinda see what you’re saying I guess. But I mean-”
“And how would you feel if I, say, dropped and dented one of your trophies?”
Suddenly feeling that this analogy was about to bite her in the flank, Rainbow cringed. “Not great?” Twilight just gave her a pointed look, and she guiltily rubbed the back of her neck. “Sorry, Twilight…”
“It’s alright, Rainbow,” Twilight said, this time genuinely. “Just…. Try not to fall asleep on my books again?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. Of course; there was only one place Twilight would want to spend an eternity.
“The Halls of Knowledge,” Hurricane supplied distractedly, squinting at the sky. “What about it?”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, right. Just what exactly is it? Like you said it was some kinda library but-”
“The Library,” Gale corrected.
“Yeah, a library, I get it, but like-”
Hurricane stopped abruptly, forcing Rainbow to do the same. She turned and their eyes met. “No, you really don’t. It is not a library. It is the library. The Halls contain every book ever written. All the collective knowledge of every sentient being that ever lived. Or possibly ever will live, depending on who you ask. Some think it’s infinite. The Halls are the ultimate collection of information.”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah right, sure; that’s totally where Twilight is. Books are kinda her thing. But you said something about a curse?”
“It’s… complicated…” Hurricane trailed off, glancing around. They were in a field that looked like any other, but the sun had started sinking towards the horizon, bathing the lush green grass in a fiery orange light. The purple flowers that seemed to be just as plentiful as the grass itself grew brighter as the sunlight diminished. They’d been walking - seemingly aimlessly - for hours now, and Rainbow Dash was starting to grow impatient.
“Well apparently we’ve got time.”
Gale rolled her eyes. “We’re almost there. I think. It’s been a while since I’ve been there…” she lapsed into silence again, and the pensive frown on her face made it clear something was on her mind.
“You’re not telling me something,” Rainbow noted, glancing down at her pendant. “Is Twilight in danger in this place? Should we be hurrying?”
“No, no; she’s fine… for now…”
Rainbow frowned. “You’re not exactly filling me with confidence here, ‘commander’.”
Despite herself, Gale chuckled. “If you were under my command you’d be really regretting that, you know?”
“You’re changing the subject.”
She sighed. “It’s… hard to explain. I’ve only been inside once, but it’s like… it’s like the Halls don’t want you to leave. There’s this… feeling, you get, when you try. It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you don’t want to leave. Many never do…” Again there was that melancholy look in her eye.
“It’s a possibility you need to be prepared for. If it’s how I think, it gets worse the longer you’re in there and the deeper you go. I was only inside for a few hours near the entrance, and it took me nearly twice as long to get out between the maze-like hallways and how hard it was to convince myself that I needed to leave. If she’s been in there for over a year, and if she went deeper in…” her silence said what she didn’t, and Rainbow’s brow knotted.
“I’ll figure out some way to snap her out of it,” she said confidently. “I’m not leaving without her.”
“We’re here.”
The announcement was sudden, and Rainbow nearly bumped into the other pegasus, too distracted to notice Gale had stopped. She looked up, but instead of some large, grand building or… anything, really, there was more grassy field. “We’re… where, exactly?”
Hurricane pointed with a hoof off into the distance, and Rainbow Dash had to squint to make out what she was supposed to be looking at. It was… a gate? It looked like the gate one would see at the entrance to a walled city; large and grand with stone pillars on either side and a triangular top. Except… it didn’t lead to anything; it was just the gate, sitting out in the middle of a field.
Before Rainbow Dash could ask the question brewing in her mind, she snapped her muzzle shut. Was a gate that didn’t lead anywhere really the strangest thing she’d seen? “That’s the entrance, then?”
“Well, more like a portal, really, but yes; that’s the entrance to the Halls of Knowledge.”
They approached the gate as the sun set beyond the rolling green hills, and Rainbow found herself watching the stars starting to shine in the sky. Then she looked to the star around her neck. She smiled at her guide. “She’s in there. I know it.”
Hurricane nodded. “I don’t doubt it.” They came to the base of the entrance, and its size became apparent; it was easily taller than an average house, and just as wide. It was composed of large, red wooden doors with brass studs in a grid. On either side were stone pillars stretching up and supporting a triangular roof that overhung on all sides. There was a small flight of a half dozen stone steps that lead up to the doors, raising them off the ground.
Marveling up at the structure, Rainbow did a full circle around it, making sure it really was as simply as it seemed. When she concluded that it was, indeed, just a door in the middle of a field, she looked back to Gale. “How do we open it?”
Hurricane nodded towards two large, gold rings attached to each door. “Manually. But, before we do, I need to tell you something; I’m not coming with you.”
“What? You said-”
“I said I’d help you find her.” Hurricane gestured at the door. “I brought you to where she is. But… I can’t go in there again. After the last time… I’m sorry; I barely made it out. I can’t risk going in again. Too many have gone in there and never come back out.”
Rainbow growled. “We had a deal! I promised to tell her how I felt, and you’d do everything you could to help!”
“This is your journey, not mine,” Hurricane answered solemnly, ignoring further argument as she flew up to one of the golden rings. “Come on; you should get going. It’s getting dark.”
Rainbow’s glare didn’t relent, but she did as instructed and latched onto the other ring.
“On three!” Gale shouted. She did the count, and in unison they pulled. At first the doors seemed to hold fast, but after a couple seconds of grunting exertion from both pegasi there was a groaning as the wood moved. It was slow, but the doors swung open gradually, and they stopped as soon as there was enough room for a pony to slip through the opening.
“You’re seriously not coming with me?” Rainbow asked, double checking her saddlebags - and frowning as her compass still spun uselessly.
“I know if I go in there, I’m never coming out. See if you can find someone already inside to guide you. A lot of ponies have gone in over the centuries,” Hurricane explained, though it seemed to do little to appease the other pegasus. “Look, kid, I’m sorry, but I’m not risking my after-life for your mare. That’s on you. But I will still help you; while you’re in there, I’ll look for this flower you said you need. What did you call it? The-”
“A Poppy of the Soul.” Rainbow sighed, but relented with a nod. “I guess I can’t ask for anything else. You already let me win our match; I’m the one who owes you.”
Hurricane chuckled. “If you hadn’t been so injured I think that match would have been much closer than it already was.”
Smiling proudly at the compliment, Rainbow laughed as well. “We’ll have to have a rematch some day.”
“That we will…” Hurricane trailed off, looking to the slight opening in the doors. It was pitch black inside, and she shuddered as she felt a tugging on her mind, as though the halls were calling her back. “You should go.”
Rainbow glanced over her shoulder. “Yeah… thanks, for everything.” She snapped to attention and saluted. “Thank you, commander!” She barked, and Hurricane saluted her back. Rainbow couldn’t hold back a girly squeal. “I’ve wanted to do that since I met you!”
“Go on, kid,” Hurricane urged with a smile. “You have a mare to save, don’t you?”
“Right…” Rainbow took a breath, approaching the large stone steps that lead up to the door. “Wish me luck.” Gale nodded encouragingly, and Rainbow reached the door, squinting to try and see into the inky blackness within. Hesitantly she stepped forward, her hoof hitting a hard floor she couldn’t see. Slowly she moved forward, darkness enveloping her vision until the only thing she could see was the slight gap in the doors behind her.
“Be careful in there, kid!” Hurricane called. “And if you find-” her words were silenced as the door slammed shut, and Rainbow Dash was shrouded in an endless void. For a few, tense moments there was nothing, until suddenly Rainbow felt like the world shifted around her. Her stomach churned and she was reminded of the times Twilight had teleported her. In the blink of an eye the darkness shifted to a warmly lit interior of what, so far as she could tell, was an ordinary library. If a bit larger than anything she’d seen before.
The floor was tiled stone and the walls were lined with dark wooden bookshelves, each stacked full of countless books. Rainbow spun in a circle, taking in the room that was at least as large as the throne room in Canterlot. All four walls were covered two stories high in books of every shape and size. A balcony wrapped around the upper level, connecting to a grand staircase leading up from the center of the room with polished wood handrails and a lush red carpet covering the stone steps.
Torches stuck out from the wall, their flickering light providing a comfortable light. In the center of each wall were passageways outlined by stone arches, the walls beyond equally coated in shelves and books.
Rainbow frowned, cupping her hooves around her mouth. “TWILIGHT!?” Her shout was answered only by its echo. She sighed. “Of course. It’s never that easy, is it?”
On instinct alone she fished her compass out of her bags. The incessant spinning was starting to get on her nerves, and with a frustrated grunt it was roughly put away. “Alright… sooo… this way?”
Without any better options, Rainbow shrugged to herself and started off down a random corridor. Of course Twilight would get lost in a library. Her mind trailed off as the hallway grew monotonous, nothing but a bookcase, a pillar with a torch, another bookcase. Nothing but the sound of her own hooves clicking against the floor. Another pillar and another torch. Until, eventually, the hall let out into a large room that was… identical to the one she’d started in.
Taking wing, Rainbow picked a different hall and flew down it, coming out in yet another identical room. She groaned. “Of course. It’s going to be like that.” A moment was taken to stretch her wings, and in a blue blur Rainbow Dash shot off, taking random turns down random halls every time she came to the same room.
What must have been at least a few dozen rooms later, Rainbow skidded to a stop, panting. “Okay, she said this place was going to be big, but seriously?”
She took in the room, frowning. It didn’t just look similar to all the others; it looked identical. There was a nagging thought at the back of her mind, and on a whim Rainbow took a book off a shelf. The title, in elegant golden cursive, declared the book as “Orpheus’s Journey”. She took it and put it on the ground in the center of the room, before quickly rushing down a hall. The room she came out in was exactly the same as before, minus the book in the center.
However, when she went to the same shelf in the same place and pulled the book in the same spot, she found the answer she was looking for; it was the exact same.
“So I’m not actually going anywhere. Well that’s just great. How the hay am I supposed to find Twilight like this?”
Rainbow fell back on her haunches, glaring at the rows of books and rubbing a hoof against her temple. “What the hay do you want from me!?” She shouted, feeling some small amount of frustration leave her body with the outburst. It didn’t really help, but she felt a little better.
“Okay, Dash; think. This place is supposed to be huge, but it’s not letting you go anywhere. Why?”
Despite posing the question aloud, she had no better answers than she did a second ago, and Rainbow sighed. Twilight always used to talk to herself when she was working through a problem, and it seemed to help, but it was doing her no favours here.
“What do you want?” She looked to the books, frowning. It was a library. What would a library want from her? Her gaze turned, and she noticed several small desks and chairs set up around the wooden balcony circling the room. Little reading desks.
“Oh.”
It wasn’t really going to be that simple, was it?
Without much other option currently, Rainbow shrugged and flew up to the second level, scanning along the spines of the books, each a different colour but without even the slightest indication as to what they were. A book was pulled at random, and big, bold letters across the front titled the book “Orpheus’s Journey.”
She raised a single eyebrow at the familiar title. Putting the book back, she selected another and though the lettering was different, the title was the same. This book was placed on a table, and another book was pulled. Same title. Another, then another were pulled from the shelf, all called “Orpheus’s Journey.”
“You trying to tell me something?” Rainbow asked the shelves. She didn’t get a response, but the next book she looked at still had that title. With a sigh, she sat down in a chair and opened a book at random. It was a title she recognized. After months of searching through every myth related to the afterlife, Orpheus was a reoccuring name, and it was one of the first stories she’d read.
The first few lines confirmed it; it was the same story. A gryphon named Orpheus lost his wife and, consumed by grief, he journeyed to the Underworld to save her. There was more to it, of course, but the important part of the story was the end; eventually he was successful in finding his wife, and was able to convince the king and queen of the Underworld to let her leave with him, but they did so only under one condition. He had to walk in front of her and never turn back until they both made it back to the living world.
However, as with many classic Gryphon tragedies, Orpheus was destined to fail. When he finally made it out of the Underworld, having walked for many days and nights without once setting eyes on the wife he’d been through literal hell for, he turned. His wife had not yet crossed the boundary of the Underworld, and so he broke his deal, and that was the last time he ever saw her as she faded before his very eyes. Perhaps it was a true story, perhaps it wasn’t. Rainbow didn’t really know; it was one of the few stories that didn’t make mention of a mare with a pomegranate cutie mark, though it did mention a king and a queen, while other stories told only of a king of the dead.
Whatever the truth, Rainbow had long since dismissed the story as simply a story to discourage others from attempting to bring the dead back to life.
Looking up from her book, the pegasus glared at the shelves. “Are you trying to scare me?”
Predictably, the shelves didn’t respond, and she rolled her eyes. Orpheus may have failed, but she was anything but a failure, and for this library to imply she’d suffer the same fate was an insult. She wasn’t so weak that such a simple condition would trip her up. If that was the best the Underworld could offer, she’d be laughing her way right across the river with Twilight at her side in no time. The only thing that had come close to stopping her was Commander Hurricane herself, and even then that was only because of her injuries.
“You’ll have to do better than that!” Rainbow taunted, skimming through the pages of Orpheus’s doomed journey.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was consumed by an intense feeling of vertigo. Her vision swam a moment and she blinked hard, holding a hoof to her head. Then, just as quickly as it started, it was gone, and the mare looked up to see what had caused it. What once was a small, simple room with wall to wall shelves, was now something else entirely.
From her little wooden balcony Rainbow looked out across what could most accurately be described as a warehouse of books; countless rows of shelves that stretched on into a blackness that implied an endless distance. Chandeliers hung from the stone ceiling, providing just enough light to cast the halls in an eerie orange glow. Rainbow set her book down and stepped up to the railing, looking out across the veritable sea of information.
Once more, she cupped her hooves around her mouth. “TWILIGHT!?”
This time, no echo returned her call.
“Never is that easy,” Rainbow chided herself, shaking her head as she flapped her wings and lowered herself until she was standing atop one of the rows of shelves. To her left and right she could just barely make out the stone walls bordering the sides, but ahead of her was an unknown distance. She leaned over the edge and pulled out a book, nodding to herself as she confirmed it wasn’t another copy of the same book, but rather something written in a language she didn’t recognize. The rows of books also had their titles written on their spines for the most part, and each one was different.
Without a destination in mind and with no goal other than finding Twilight, Rainbow started off, walking along the tops of the selves and scanning out across the halls around her. The shelves started in neat, orderly rows, but they quickly devolved into twisting passages the further in she got, and she silently thanked whatever designed this place that she was able to stay above it all. Without the twists and turns to slow her, it wasn’t long before Rainbow could see the back wall coming into view, and she wondered idly if that was really all this supposed ‘infinite library’ had to offer. Sure, there were a lot of books - like, a lot - but the claim that all possible knowledge could be found among the shelves? It seemed a little far fetched.
For that matter, where were all the others Hurricane had mentioned? The ones who had come in and never come back out? She’d not seen a single other pony or otherwise wandering the aisles below her, and certainly none had returned her calls.
Unfortunately, the answer to many of Rainbow’s question showed itself when, in what looked to be about the center of the library, she found the one thing she’d avoided considering. Set in a small area clear of shelves, a circular hole was opened in the floor, and a metal spiral staircase descended into it.
“Of course. Celestia forbid it’s just a big library; nooooo, it has to be a big library that has who-knows how many floors.” Rainbow sighed, glaring at the staircase. There was no indication how far it went down, nor how many floors there were hidden beneath this one, but if they were even half this size, she’d have a long search ahead of her.
Rainbow glanced around herself, calling out one last time and ensuring there was still no response. When none came, there was a begrudging grunt, and she jumped down from atop the shelves. Hesitantly walking over to the stairs, Rainbow leaned out over the railing, gazing into the darkness that stared back.
“I swear, Twi, it’s like you’re trying to make this difficult,” she muttered to herself as her descent began. A few circles around the center pillar brought her to the next level, where the stairs ended. Part of her hoped that meant this was the only other floor, another had the sneaking suspicion there was another staircase. Either way, there was yet another maze of halls to search through, and this time looked to be much more difficult.
While the upper level had been tall and open, this one looked more akin to a dungeon corridor; cramped on either side by yet more rows of books and capped with an arched ceiling that connected to the tops of the shelves. Small brass lanterns hung from the roof intermittently, casting long shadows in their dull, flickering light.
“So what are the odds there’s a book on where Twilight is?” Rainbow asked aloud, chuckling at her own joke a moment before setting off. It wasn’t like there were many other options; the hallway was straight, after all. Though it didn’t stay that way long. Just a few yards in the shelves opened and the path split into different directions, each equally cramped. On instinct alone the compass was pulled from Rainbow’s bags, before being roughly shoved back inside when it remained useless.
“Stupid thing,” she muttered, picking a direction at random. “I know what I want. It’s not my fault you can’t see that.”
The self-assurance did little to ease her frustration, and Rainbow found herself wandering aimlessly through the shelves with a frown. The halls were deathly silent, the only sound was her own hooves clicking against the polished stone floor. Without a guide or any clear destination she starting to wonder if she was ever going to find Twilight in this place. The mare could have been anywhere, and if the first floor was anything to go by, this place was huge. Impossibly so.
“C’mon, where would a nerdy alicorn be hiding in an endless library?” At the very least talking out loud lessened the oppressive quiet. “It’d help if this place had some signs up or something. Or…” she trailed off, hooves slowing to a stop. “Or a map?”
“You see, Rainbow Dash, within the Underworld is… well, you’ll know it when you see it. For now think of it as a maze. That map is the only chance you have of making it through.”
Was this what Discord had been referring to? Rainbow quickly rummaged around in her bags, withdrawing the weathered scroll he’d given her. Unrolling it showed the same indecipherable mess of lines from before, and Rainbow squinted in an effort to make out any semblance of a map. Alla cross the paper were short, straight lines that seemed to connect at random. It certainly didn’t look like any maze she’d ever seen, and it didn’t at all match what she’d seen so far.
“Of course. Thanks for nothing, Discord,” she groaned, tempted for a moment to simply crumple up and toss away the useless ‘map’. However, at the last minute she thought better of it and simply stashed it in her bag for later. Maybe Twilight would know something about it.
Setting off again, Rainbow’s mind wandered as the monotonous scenery started getting to her. She scanned the books as she passed them, hoping to maybe spot something that might be of some use. Recalling an old strategy, at every fork or turn she made sure to keep to the left wall. It wasn’t the fastest way, but she’d heard it was a sure-fire way to find the exit to almost any maze.
Eventually.
For a while Rainbow walked in silence, until eventually she was forced to stop as her dry lips reminded her she’d not eaten or drank anything since she’d left the coliseum. Begrudgingly, she took a short break, but was surprised when a sound that didn’t come from her echoed through the corridor. It was a loud, groaning rumble that seemed to come from behind. In an instant Rainbow was crouched low and ready to fight off whatever was coming for her, when suddenly the sound stopped, and she was left hearing only the quickened beating of her heart.
Cautiously she pushed forward, towards the sound. The dim light limited how far she could see, but she quickly realized what she’d heard. The hall she’d just come down was now a dead end, blocked by another shelf.
“Of course,” she rolled her eyes, feeling like a broken record. Rainbow nodded to herself, a low chuckle escaping her throat as she shook her head and her chuckling grew to laughing, then to heated screaming as a hoof flew out and punched the nearest bookcase.
“Just! Give! Me! Twilight!” Every shout was punctuated by a hit, but it wasn’t long before her leg hurt too much to continue. She all but ripped the compass from her bags, shaking it every time it refused to stop spinning. “I know what I want! Just bring me to Twilight! I don’t care about anything else! I just want Twilight back!”
The compass spun, and in a white hot rage it was thrown down the hall. Panting, it took only a moment for her to realize what she’d done, and she took off after it. Carefully, Rainbow plucked the compass from the ground, giving silent thanks it seemed undamaged.
“Please, just give me Twilight. I… I don’t care about anything else. I don’t care if I can never tell her how I feel, or if she will never feel the same way. I just want her back. Please. I just need to save her. It’s my fault she died, I just…
Rainbow Dash had been wandering empty halls of endless books for hours. When she got out - if she got out - she never wanted to see another book again for as long as she lived. The thought of banning Twilight from libraries when they got back to Equestria was a tempting one, if she was being honest with herself. Not that it would go over particularly well with the bookworm. Or be at all a reasonable request. Rainbow sighed. At the very least she’d stay as far away from libraries as possible.
Checking her compass, Rainbow’s gaze hardened as she focused. Repeating over and over in her mind that all she wanted was for Twilight to forgive her. The needle stopped shaking, and once more pointed straight. It had never really stopped acting up entirely, and never pointed as true as it once had. Some forks in the hall made it spin uselessly, and she’d have to pick at random only for the compass to tell her to turn around. To get it to stop spinning at all she had to focus on what she wanted, as though it didn’t believe her.
A part of her wondered if she believed it herself.
Rainbow’s thoughts trailed off as she came to another staircase, and the needle helpfully pointed slightly downward. She sighed. This would be the fourth set of stairs, putting her far deeper into the library than she’d first thought possible. “Come on, Twi. Just how deep in this place did you go?” Rainbow asked aloud, throwing out a hoof to the full shelves around her. “Were these ones not interesting enough?”
“...”
The pegasus jumped, wings flared wide. Hairs on the back of her neck stood straight, and a shudder ran down her spine. “Hello?” She questioned, when there were no further sounds. Truthfully, she didn’t know what she’d heard. Just that she’d heard something. A few more moments of silence passed, and Rainbow was forced to shrug it off. “Probably the walls moving around…”
Despite not fully believing the answer, Rainbow forged ahead down the staircase, glancing occasionally back over her shoulder. There was never anything there, but the shelves shifting usually made more noise than that. It had almost sounded like… whispering. It had felt close, too; she could practically feel breath tickling the hair of her ear.
Coming to the landing of the stairs, Rainbow noticed that the scenery changed slightly. For the last three floors it had been the same wooden shelves and stone pillars between them, but this new floor was different. It was more open; the halls were more than twice as wide and much taller. Already she could feel the sense of claustrophobia she’d long grown used to fading. Though for how much more accomodating the floor was, there was also significantly less light; while before the lanterns had provided enough of a flickering glow to be comfortable if a little dim, this new area had barely enough light to see more than a few paces ahead.
What caught Rainbow’s attention most, however, was something right at the base of the staircase; a stack of books holding up what looked like a makeshift sign made of roped together wooden planks. On it in big, black lettering were two words; ‘Keepers Ahead’.
Looking between the crude sign - which Rainbow assumed to be some form of warning - and the dark hall ahead, the pegasus shrugged and pushed forward. Whatever it was warning about, she’d just deal with it.
As she began her trek into the new floor, she started wishing she’d brought a lantern. It was dark. There was no visible lighting in the hallway, but it stayed at a constant illumination that was just barely bright enough to be able to read a book right in front of your face. In other words, entirely too dark.
Rainbow Dash paused as the floor shook slightly, and a groaning filled her ears as the walls shifted behind her. She couldn’t help but notice it happened more often the deeper she went. Always behind her. It was easy to go deeper; leaving seemed to be a different beast entirely.
“...”
A shiver ran through Rainbow’s body from her snout to the tip of her tail, and she jumped into the air. That time she knew she’d heard something. Something that was not the walls changing. “Who’s there!?”
The darkness didn’t answer, but she could hear… something. Small and quiet. Barely there at all. It was like… scratching, almost. Rainbow scanned the shelves around her, searching for the source of the noise. Nothing. Nothing she could see, at least. Still, there was a noise. Right in her ear, almost. It felt like whatever was making it was right next to her.
Deciding it best not to stick around, Rainbow didn’t hesitate to take off down the hall, consciously refraining from looking back on the off chance she’d see something she didn’t want to. Her wings didn’t stop beating until the sound faded into the distance, and an intersection in the hall ahead forced her to stop. Just as she landed she heard the walls shifting behind her, and a part of her knew the exit was getting further and further obscured.
But why would she want to leave?
Rainbow’s eyes grew wide. Where had that thought come from? It wasn’t her own. She held a hoof to her head. Why would she want to stay? Why would…
She stopped.
“It’s like the Halls don’t want you to leave. There’s this… feeling, you get, when you try. It’s not that you can’t, it’s that you don’t want to leave.”
As Gale’s warning came rushing back, Rainbow swallowed nervously. Of course. The curse - or whatever it was. Gale had mentioned it got worse the deeper she went, and Rainbow was four floors down and what must have been more than half a day in. It only made sense it would start affecting her.
Taking a deep breath, Rainbow held a hoof to the pendant around her neck. “I want to leave,” she said aloud, closing her eyes and focusing. The words came out like molasses, and some part of her denied them. Fought against them. “I want to get Twilight and leave this place.”
A little, niggling thought of staying remained, but it failed to form a coherent thought in her head, and she nodded to herself. “Do your worst!” Rainbow boasted openly, glaring into the darkness ahead. “You’re not keeping me here.” She pulled out her compass and followed the needle down the right path, not even batting an eyes as the corridor shifted right behind her.
Rainbow held her head high, trotting quicker through the halls. A new sense of urgency had descended upon her, and Rainbow wanted to spend as little time in here as possible. She noticed how hard it was to keep that thought in her head, and shuddered. Then, a far more worrying thought struck her. She’d only been down here a half a day, and was already having to focus to keep the curse at bay.
Twilight had been here more than a year.
Her pace quickened again, and the idea of Twilight not wanting to leave became a much more salient threat in her mind. Before, when Gale hard warned her of the curse, she’d brushed off the notion; how could Twilight possibly refuse coming back to all their friends? But now that she’d experienced the strength of the Hall’s grasp first hand, it seemed more than plausible.
Almost inevitable.
Rainbow had to force herself to calm down, gritting her teeth. It didn't matter. It didn’t matter if Twilight fought tooth and nail to stay in this library. If she had to knock Twilight out and physically carry her out if this place, she’d do it. If this was to be her own version of Orpheus’s task, then so be it. She cared about Twilight far too much to let some measly curse stop her from bringing the alicorn back.
Rainbow Dash was not as weak as Orpheus.
She pushed through the darkness defiantly, the echoing sound of her steps filling her ears. There was nothing in this place that would stop her. Nothing that could stop her. Honestly, she felt bad for anything that tried.
Her hooves stopped dead moments later when a new sound reached her ears. It was distant, but clearly defined; a groaning creaking. Like old metal hinges. A metal gate being opened and closed slowly, as though blowing in the breeze. Unlike the sound of the halls shifting, this one came from ahead of her rather than behind, and Rainbow squinted forward, ears swiveling. The sound grew louder. Came closer.
A cold sweat broke out on her forehead as from the inky black depths ahead a pale white light appeared, rocking back and forth in time with the squeaking sound. Rainbow didn’t know what it was, but some base, primal instinct buried inside her told her all she needed to know.
Run.
But her hooves felt like lead, and she was rooted to the spot as the white light came closer, slowly. Rocking back and forth... back and forth in the darkness. Finally, it came close enough that she could see what it was; a lantern, casting a pale flickering light like nothing she’d ever seen before. It swung from side to side, its metal hing the source of the sound. But what was beyond the lantern made Rainbow’s blood freeze in her veins.
The ring of the lanter was hooked onto a metal pole, the other end of which disappeared into a tattered black cloak roughly in the shape of a pony, but larger. As tall as Princess Celestia, the cloaked figure didn’t walk so much as floated forward without making a sound save for its lantern. The cloak didn’t quite touch the floor, and there were no hooves either; the entire thing was floating. If Rainbow didn’t know better, she’d have sworn there wasn’t anything under the cloak at all.
When the thing was just a dozen feat away, something in Rainbow Dash kicked back into gear, and she turned on a dime and flew down the hall as fast as her wings would carry her. The trail of wind behind her knocked several books off the shelves, but she didn’t care. Didn’t bother looking back. She could still hear the creaking of the lantern. It was faster, now. She didn’t need to check to know the thing was chasing her.
It was slow, though, and it didn’t take long for the sound to fade into the distance as Rainbow came to a T and turned left around the corner, and was forced to fan her wings wide to slow herself before crashing into a shelf.
It was a dead end. So was the other path from the intersection.
Rainbow turned around and cautiously peeked past the corner, ears perked and ready she she tried to block out the sound of her own heartbeat. The darkness remained silent for a few, tense seconds.
Then she heard it again. Faster. Coming closer. It sounded like somepony slamming a heavy iron door. She swallowed thickly, backing away and looking for a way out. It wouldn’t be long before that thing was on top of her, and she’d rather not find out what it was going to do.
“H-help! Somepony help me!”
Rainbow ‘s jaw dropped, and she rushed back to the hall. There, in the distance, was another pony; an earth pony stallion, a panicked look on his face as he sprinted down the hall towards her. The white light wasn’t far behind him, and it seemed to be gaining ground. How he got behind her she hadn’t the foggiest idea, but her heart sank as she realized he was about to run into the same trap as her, and lead the thing right to them.
“C’mon, Dash, think!” She shouted at herself, running her hoof along the shelf at the back of the dead end. There must have been a path on the other side. The wood was thick, but she might have been able to break it down. Especially with the boost in her magic, she could probably Rainboom through it. But there was always a chance there was nothing but a stone wall on the other side, and she’d wind up breaking her own neck.
“Somepony! Anypony please!” The stallion’s shouting grew louder, and Rainbow turned just in time to see him reach the T. He turned his back to her and ran down the other path, quickly finding the wall at the back of it. He turned, and his eyes grew wide when he saw Rainbow.
“Hey! You there! Do you-” he was cut off by a scream as the cloaked figure came around the corner, floating towards him. Rainbow backed away from it until her flank bumped the shelf behind her, heart beating against her ribs. The stallion’s screeches echoed through the halls, and she watched as he was forced into a corner. As the creature grew closer, and the pale white light from its lantern touched his hoof, his cried became pained. Rainbow watched in horror as the stallion’s hoof started fading wherever the light touched him.
The floor shook violently, only adding to his cries as the walls shifted around them and Rainbow watched as a shelf grew out of the wall next to her, cutting her off from the stallion and the thing attacking him. She couldn’t do anything but watch as the shelf stopped moving, the shaking stopped, but the stallions screams continue for a few short seconds before they, too, faded.
For a long few moments Rainbow Dash just sat and stared, wide-eyed, at the shelf in front of her. Waiting, hoping to hear the stallion’s voice again. But nothing more came. Not even the creaking of the lantern. She held a hoof to her chest, feeling the thundering of her heart and realizing how fast she was breathing. Slowly, Rainbow turned, and her dead end had become just another hall when the walls shifted. It wasn’t lost on her just how lucky she’d just gotten, hooves too numb to continue forward. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what she’d just witnessed, but she knew she’d not see that stallion again.
It took longer than she realized just to stand up again, and even then her legs shook. What was that thing? What did it do to him? There were too many question, and she didn’t have any answers. All she knew was that she’d never forget those screams, and that, no matter what, she had to stay out of the light.
She stumbled forward blindly. Something in her told her she had to keep moving now. Couldn’t risk stopping. Rainbow pulled the compass from her bag, and watched as it spun in slow circles.
“Twilight…” her lips were dry. The pendant was gripped tightly, and a little bit of Rainbow Dash returned as her breathing slowed. The spinning slowed, but didn’t stop. She shook her head, forcing her breathing to slow even as her heartbeat still rang in her ears. “C’mon, focus!”
Slowly, Rainbow Dash managed to calm her racing heart and spinning thoughts, centering her mind on finding Twilight. Nothing else mattered.
The compass pointed forward again, if shakily, and Rainbow nodded, blowing out a long breath. “Okay…” she looked ahead into the darkness, and a pit formed deep in her stomach. That thing was out there, somewhere, in the twisting corridors. Maybe more than one.
“Can’t think about that right now. Just gotta go.” She took one step forward. Then another. The shaking of her legs steadied gradually, and she managed to start walking.
In and haze Rainbow Dash pushed on. The lack of light seemed to play tricks on her mind. Every time she rounded a corner, for just a split second, she could have sworn she saw that pale light ahead. In the silence, every now and then, she heard the creaking groan of the lantern. Behind her. In front of her. Right next to her.
Before long Rainbow was sprinting down the halls in a panic. Her ears flicked in every direction, trying to pick up on the faintest sound she could have sworn was there. But there was nothing. There was never anything.
Then Rainbow rounded a corner at full speed, glancing back over her shoulder when she swore she saw something, and crashed into something else. Something warm and covered in fur that grunted as it fell away. Rainbow turned forward, and her heart stopped dead. In front of her was a silhouette of a pony, illuminated from behind by the ghostly white light from a large lantern.
Rainbow Dash screamed.
The figure jumped to its hooves and shoved a hoof in Rainbow’s mouth. “Quiet! They’ll hear you!”
Rainbow panted through her nose, staring wide eyed at the pony. Slowly the gears in her head turned, and she realized that this was an actual pony, not the thing in a cloak.
That lantern, however, was definitely casting the same white glow on them.
The pony glanced around carefully, before looking back to the pegasus. “You need to be quiet,” she said, slowly removing her hoof when Rainbow nodded her understanding. “Are you okay?”
Rainbow took a big gulp of air. “Y-yeah… yeah I’m okay. Who are you, a-and why do you have…” she trailed off, motioning to the lantern. Now that she could take a step back - and out of the lantern's light - she saw that the mare she’d run into was a unicorn, with a light green coat and silver mane. Light blue stripes ran through her hair and tail as well, sparkling in the white light.
“Name’s Clover,” she said quietly, ears still at attention. Rainbow noticed a pile of books at the mare’s hooves, and a quill resting atop a four leafed clover on her flank. “I’ve got one of their lanterns for protection. Judging from that question, though, you’re new around here.”
“You could say that.”
Clover, seemingly satisfied Rainbows not-at-all terrified screaming hadn’t attracted anything, visibly relaxed and turned to face the pegasus properly. “Look, it’s a lot to go through, and we’re not safe down here. Follow me.” Without waiting for a response she picked up the lantern in her jaw and started down the hall.
For a moment Rainbow hesitated, but when she glanced back over her shoulder at the endless dark, she decided it best to stick with Clover. She seemed to know what she was talking about, and the mare seemed familiar in a way she couldn’t quite put a hoof on. Hurriedly catching up, Rainbow shivered as she felt that pale light wash over her, and she could see that stallion again. Hear his screams.
“Relax,” Clover mumbled quietly, taking the lantern from her mouth and into her magical grasp. “I don’t know what you saw, but I’m figuring you had a run in with a Keeper.” She turned abruptly, and Rainbow was surprised as they rounded a corner and came to a staircase leading up. She didn’t think twice about following the unicorn up the stairs, into the more brightly lit floor above.
Clover set the lantern down, falling back onto her haunches. “Alright, we’re safe up here; they don’t come to the upper floors.
“What are they?” Rainbow asked, keeping a suspicious eye on the stairs. “And who are you? And what’s with the lantern? What the hell is going on?”
Holding a hoof over her mouth, Clover had to stifle a chuckle. “Well, I certainly see why you ended up here; you’re as curious as they come. I already told you my name; I’m just a mare who likes books. That’s all. The thing you saw down there is… well we’re not really sure what they are, but we call them the Book Keepers.”
Rainbow shivered. “I… I saw another pony down there. It chased him, a-and… when the light touched him…” she clenched her jaw, screams echoing in her ears.
“They got another one then…” Clover trailed off with a sad sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that; it must have been terrifying. Especially if you didn’t know about them.”
“I-I’m fine, but what happened to him?
Clover frowned deeply. “Nopony really knows. Some say the souls they capture become Keepers themselves, others think their knowledge is added to the Halls. All we know for sure is that once a Keeper catches you, you’re never seen again. Whoever he was, he’s gone.”
“Then… why do you have one of their lanterns?”
“Oh, right.” Clover patted the top of her lantern fondly. “This is the only way to get past the keepers. If you can steal one, you can hide in the light. The Keepers seem to assume anypony with their own lantern is just another Keeper and they ignore us. For the most part…” she trailed off with a melancholy look in her eye. “A lot of people gave their souls to find a way past the Keepers.
“But enough about that,” she said with a smile, the fog lifting from her gaze. “What about you? How long have you been in the Halls?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Half a day maybe? It’s hard to tell. I’m-”
“Half a day? And you’re already delving into the deeper levels?” Clover raised an eyebrow. “Either you’re a fast reader, or you’re looking for some very specific knowledge.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” Rainbow chuckled humorlessly. “I’m actually here to find somepony. I don’t suppose you’ve seen an alicorn wandering around down there? Lavender coat with a purple mane, name’s Twilight Sparkle.”
Clover’s eyes widened. “You know Twilight!?”
“You’ve met her!?” Rainbow asked excitedly.
“Yeah, yeah; Twilight’s been here ages now. I met her on the upper floors a long time ago. Taught her the ropes of the Halls myself. Helped her steal a lantern for herself when she wanted to go to the deeper levels. Said she was looking for something specific down there. Why are you-”
Rainbow cut through her words, grabbing the unicorn by the shoulders. “Can you take me to her?”
“Probably? But why-”
“Let’s go.” Rainbow started toward the stairs. “I’ve taken long enough already.”
“Hey!” Clover shouted, grabbing the pegasus’s tail in her magic. “You haven’t even told me your name! Why are you looking for Twilight?”
Rainbow yanked her tail free, rolling her eyes. “I’m Rainbow Dash, and I’m here to bring Twilight back to life.”
Rainbow glared into the darkness ahead, ruffling her feathers.
“Fascinating.”
Another hoof prodded her side, and Rainbow’s already limited patience snapped like a dry twig. “Enough!” She smacked Clover’s leg away. “What’s your issue?”
Clover shrugged. “Sorry! I’m just curious; I’ve never seen a living pony here. You shouldn’t be here; you’re wrong. It’s interesting!”
“Could you stop poking at me?” Rainbow’s teeth ground together, and she slowed as they came to another fork. “Which way?”
“Hmm? Oh. Left,” Clover answered distractedly, hovering around the pegasus and fawning over her like a certain orange filly used to. “So how did you get here?”
Rainbow grunted. “Told you; I crossed a river in a boat, then a bridge, then through the big door.”
“Details!” Clover practically hissed, taking Rainbow’s wing in her hoof and ruffling through the feathers. “Excellent wing care, by the by. Did you fly for a living? Military, maybe?”
Rainbow snapped her wing closed. “Knock it off. I’m not some specimen in a jar you can study.”
“Fiiiiine.” Clover sighed, doing her best pout. “Right ahead, by the way,” she commented, before once again focusing on the pegasus. “So, how’d you make it to the Underworld alive?”
“Boat.” Rainbow answered flatly.
Clover groaned. “Yes, you said that, but what boat? Did you cross the Acheron? How did you get across?”
Rainbow stopped walking, and the unicorn bumped into her flank as she whirled around. “Look, Clover. You’re a nice mare. A little annoying, but nice, and you’re doing me a huge favour here, and I appreciate it. But stop with the prodding. I’m here for Twilight, that’s all you need to know. I’m not in the mood to answer a hundred different questions, alright?”
Without waiting for a reply Rainbow turned and continue forward, making sure Clover still kept up with the lantern. “Which way?”
“S-straight…”
Rainbow nodded to herself, passing through an intersection. A few moments passed, and Rainbow welcomed the silence again. She’d grown accustomed to it more than she’d realized. Though she could practically hear the pouting unicorn behind her, she didn’t feel bad. Well… maybe a little for snapping like that, but Clover had it coming.
The floor shook, and the halls behind them shifted. The rumbling settled, and Rainbow glanced over her shoulder. There was still nothing back there except a sulking mare. She bit her lip to stop of grunting.
Clover seemed to perk up instantly. “Oh, that’s okay! I totally understand; you’re on a mission to find your friend, all serious and stuff. At the risk of your own life. Have you read Orpheus’s Journey? It’s very similar to what you’re doing. I’ve often wondered if those stories had any truth to them, and-”
Rainbow just tuned her rambling out, rolling her eyes. Though she couldn’t help the small smile on her lips as various memories of Twilight doing much the same filled her head. Soon, she thought, glancing down at her necklace.
When she glanced back up, there was a pale white light coming towards them. She heard the creaking of the lantern, and realized Clover had stopped talking.
“Hey!” Rainbow whisper-shouted over her shoulder, motioning ahead. “What do we do?”
Clover nodded. “It’s okay; as long as we don’t make any noise it’ll pass by us. Just stick to the wall.” They made their way over to the edge of the hall, continue forward more slowly. The light glot closer, and Rainbow shuddered as she saw that same tattered black coat. The Keeper floated towards them slowly, lantern swaying from side to side. When it came close, Rainbow felt Clover grab her, miming a shushing motion as they pressed themselves into the wall.
The Keeper floated along, lantern creaking and groaning, and paid no attention to them. It moved past and Rainbow let out the breath she’d been holding as it faded into the darkness behind them, only its pale white light visible. For a few tense moments they waited, then finally Clover stepped away from the wall. “Come on; it’s far enough away now.”
Rainbow nodded, wasting no time and hurrying forward, throwing the occasional glance over her shoulder. She couldn’t stop her hooves from shaking. “I thought this was supposed to be eternal paradise,” she muttered. “Why is this place trying to kill us?”
“To be fair, the upper floors are harmless. For the most part. It’s only the lower floors that are guarded.”
“It’s not just them,” Rainbow argued. “The curse, too; this place tries to trap you here. What kind of paradise is this?”
Clover sighed. “It’s the Hall’s way of making sure we don’t bring forbidden knowledge to the living realm. Think about it; you’ve made it here, and there’s information on the deeper floors that no one should ever have. It’s harmless within the Halls, but if a book makes it to the mortal world there would be chaos. I’ve found a lot of spells that if they fell into the wrong hands would very likely spell doom for Equestria. There are books down here that haven’t even been written yet. Could you imagine if knowledge from the future made it back to Equestria? It’s for the best that no knowledge ever leaves this place, and it’s the price you pay for that knowledge that you never leave either.”
“It’s stupid, and I’m leaving with Twilight if it kills me.”
There wasn’t anything to say to that, and the two continued in silence down the hall. For a while the only communication between them was Clover’s directions, and eventually they descended yet another staircase.
Rainbow barely registered it, lost in her own thoughts. She knew taking Twilight out of here would be a challenge, and the way she could feel her own mind turning on her, starting to believe she should just stay here, with Twilight, wasn’t helping.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, if she just stayed. At least she’d be with Twilight…
No. No. Their friends were waiting for them. She couldn’t let them down, no matter what.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Huh?” Rainbow turned, looking to Clover. “You say something?”
The unicorn shook her head, and Rainbow frowned, but shrugged it off. The dark was playing tricks on her. It had been quiet for far too long.
“I have the answers you seek.”
Rainbow’s ears swiveled. She knew she’d heard something. There it was again; that small scratching, right in her ear. Louder, this time. She looked to the books, and tripped over her own hooves when she caught sight of one of the spines, labeled ‘Twilight’s Feelings’.
“Hey, you okay?” Clover rushed over, helping Rainbow stand.
The pegasus shook her head, and the book’s title had changed to some language she didn’t recognize. “Y-yeah… just the light playing tricks on me…”
Clover watched her suspiciously, but after a few moments accepted the excuse, though she kept one eye on Rainbow.
“Don’t you want to know?”
Rainbow scanned the shelves, looking for that book.
“Don’t you want to know how she feels?”
She spotted it again, glowing faintly as though it were calling out to her in the dark. Without a second thought Rainbow started towards it, reaching out a hoof to grab it. She needed to know. Needed to know if Twilight felt the same. If Twilight blamed her. If the alicorn could ever forgive her for what she’d done. She needed to-
“Rainbow Dash! Snap out of it!”
Rainbow jolted awake and looked to the book she was reaching for. It was nondescript, and its spine held no title. She backed away slowly. “W-what’s going on?”
“It’s part of the curse,” Clover explained quickly, ushering the pegasus away from the shelves. “There are some books here that act the same as the Keepers; if you open them they’ll trap your soul in this library forever. You need to stay focused.”
“Sure… sure…” Rainbow shuddered, eyeing the shelves before following Clover. “This is not my idea of eternal paradise…” She trailed off, and the quiet moved in again. The sounds, too; the scratching in her ear, the whispering from the books. She heard it clearly, now. Murmurs from the shelves, promising her all the things she wished she knew. Just barely there at all, like an itch on the back of her brain.
“Sooooo...” Rainbow Dash started awkwardly, the silent whispers having grown a little too much for her. “You said Twilight was looking for something specific?”
“Hmm? Oh, yeah,” Clover shrugged. “Didn’t tell me what it was, just that she needed to know where the books on the Tree of Harmony were kept.”
Of course. Twilight never had figured out the mystery behind that box the Tree have given her. Rainbow rolled her eyes, then paused as something caught her attention. “Wait… you mean this place is actually organized?”
Clover raised an eyebrow. “Well… yeah? It’s a library,” she deadpanned. “What kind of library isn’t organized? We’ve mapped out most of the library for twelve floors, and are working on the lower ones.”
“How? The place is constantly changing!”
“The halls shift, yes, but it’s like… if you take the right series of turns, you’ll come out the same place every time. Like, two lefts, a right, straight through and two lefts on the third floor will bring you to a section on the history of the Gryphon Empire. Finding things isn’t hard when you know what you’re looking for. It’s the same with finding the staircases. Just knowing the right turns to take will get you there.”
Rainbow could already feel a headache developing. “And… how deep did Twilight go?”
They rounded a corner, and Clover motioned ahead with a hoof. “Not too far.”
Rainbow turned, and froze. Down the hall in front of them were several tall stacks of books. On top of one pile was a lantern that cast a pale white light over a lavender mare with a purple mane, head buried in a book as it always was.
Rainbow didn’t know what to do. She stood there, staring at the mare she’d been looking for for so, so long. Twilight, oblivious to being watched, just sat there, reading her books. As though she hadn’t been dead for more than a year. As though Rainbow’s world hadn’t been shattered in a single moment.
There she was, right there. It felt surreal. Like it couldn’t be real; another trick of the library’s curse. Some hallucination brought on by far too little sleep. Rainbow blinked, and the apparition remained. It was so real… and then, some part of her realized it was real. And then the rest of her caught up with the fact that she was just standing there, jaw hanging open.
Rainbow Dash took off like a shot, flying down the hall faster than she’d ever flown before. “Twilight!” Her voice cracked, thick with emotions she couldn’t even begin to parse. The mare seemed engrossed in her books, however, and as usual paid no mind to her name being called.
“Rainbow wait!” Clover called out, but it was too late; Rainbow was already well down the hall when a rumbling filled the corridor. But the pegasus didn’t notice. Didn’t care. Her entire world focused in on that purple mare, eyes shining in the darkness as she read her book. That same, idle smile on her face, as though nothing at all had happened.
Rainbow didn’t even bother to slow down as she grabbed Twilight in a full-speed tackle, smashing through the stacks of books around her and bringing the mare to the floor with a surprised squeal. When they stopped Rainbow had already wrapped Twilight in a ferociously tight hug.
Twilight, dazed from the sudden tackle, took a moment to realize what had happened - and who was hugging her. “R-rainbow Dash? What-” she was silenced by the sound of the pegasus’s sobs, and her eyes widened. Pinned to the floor in an embrace like a final lifeline, Twilight just returned the hug, feeling the pegasus cry into her chest.
“Twilight…” Rainbow couldn’t force out any more words. Couldn’t stop the tears. They came unbidden, and she clung to the mare like nothing else. She felt Twilight’s hooves wrap around her back and just cried harder.
Slowly, with the aid of Twilight rubbing small circles into her back, Rainbow regained enough composure to whisper; “I missed you. So much.”
Still confused, Twilight just nodded her head. “I missed you, too. What-” she was cut off as a dreadfully familiar sound filled the hall. A slow, grinding squeaking. Rainbow jumped up, releasing Twilight as she heard that noise. She looked ahead and saw the tell-tale light coming towards them. Turning, Rainbow’s heart sank as she saw the path she’d just come down was now a dead end, with Clover nowhere to be seen. “You’ve got one of those lanterns, right Twi?”
She heard a gasp, and a deep seated dread gripped her. Following Twilight’s gaze, she found herself looking at Twilight’s lantern - once perched atop one of the stacks of books - now lay broken on the floor, surrounded by shattered glass and emitting no light. “No… no no no!” Rainbow stomped her hoof, looking between the approaching Keeper and the broken lantern. “Damn it, Dash!”
Rainbow felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, calm down. We’ll be okay.” Twilight smiled at her, and a weight Dash forgot she’d been carrying lifted from her shoulders. It had been so long since she’d seen that smile. Far, far too long.
She found herself smiling back. “What’s the plan, Twi?”
“The Keepers are pretty slow. I can outrun them. You can definitely outfly them. If you fly us up high enough you can stay out of the light and go over it,” Twilight explained, leading Rainbow a little further into the dead end to give them more space. “You’ll have to carry me, but you should still be fast enough.”
Rainbow gave her a confused look. “Carry you? Why-” she paused, and for the first time noticed that the alicorn next to her wasn’t an alicorn anymore. “T-Twilight? What happened to your wings?”
“Huh? Oh!” Twilight slapped a hoof to her forehead. “I forgot you haven’t seen me since…” she trailed off tellingly, shaking her head. “It’s a long story that I’ll tell you later. It’s coming.” She nodded towards the approaching light, the worn black cloak visible now. “Can you carry me?”
Rainbow hesitated, but under the circumstances playing twenty questions didn’t seem like the best idea. She took to the air, hovering a moment before wrapping her hooves around Twilight’s barrel and under the unicorn’s forelegs. Just that small contact brought a small smile to Rainbow Dash’s lips, and she nodded. “Yeah, I can carry you. Hold on tight, Twi.”
With a few strong flaps they were hovering near the roof of the hall when the Keeper seemed to notice them, its lantern swinging more quickly as its pace increased. “Let it get closer,” Twilight whispered. “If we lead it into the dead end the halls shifting might separate it from us. When it spots us up here it’ll start floating up, so you’ll have to fly past before it gets high enough for the light to reach us.”
Nodding, Rainbow could feel her muscles tensing, watching as the thing came closer and closer. It slowed, as though confused, and she swallowed thickly. The lantern swung, side to side, and just as it reached Twilight’s pile of books, it looked up, and Rainbow realized there really wasn’t anything at all under the cloak.
“Rainbow! Now!”
Rainbow sped off on the command, flashing by over the Keeper, leaving a billowing wind in her wake. She could hear the creaking of its light as it gave chace, but those sounds were already growing distant.
“Left, Rainbow! Left!” Twilight shouted over the wind howling in her ears. They banked aorund a corner, and when the sound of the Keeper faded entirely Rainbow allowed herself to slow.
“You okay down there?” She asked, tightening her grip on the unicorn. “I haven’t had to carry you in a while.”
Twilight giggled. “It really has been a while, hasn’t it…” she sighed, and looked up at the pegasus carrying her with a fond smile. “I really have missed you all.”
Feeling a few more tears leak from the corner of her eyes, Rainbow grunted her agreement. “I think we’re far enough away. I’m gonna land.”
They alighted on the ground - only somewhat shakily - and Rainbow groaned as she stretched her aching wings. Apparently her injuries from the coliseum hadn’t totally healed just yet. Twilight watched, a conflicted look on her face. Rainbow smiled at her, and asked in a tone far too casual for their current situation; “What’s up?”
“Rainbow…” Twilight chewed her lip, glancing around the hall. “How… how are you here? It hasn’t been that long since I… got here… did… did something happen? Without me?”
Rainbow’s eyes widened. “No, no Twilight; nothing happened. I’m not dead. I’m here to bring you back with me.”
“What!?” Her surprised shout echoed through the corridor, and Twilight cringed at the volume. “Are you crazy!?” She whisper-shouted. “You can’t bring ponies back to life! It violates every natural law! You can’t just-”
“I can and I will,” Rainbow said simply. “We need you, Twilight. The girls. Spike. Equestria… me. I-... I need you back, Twi. I’ve spent the last year searching for a way to bring you home. I’ve been wandering around the Underworld for days to find you.”
Twilight seemed taken aback at the words, and she frowned. “Rainbow…”
“Please, Twilight; come back with me. I don’t care about what’s ‘natural’. I care about you. You… you shouldn’t have… sh-shouldn’t have…” she trailed off, biting back bitter tears and turning away. How was the wound still so fresh, even with the mare standing right there?
Twilight started to answer, but the familiar sound of an approaching keeper echoed through the hall, and they both looked to see the approaching light. “We’re not out of danger yet,” the unicorn said, starting to move down the hall in the other direction. “If we’re going to get out of here we’re going to need to steal another lantern.”
“Steal one!?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “Twi, have you seen what happens to anypony who gets close to those things? How are we going to steal one?”
“It’s okay. They only cast the light in front of them; if you come from behind you’ll be able to grab the lantern,” Twilight explained quickly. “Once you do, the Keeper disappears and the lantern becomes inert. All you have to do is sneak up behind it and grab the lantern while it’s distracted. You should be plenty fast enough to do it before it turns on you.”
There was a ball in the pit of her stomach, and Rainbow already didn’t like the answer to her next question. “Distract it… how, exactly?”
“I’ll be bait.”
There it was. Rainbow shook her head firmly. “No way, Twi; not happening. Can’t you, like, magic the lantern away or something?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “They’re impervious to magic while in possession of a Keeper.” She smiled confidently. “I’ll be fine, Rainbow; I’ve already stolen one, and with you helping it’ll be easy.” Glancing over her shoulder, the unicorn motioned for them to turn. “There should be a good place we can do it up here. I’ll go left, you hide to the right. When the keeper turns to chase me, you grab the lantern, okay?”
“Not okay!” Rainbow couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d just gotten Twilight back, and already she wanted to use herself as bait? “It’s too big a risk. What… what if it gets you? I… Twi, I can’t lose you again.”
The groaning squeal came closer as they reached the intersection, and Twilight paused. “I promise I’ll be okay, but you need to do this or we’ll never get out of here.”
Rainbow chewed her lip anxiously, glancing between Twilight’s earnest expression and the rapidly approaching white light. “What if I screw up again?”
“Screw up?” Twilight tilted her head. “What are you talking about?”
Wings fluttering nervously, Rainbow couldn’t quite meet the unicorn’s questioning gaze. “When… Tirek he… if I hadn’t fallen into that trap he… you wouldn’t have…”
“Rainbow?”
“If I hadn’t fallen for that trap, you wouldn’t have had to face Tirek alone. It’s my fault you died, Twilight!” Rainbow closed her eyes, flinching away from her own admission.
“Rainbow…”
The groaning of the Keeper came closer still, and Twilight glanced to the side. Rainbow opened her eyes just in time for her vision to be filled with purple as she was embraced tightly.
“Twilight-”
“It’s not your fault.”
With that, Twilight pushed the pegasus down the hall, turning and shouting. “Hey!” The Keeper reacted to the noise, floating faster and squeaking louder. Twilight smiled as the pegasus stood. “Be quiet. Grab it when you see your moment.” She wheeled around and took off down the hall just as the Keeper rounded the corner and gave chase, its lanter swingingly wildly as it moved.
“Twi-” Rainbow had to force a hoof over her own mouth, holding her breath as the Keeper seemed to slow in reaction to her half-shout, before continuing its chase. For a moment the pegasus watched, before shakily she pursued as well, hovering just above the floor on her wings and making as little noise as possible. She didn’t have time to second guess herself or doubt the plan.
The Keeper was faster than she expected, but nowhere near fast enough, and without much effort she was right on its tail. However, it wasn’t far behind Twilight, either. The unicorn didn’t seem to notice as she ran through the shelves without once glancing back. Focusing in on the lantern, Rainbow watched it rock back and forth. There was a moment, at the peak of its swing, where it was wide open for her to grab. She just had to time it right.
“I’m sorry.”
Rainbow’s wings faltered for a second, and she looked up again.
Twilight shouted without looking over her shoulder. “I should have told you girls everything from the beginning. I… I knew Discord had betrayed us, and I didn’t tell you. I was so focused on getting away from Ponyville, from you. I thought I was protecting you, but…” her voice hitched, and Rainbow realised she was crying. “Celestia said not to involve you but... I should have known from the very beginning that I’d need you girls. That he’d target you all like the first time. Maybe I was too stubborn, maybe I was just blindly following Celestia’s orders like always. It doesn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow. Everything that happened; you girls getting captured and… what happened to me. It’s my fault.”
With a flap of her wings Rainbow shot forward, hooves outstretched. The tattered cloak of the keeper passed by right next to her, brushing against her wing, and time seemed to freeze in the moment her hooves touched the lantern, like the moment of time captured in the light of a lightning strike. Twilight was looking back over her shoulder, smiling despite the tears on her cheeks.
Time resumed and Rainbow was past the keeper in the blink of an eye, the lantern held safely in her hooves as she fanned her wings to slow down. She turned, watching as the cloak fell harmlessly to the ground and Twilight cheered, running to catch up.
Then there was a rumbling, and the victorious grin faded from Rainbow’s lips as a shelf sprouted from the wall and sealed off the hall in front of her.
“Twilight!” She slammed herself into the bookshelf between her and the unicorn, hooves pounding against the wood. Muffled through the books, she heard a voice.
“Rainbow? Did you get the lantern?”
Rainbow nodded rapidly. “Yeah, yeah I got it, Twi. Just… just teleport over to this side and we can get out of here!”
There was a pause. “Use the lantern and make it back to Elysium. I can’t teleport down here; the halls are powerfully warded against magic. I couldn’t even smash through if I still had the magic of an alicorn.”
“There has to be another way! You have most of this place mapped out, right? Can I get to you?” Rainbow glanced back at her lantern, and from down the hall she saw another white light approaching.
“You can, but by then it’ll be too late.” There was an alarming resignation in Twilight’s voice.
Rainbow shook her head. “Too late? What are you talking about?”
“When you… when a Keeper’s lantern is stolen, and the Keeper… dies. It… it summons the other Keepers on the floor. Usually it’s not a problem, since you’d have a lantern… but…”
“What are you saying, Twi?” Rainbow already knew. She heard the groaning of the Keeper coming from behind her, but that wasn’t the only one she heard.
“You need to go back home, Rainbow. The girls need you.”
Rainbow slammed her hooves against the bookshelf to no avail. “We need you too! I’m not just leaving you!”
“You won’t have a choice soon. There’s one on this side; I’m trapped. I’m sorry, Rainbow. I’m so sorry, but I can’t…”
Rainbow gripped her necklace, holding it tightly a moment and closing her eyes. “Keep your head down.” She yelled, grabbing her lantern in her jaw and trotting away from the wall between them.
Twilight’s confused shout was barely audible as she walked away. “Rainbow? What are you doing?”
The Keeper ahead of her was still coming, and Rainbow watched as it approached. When the edges of their lights touched, she whipped her head around and threw hers. It flew through the air and connected with the Keeper’s own lantern, both of them shattering. The lights faded, and the Keeper’s cloak fell to the ground. “You’ve already taken her from me once. You’re not doing it again.” She turned back to the wall. “Head down!”
Without waiting for a response Rainbow launched herself into the air, hooves outstretched and wings beating as hard as she could. In moments she felt a familiar cone of pressure form, and then burst. The boom echoed deafeningly loud in the confined space, but the contained shockwave gave her a boost in speed.
Then she connected with the shelf, and the wood didn’t stand a chance. In a rainbow coloured explosion of splinters and books she broke through. Beneath her Twilight had ducked into a corner, hooves covering her head, and not far down the hall was another Keeper. She ignored it as she turned on a dime, bleeding off only a little speed as she snatched the unicorn in her hooves.
Twilight yelped in surprise as she was picked up bridal style, and she looked up to see Rainbow’s stone faced look of determination. “Rainbow! The lantern, where-”
“We don’t need it,” Rainbow grunted over the wind. “You know this place; guide us out of here. I’ll deal with avoiding any of those things.”
Twilight stared in shock a moment longer before regaining her senses and looking ahead. “Left!” She shouted, and they made a sharp bank around a corner. “Right!” Again they turned, and up ahead was another Keeper. Rainbow scowled, holding Twilight a little tighter. “Grab me a book.”
“What?”
“A book!” Rainbow growled, slowing slightly. “I need a book.”
Twilight looked confused, but reached out with her magic and snatched a book from a shelf.
Nodding approvingly, Rainbow motioned ahead. “When we get close, throw it over its head.”
Realizing the plan, Twilight charged her horn and waited. At their speed it was only moments before they were in position, and she sent the book flying further down the hall to clatter on the floor. The Keeper turned towards the noise, and they soared past over its head, rapidly leaving it behind as it struggled to catch them.
“Left! Then straight!”
A few corners later and they found the stairwell, and Rainbow slowed to fly up it. “One more floor…”
“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, noticing the strained look on her face.
Rainbow grinned at the mare in her hooves. “Fine, Twi. We’re almost out of here. Just a little further, right?”
Though the unicorn didn’t buy it, she didn’t have a chance to argue the point as they came out the next floor up and Rainbow sped up again. With their system in place, it didn’t seem like it was going to be much of a challenge.
Twilight, occasionally shouting directions, focused on the pegasus carrying her. It had been so long since she’d seen any of her friends. She couldn’t even be sure how long; time was hard to track that deep in the halls. The look on Rainbow’s face told her it had been far too long. She looked… different. Older, and the light that once shon behind her eyes was all but gone, replaced by a fiery determination that knew no bounds. It wasn’t a bright focus, but rather a smouldering obsession.
Then she looked down, and saw her own cutie mark resting against Rainbow’s chest in the form of a purple gemstone. It was strange, though; it seemed to glow, subtly. As though calling out to her. Reaching out a hoof, she touched it, and recoiled when it felt as though it had shocked her. She started to ask, but her chance was lost when they rounded a final corner and the staircase ahead appeared. Finally, as they flew up the stairs in a matter of moments, onto the much more brightly lit and cramped floor above, they were safe from the Keepers.
“We should be… safe… up here…” Rainbow’s wings screamed in protest as she finally allowed herself to slow. She set Twilight down on the floor gently before taking a few steps forward and falling onto her side, her saddlebags falling off as she struggled onto her back.
“Rainbow!” Twilight was at her side in an instant. “Are you okay?”
The pegasus just smiled up at her. “Fine, Twi. Just… tired.” She yawned - clearly fakely. Twilight didn’t smile back, and she watched the unicorn’s eyes grow wide.
“Rainbow…” Twilight reached out and touched the pegasus’s shoulder. The wound from the coliseum had closed, but it was still clearly there, and she’d have quite the scar when it healed. Then Twilight looked her over properly, and tears beaded in the corners of her eyes. There were so many wounds. Healed, but obviously fresh. “What… what happened to you?”
Chuckling, Rainbow shook her head. “It’s nothing, Twi.”
“Nothing?” Twilight ran her hooves through Rainbow’s wings, felt the injuries and patches of missing feathers. “How did this happen?”
“I told you; it’s nothing. I’m fine,” She pulled herself to sit upright, leaning her back against a bookshelf. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re a unicorn again?” She shrugged off the look she got.
“You’re avoiding the question,” Twilight muttered.
Rainbow sighed, shaking her head. She looked herself over. “I guess I got pretty beat up, huh? Not a big deal, as far as I’m concerned.” There was a pause, and the unicorn made it clear she wasn’t answering any questions until Rainbow Dash did. “I was being my usual awesome self, that’s all.” She searched Twilight’s face, hoping the explanation was enough.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t. “Rainbow,” Twilight deadpanned, her pointed look forcing the pegasus to look away. “Some of these are serious. How did you get them?”
“I had to fight some things to get to Elysium,” Rainbow admitted eventually. “I was awesome, but they managed to get some hits in. It’s seriously not a big deal. Didn’t even hurt!” She was quick to add. She’d known exactly how Twilight would take the idea of her getting injured for the unicorn’s sake. From the look on Twilight’s face, that was exactly how she was taking it.
“The trials…” Twilight trailed off, realization dawning in her eyes. She looked over Rainbow again, found the wound on her head from the golem. The tears in the corners of her eyes finally fell, and she dove forward for a hug. “This happened because of me…”
Rainbow groaned, though she had to admit the hug felt nice. Just being able to feel Twilight again, know she was there. “Don’t. I did this to myself because I wasn’t good enough. Besides…” she trailed off, returned the hug. “You’re more than worth a few scrapes and bruises.”
“You could have died!” Twilight scolded harshly. “Why… why couldn’t you just leave me? I chose my own fate to save you all. We’d have seen each other again, eventually. You didn’t have to-”
“Yes, I did.” Rainbow released the hug and leaned back again, smiling. “There was no way I was letting you go that easy.” She chuckled. Or coughed. Both. “I wouldn’t be Loyalty if I did.”
Twilight bit her lip, drawing back slightly. “You…” tears fell from smiling eyes. “You’re so stupid, you know that?”
“Never did win a spelling bee back in school.”
They shared a laugh, and for the briefest moment they felt… normal. In that one second nothing had happened. They were just two friends again, sitting around and having fun.
Then Rainbow’s laughed trailed off into coughing, and the illusion shattered. “Hey, there’s some water and food in my bags. Could you-” the canteen was already floating next to her head in a lavender glow. She accepted it happily, greedily chugging a few mouthfuls before offering it to the unicorn.
“I don’t need any,” Twilight said gently, pushing it away.
Rainbow frowned. “You sure?”
Sighing, Twilight nodded. “I suppose I should tell you. I’m… I’m dead, Rainbow.” She glanced away, scanning along the shelves. “I don’t have a physical body any more. I don’t need to eat or drink or sleep. What you see-” she motioned to herself “-is just a magical manifestation of my soul. That’s why I’m a unicorn; I became an alicorn only because of the magic that dwelled within me. It didn’t change who I was underneath it all; my soul is still just the soul of a nerdy unicorn from Canterlot.
“That’s also why… why I can’t come back with you.”
“Twi-”
“Listen!” Twilight snapped, their eyes met, and she cringed away from Rainbow’s hurt look. “Sorry. I’m… I can’t come back with you, Rainbow; I don’t… I’m just a soul, now. I don’t have a physical body. Without a body I can’t even leave Elysium, never mind make it back to the mortal plain. There’s not enough magic beyond Elysium to sustain me. If I enter the Underworld, I’ll become a lost soul. The remnants of my magic will be drained from me, I’ll lose my memories… the pony I was would be gone forever, until even my soul disappears.”
Rainbow frowned. “Twi, trust me; I’ve already taken care of it. I have a new body for you waiting back in Equestria. I-”
“What?”
“Yeah, listen; I met this mare who’s helped bring loads of ponies back from the dead. She’s the one who showed me how to get here. I’ve got it covered,” Rainbow explained hastily. “I’m already here. There’s no reason for you not to come back with me.”
Twilight gasped. “You mean… the mare with the pomegranate cutie mark?” Rainbow nodded. Twilight fell back onto her haunches. “She’s real… I’d… I’d thought it was strange, that detail occuring in so many of the stories. But I just figured they shared the same ancient root myth. I never thought…”
The pegasus smirked. “Real as they get, Twi; she’s growing you a new body right now. We just have to make it back to her.”
Shaking her head, Twilight sighed. “That’s only one of the problems. Even if I would have a body back home, I would never make it back through the Underworld with you… unless…” She looked at the pendant around Rainbow’s neck. “Where did you get that necklace?”
Rainbow glanced down at it. “Huh? Oh, Ce-...” she bit her tongue. “Harvest. The mare who got me here gave it to me. Said you’d know what to do with it.” She didn’t quite understand why, but everypony had been adamant about not mentioning the Princess’s involvement in her journey.
“It can’t be…” Twilight reached out and touched it, once again feeling a shock race down her leg. It didn’t hurt. More like a slight, almost pleasant tingle. A familiar tingle of magic. With her magic she popped the gem out of the metallic backing, and her jaw nearly dropped. There, stuck to the inside of the pendant, were a few thin purple flakes. Twilight quickly slotted the gem back into place, muttering to herself. “If those are what I think they are, and that gem is…”
Rainbow blinked. “Uhh… Twi? What’s goin’ on? What is it?”
“If, if that is what I think it is - and that is a very, very big if - you… this might actually work.” Twilight scratched at her head, staring intently at the pendant. “I think those flakes are… shavings. Of my horn. My actual body’s horn. How… why would she even have those? How would she have access?” She shook her head. “Not the point. If that is what they are, it provides a focal point I can bind my soul to, and if that gem is-”
“English, Twi; english. What are you saying.”
Twilight grunted. “If I’m right, I can use that necklace to make it through the Underworld with you. This… this might actually work.”
Though she understood very little of the how or the why, Rainbow cheered. “So problem solved! You do your magic thing, we go back to Equestria.”
“That is… a gross oversimplification. But… accurate,” Twilight admitted with the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips. “You might be the only pony capable of pulling this off.”
Rainbow gave her signature cocksure smile. “I’m nothing if not amazing, Twi-” she cut herself off with a yawn. “But… could this wait for a bit? I know you might not need to sleep, but I’ve been down here for ages and I could do with a power nap.”
“Oh!” Twilight nodded rapidly. “Of course! I’m gonna find some books on this, make sure I know what I’m doing. You can rest.”
Glancing nervously down the stairwell not too far from them, Rainbow shuddered. “Books? You… don’t need to go back down there, do you?”
Twilight giggled. “Of course not.” She lit her horn, and a small purple portal appeared next to her. A half dozen books floated out, and then it closed. “I kept a store of books I wanted to read later. Some basic magical texts that were lost to the ages, some on field manipulation theory, there’s one on advanced spell matrices. Oh, and this one’s-”
Letting loose a loud, exaggerated snore, Rainbow had already pulled her sleeping bag out from her saddlebags. “Right. Nerd stuff. Got it.” She yawned again. “I’m gonna hit the hay. You uh… do your thing.” Glancing around, Rainbow shrugged and laid down along the shelf, staring up at the ceiling a moment. A thought struck her, and she glanced over to the unicorn, already reading her books just a few steps away.
“Hey… Twi?”
Twilight looked up, tilting her head at the worried look written plainly across Rainbow’s featured. “What’s wrong?”
“Just…” she trailed off, scowling. “Do me a favour. I know this is gonna sound silly, but... promise me you’ll still be here when I wake up.”
“Rainbow…” Twilight shuffled a little closer. “Of course I’ll be here. I’m not gonna go anywhere without you. Why-”
“I dunno,” Rainbow interrupted, frowning. “It’s stupid, but I just… ever since I found you, I’ve had this feeling like… like this is all a dream. And I’m going to wake up and-” her breathing hitched and she had to fight not to let any tears fall. “-and I’m gonna wake up and you’ll be gone again.
“I know it’s stupid. I know this is real, I know you’re here. But I just… I can’t shake that feeling. So please, just… just promise me that, okay?”
Twilight nodded slowly. She reached down and grabbed Rainbow’s hooves in her own. “I promise; I’ll be right here when you wake up.” Their eyes met, and Rainbow knew she wasn’t lying.
“Thank you. I… I know it’s dumb but… thank you.” Rainbow released the unicorn’s hooves and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before closing her eyes. Exhaustion rapidly caught up to her, and with that promise she felt herself relax.
Twilight watched her breathing a moment before turning to her books, a newfound determination fuelling her. She hadn’t known how much her sacrifice had wounded her closest friends. Hadn’t known the scars she left behind would still be so fresh. All she knew was that she had to make it right.
Rainbow heaved a heavy breath, and gradually drifted off to sleep to the strangely comforting sound of turning pages.
Rainbow suddenly found herself falling. The bubble Tirek had her in had burst, and it took her a moment to catch herself. When she did, she shot towards Twilight. The alicorn was screaming in agony, writhing on the ground and clutching her head.
“Twi! Twilight, can you hear me?” Rainbow held the alicorn upright by the shoulders. Her screams tapered off as she was surrounded by her friends, and when her eyes opened they glowed a blinding white.
“I’m sorry, girls,” Twilight whispered, barely audible and clearly strained. “It was the only way.”
“C’mon, Twi, hang in there,” Rainbow urged desperately. “You’re gonna be fine, okay?”
A beam of magic shot straight up from the unicorn's horn, a pulse spreading across the sky. The light faded from her eyes.
Rainbow didn’t even notice her cutie mark returning. “Stay with us, Twi.”
Twilight reached a hoof up, gently tousling Spike’s spines. “I’m glad you’re safe… all of you.” She closed her eyes, and a second beam shot from her horn, this time flying off towards the horizon. The her breathing stopped, and Rainbow felt tears running down her face.
“No… Twilight no… please no… no, no, no…” There was a flash of magic, but Rainbow didn’t even look away. She just stared at the pony in her hooves, a serene smile on her lips. “No, Twilight… you can’t…”
Something was happening. There was shouting. Her friends were saying something. Rainbow couldn’t hear any of it. Her ears were ringing. If felt like someone had filled her head with cotton. “Please Twilight… wake up... you can’t be… you can’t…”
Somepony said something. Rainbow felt the tears come on stronger as she hugged Twilight’s lifeless body to her chest. “I… I never told you…” She was sobbing. Tears dripped onto Twilight’s face, and for a moment she thought it would be like all those scenes in all those trashy stories where Twilight’s eyes would open. But they didn’t, and Rainbow just cried harder.
She felt somepony trying to pull her away, trying to take Twilight from her, but they couldn’t. She wouldn’t let them. Twilight’s mane shifted in the struggle, and when Rainbow shook the hooves off her she fixed the stray strand of hair. “I… I love you, Twilight… please… please you can’t… you can’t…”
They were shouting her name. Trying to take Twilight away from her again. She didn’t have the strength left to stop them, and when Twilight slipped from her grasp she fell to the ground, clutching at her own chest. It hurt. It hurt so much. Why? It felt like somepony was stabbing her with a red hot knife, over and over and over.
There were hooves wrapped around her, and she was vaguely aware of four other crying mares and a dragon embracing her. It didn’t matter. It didn’t feel right. It never would again. There was a pair of hooves missing. A smiling face that would never smile again. A pony that was gone, and never coming back.
Rainbow’s heartbroken wail echoed across the battle scarred land, and all who heard it knew a small fraction of her pain.
Rainbow Dash jolted as she awoke suddenly, eyes snapping open and filling with lavender. It took a moment for her to realize where she was, and a few more for her situation to sink in. Her head lay in Twilight’s lap, and a hoof ran slow, gentle strokes through her mane. She blushed. “Twi?”
Twilight’s hoof stopped. “You were shouting in your sleep,” she explained, hearing the unasked question and closing her book. “My mom used to do this for me when I had nightmares. It usually helped.”
Rainbow groaned, rolling over and away from the unicorn. “So not cool…”
Giggling, Twilight shrugged. “Maybe not, but you seemed to calm down. Did you… want to talk about it?”
Rainbow grimaced, recalling the dream. It hadn’t been an exact memory; they never were. But it was close, and it was as real as the day it actually happened. “No… no it was nothing. Just a bad dream, is all.”
“Are you sure? I find talking it out helps-”
“I said I’m fine!” Rainbow snapped. She recoiled at the venom lacing her own words. “Sorry. I just… I’m fine, Twi. How long was I out?”
Frowning, Twilight searched the pegasus’s face. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about whatever it was, and the thinly veiled change of topic was just that. She sighed. “Several hours, at least.”
Rainbow grunted, her mouth already full of a granola bar. “Find anything in your books?”
“I think so?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know. There’s so little information regarding any kind of soul magic. It’s a big taboo, and has been for centuries. A few unicorns did some research, but often it resulted in them being imprisoned or banished. As a result they rarely kept any kind of proper documentation, and what they did keep was heavily encoded.”
“Eh, I’m sure you’ll figure something out,” Rainbow said with a shrug. She finished her breakfast and packed away her sleeping bag. “You ready to get going?”
With a roll of her eyes, Twilight nodded. “I suppose. It’s still a long walk from the… entrance… what is that?” She turned, ears swiveling. Faintly, there was the dreadfully familiar sound of a Keeper’s lantern. They both looked to the stairwell, and saw a ghostly white light emerging from the dark.
“I thought the Keepers didn’t come up here!” Rainbow whisper shouted, putting herself between it and Twilight.
“They don’t! That’s-”
“Rainbow Dash? Twilight?”
They both gasped in unison. “Clover!?”
From the staircase the light green unicorn emerged, quickly setting her lantern aside and rushing over to them. “Oh my gosh! You’re okay! I… I found a bunch of shattered lanterns and… and I thought you might have…” she trailed off and shook her head, running up and wrapping each of them in a hug in turn. “What happened to you two?”
Rainbow grimaced. “Long story.”
“Well, at least you both got out. When you ran off ahead and the halls shifted-”
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted, looking between them. “You know each other?”
Clover blinked. “Well… yeah; how do you think she found you? I ran into her and showed her where you were.”
“Huh. She never mentioned it.”
Rolling her eyes, Rainbow made a vague gesture with her hoof. “With all of… that going on? It didn’t exactly come up.”
“Yeah, I suppose we didn’t exactly have a lot of down time.” Twilight shrugged her shoulders, smiling. “Still, even you have to admit, Rainbow; it’s pretty ‘cool’ to meet Clover the Clever.”
Rainbow’s eyes grew wide. “Clover the Clever?” She gasped, glancing back and forth between the two unicorns. “I didn’t know you were Clover the Clever!”
There was a momentary pause before both mares broke down laughing. “You didn’t know?” Twilight asked through her giggles. “I thought it would have been obvious. I mean, she looks exactly like all the descriptions of her.”
“You know I don’t read that stuff, Twi,” Rainbow muttered, before shaking her head firmly. “Not the point. If you’re that Clover, then…” she trailed off, and dots started connecting in her head. Dots she really didn't want to connect. “How… long have you been here?”
Clover’s laughter tapered off, and her eyes trailed around the shelves. “Pretty well since I died,” she said with a noncommittal shrug. “Don’t really know how long it’s been, though. Hard to keep track, you know?”
“And you’ve never left?” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed, and a ball formed in the pit of her stomach. “Not since you died?”
“Why would I? No reason to, as far as I can see. Not like I need to eat or anything, and there’s so much knowledge down here that I could-”
“And what about Gale?”
Clover’s words stopped dead, jaw hanging open. A small flash of recognition gleamed in her eyes. “G-gale?” She repeated, the name felt unfamiliar on her tongue.
“Gale?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s Gale?”
Rainbow watched as realization dawned on the green unicorn, tears beading in her eyes. “Commander Hurricane Gale,” she said, crossing her hooves. “I met her in Elysium. She said a lot of ponies had come down here and never come back, but…”
“Oh!” Twilight slapped a hoof to her forehead. “Commander Hurricane! I remember reading about her; weren’t you two… married… oh… oh my gosh…” She covered her mouth with a hoof, having finally caught up to Rainbow’s thinking.
Clover’s tears dripped off the end of her muzzle, holding her head in her hooves. “Gale… I… It’s been so long…” she choked back a sob, not even bothering to wipe away her tears. “W-when I got here I just - I told myself I’d just wait for her. Pass the time in the Halls. But then… then I just kept reading and it’s like…” Shaking her head, Clover struggled to take a full breath. “It’s like I forgot all about her. I… I never even thought about her…”
“You haven’t seen her since you died?” Rainbow asked incredulously. She’d figured it had been a while, but to find it had been that long. “Clover-”
“I know!” She stomped her hoof angrily, clenching her eyes shut. “I know! I… the curse it… it’s had me for so long. It wouldn’t let me think about anything that would make me want to leave.” Tapping her hoof against her head, she shuddered. “I can feel it even now. It’s trying to take her from me again.”
“Come with us,” Rainbow urged gently, grabbing Clover by the shoulders. “Gale’s waiting for me up top. Come with us and we can all get out of here. You’ve made her wait long enough.”
Nodding rapidly, Clover rubbed at her eyes. “Of course! I… I have to get out of here, have to…” she trailed off, her gaze growing distant as she pulled away from the pegasus’s hooves. “I have to… stay here…”
“What? Clover-”
“It’s the curse, Rainbow,” Twilight interrupted, carefully approaching and putting a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder. “She hasn’t even been able to think about leaving in centuries. For her to leave now…” she shook her head. “It’s hard enough for me to stay focused on getting out, and I’ve only been here a fraction of what she has. Clover-”
Clover wiped the tears from her cheeks, regarding the damp spot on her leg curiously. “Sorry, what were we talking about?”
“You were going to come with us to the upper layers, remember?” Twilight smiled gently, urging them down the hall. “Show us how to get there; I don’t remember the upper floors very well.”
“Right… yes of course!” Clover giggled behind a hoof. “Sorry, I get distracted sometimes. Follow me!” She marched off ahead of them, and Rainbow tilted her head.
Rainbow watched her cautiously. “What the heck was up with that?”
Twilight leaned in and whispered; “As long as she doesn’t think about leaving, she’ll be fine to come with us to the exit. Once we’re there… we might have to drag her out ourselves. But… I don’t know. There are stories of ponies who went mad trying to leave this place. I don’t know if we should.”
Watching the mare ahead of them trot happily down the hall, as though nothing in the world was wrong, struck a chord in Rainbow. She recalled the pained look on Hurricane’s face whenever she spoke of the library’s curse. “We’ll have to figure something out. We can’t just leave her down here.”
“That’s not going to be our only problem, though.” Twilight glanced behind them and shuddered, forcing herself to look ahead. “It’s getting harder and harder for me to focus on getting out myself.”
Rainbow nodded her head with a grim frown. “If it comes down to it I’ll carry you both out myself.”
Despite the implications Twilight chuckled. “I don’t doubt it for a second…” she glanced back again. “Hey, Rainbow? Can I… ask you some questions?”
“Shoot.”
Twilight shifted awkwardly. “How… how long have I been here? It’s hard to keep track of time without needing to sleep.”
“One year, one month, and… thirteen or fourteen days. Depends how long I’ve been down here,” Rainbow answered automatically. She felt the unicorn’s eyes on her. “What? What happened… it’s not something I’m gonna forget. You tend to remember what day it was.”
“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized almost on reflex.
Rainbow waved her hoof dismissively. “Not your fault, Twi; you saved us. All of us. All of Equestria, even. I can’t hold what you did against you.”
“I should have taken the deal,” she muttered to herself, head hanging low. “Should have given Tirek what he wanted. We’d have found another way to stop him. Together. Like we should have been from the beginning.”
There was a pause, and Twilight looked up to see Rainbow glaring at her. “And give that maniac the power of four alicorns?” She shook her head. “He could have done so much more damage. How could we have stopped him without our magic?”
“I don’t know,” Twilight admitted with a heavy sigh. “I just… I get the feeling that’s not how it was supposed to happen.”
Rainbow snorted. “Of course it wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. Discord was supposed to have stopped him.” She spat the name like it was poison on her tongue. “Or Celestia should have done something. There are so many things that went wrong that day.”
“I guess…” Twilight frowned, but shrugged it off after a moment. “How are the girls doing? Do they know you’re here?”
“Kinda?” She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “I told ‘em what I was doing, but they didn’t believe me. As for how they’re doing… I don’t really know.” Rainbow grimaced guiltily. “Didn’t spend much time back in Ponyville after everything that happened. Couldn’t bare to be there anymore. Then I was travelling around the world, looking for a way to bring you back.” Her eyes lit up suddenly. “You shoulda seen it, Twi; some of the places I went. The magic I saw. Like, did you know the dragons-”
“Hey, slowpokes!” Clover shouted, the gap between them having grown. “You coming or what? Staircase is over here!”
Twilight placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, and they paused for just a moment. “You’ll have plenty of time to tell me all about it.” She smiled. “When we get home.”
It was almost another two hours before they climbed the final staircase and exited out onto the topmost floor. Rainbow Dash eagerly took the opportunity to stretch out her wings under the large, vaulted ceiling as she took to the air. She scanned out above the shelves, looking off to the distance.
“See anything!?” Twilight shouted through cupped hooves. Rainbow came back down, shaking her head.
“Nah; this place is huge. It’s this way, though-” she pointed ahead “-it’s the only way I don’t see a wall.”
Twilight nodded. “Well, let’s-”
“You guys should be good from here,” Clover said, fidgeting slightly and inching closer to the stairs. “I’m gonna head back down.”
“Yeah, I think…” Twilight groaned, holding a hoof to her head. “I think I’m gonna…”
Rainbow bit her lip anxiously. “Oh no. Stay with me guys-” she rushed over and grabbed Twilight’s cheeks, forcing their eyes to meet. “You’re coming back with me, remember?”
Twilight blinked at her a moment before grimacing. “Yeah, yeah I… I remember.” She shook her head forcefully, knocking Rainbow’s hooves away. Her thoughts were muddled and slow, but they were her own. “I’ve really gotta get out of here.”
Rainbow nodded. “Atta girl, Twi.” She turned her attention to the other unicorn, already standing on the stairs. “Clover! You gotta come with us. Gale’s waiting for you.”
The unicorn jolted, snapping around at the name. “Gale?” Tears beaded in the corner of her eyes, but there was confusion on her face. “Who’s Gale?” She blinked and the tears fell. “Sorry, I’ve gotta get back down. We’re working on mapping out the lower floors, and I took one of our lanterns.”
“Come on, Clover. You gotta focus.” Rainbow urged, glancing over at Twilight with a pleading look. The unicorn, however, seemed too distracted keeping a hold on herself to be of any assistance. “I know you remember her.”
Clover’s eyes switched between the stairs leading down and Rainbow. “I… I don’t know. I’m sorry, I really have to-” she was cut off as her eyelids fluttered and she fell to the ground. Rainbow ran forward in surprise and grabbed her before she could start rolling down the stairs. Looking up, she saw faint wisps of magic dissipating from Twilight’s horn.
“She’s just asleep,” Twilight groaned out through clenched teeth, panting raggedly. “It’s... really strong up here; it won’t even let her remember anything that would make her want to leave. I think this will be easiest.”
Rainbow nodded, hauling the unconscious unicorn onto her back before going to Twilight’s side. “Are you going to be okay? Do you want me to carry you, too?”
Shaking her head, Twilight started forward. “I’ll be… fine.” She winced and staggered. “Just gotta focus.”
“If you’re sure…” Rainbow watched her carefully, making sure to match the unicorn’s slowed pace. She was glad she did when she had to catch her after a particularly bad stumble. “Twi-”
“Can you feel it at all?”
“A bit. Feels kinda… foggy, I guess?” She glanced to the mare on her back, then to Twilight. “Nowhere near as bad as you two though.”
Twilight tripped again, and when Dash caught her she took a moment to rest against the pegasus. “I’ve only been here a year… I can’t imagine how bad Clover would have it if she tried to fight through it like this…”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to-”
“I’m fine,” Twilight insisted sharply. “If… If I can’t even do this, there’s no way I’ll be able to make it back home with you. I have to be able to do this.”
Rainbow stepped ahead and extended her wing, blocking Twilight’s path. “You don’t have to do it alone. Let me help you.”
“You already have to carry Clover, I couldn’t ask you to-”
“I already told you,” Rainbow insisted, gently lowering Clover from her back. “I’d carry you both out myself if I had to. At this rate, I’ll have to; I can fly us all out of here faster than we could walk through this place. Even if you weren’t falling over yourself every other step.”
Twilight sighed, but nodded begrudgingly. “I… thank you. How did you-”
“Hop on.” Rainbow was already crouched low, motioning to her back. “It’ll be easier to carry her than have her on my back while I’m flying. You at least can hang on.”
Hesitantly, and careful to avoid her wings, Twilight clambered onto Rainbow’s back, wrapping her hooves around the pegasus’s neck. “I’m sorry.”
Rainbow grunted, shifting a moment before flapping her wings and hovering just above the ground. “Nothin’ to be sorry about.” She reached down and picked up Clover’s limp body, huffing slightly as she carried them into the air. “Jeeze, one of you two needs to eat a few more salads.”
“I’m going to make you sorry for that one,” Twilight muttered, burying her muzzle into the back of Rainbow’s neck. Her head felt like she’d used it to smash down a brick wall, and even the small amount of magic she’d used to put Clover to sleep left a stinging sensation that still lingered in her horn. Beneath it all, she could feel the pull of the Hall’s curse. Part of her knew that if it wasn’t for Rainbow being right there in front of her, she’d never have been able to fight it off.
Rainbow felt the hooves tighten around her neck. “You okay back there?”
The unicorn nodded slightly. “I’ll be okay. How’s Clover?”
“Seems fine,” Rainbow grunted back, looking down. “I mean, she’s not exactly helping-” she shifted her hooves, struggling to get a better grip “-but I’m not gonna drop her or anything. You think she’ll be okay? When we get out of here, I mean?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. The curse has been working its way into her mind for hundreds of years, now. Like a sponge pulled to the bottom of a pool. Now it’s like that sponge is being crushed, forcing the curse from it, and there’s no way to know what kind of effect it’ll have on her. But…” she trailed off, remembered the look on Clover’s face. Remembered how the mare didn’t even remember her own wife. “We have to get her out of here.”
Rainbow didn’t respond immediately, a pensive frown pulling at her lips. “Hey, Twi?” She felt Twilight cling a little closer to her.
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
Taking a slow, shuddering breath, Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know if I’d have been able to come out when you girls… came here. That’s what you were going to ask, right? If I’d have ended up like Clover?” She closed her eyes, trying to force back the pounding in her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t know about the curse when I first came here. I just knew it was a library rumoured to contain all the knowledge in the world. When I found out… it was too late. That alone wasn’t a good enough reason for me to leave anymore; I’d already been in here too long when I met Clover and she explained everything to me. It was just… the price I had to pay for the knowledge I gained.
“But it’s too high. Nothing is worth being trapped here forever. I… I’d have never seen you girls again. I couldn’t… wouldn’t....” she trailed off, and Rainbow felt a dampness on the back of her neck.
“Hey, none of that; tissues are not complementary.” She chuckled weakly at her own attempt to lighten the mood, and to her relief she felt Twilight giggle a little. “It’s okay, Twi; we’ll get out of here.” Ahead, the wooden balcony of the first room Rainbow had entered came into view. She grinned. “Sooner than later.”
Twilight lifted her head, peering over the pegasus’s shoulder. “Do you know how to get out from here?”
“The door?” Rainbow offered, raising an eyebrow. Although… thinking back, the door hadn’t been there on the inside. She’d just kinda been… dumped there after walking in. “You’re kidding me, right? Do you know?”
“I was hoping you would…”
Rainbow groaned. “Of all the things to not tell me, Gale, why’d you have to leave this one out? I know it’s possible.”
“Of course it’s possible.” Twilight looked around as they landed on the balcony. The room was the same way she remembered it; relatively small and square, lined by shelves with a wooden balcony wrapping all the way around. Small stone archways lead into different halls on the ground floor. However, there was the distinct lack of an exit. “But I don’t know how.”
Gently setting Cover on the floor, Rainbow felt Twilight slide from her back as well. “Well, to get in you had to read a book. So, do the opposite?”
Twilight looked at her. “And what’s the opposite of reading a book? Writing one?”
“Burning one,” Rainbow offered flatly.
“Rainbow!” Twilight’s glare lasted a few moments before she sighed and shook her head. “There might be a clue or something. Come on; help me start looking.” Already the unicorn was at a bookshelf, scanning along the spines.
Glancing at the unconscious unicorn on the floor, Rainbow hesitated. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“Hmm?” Twilight looked up. “Oh! Yeah, she’ll be fine; the spell should last an hour at least. We have time.” She quickly went back to her task. Rainbow rolled her eyes, but followed the mare’s lead and started looking for some kind of clue to an exit. The room was as she remembered it; simple, small, and covered in shelves coated in books.
Without much direction, Rainbow flew idly around the room, eyes trailing across the upper shelves. Some titles she could read, others were in languages she couldn’t begin to decipher. All of them were equally unhelpful.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered to herself. “This is what’s stopping me? Finding a stupid door?”
“You say something?”
Rainbow jolted, looking down at Twilight. She blushed. “N-no, just… talking to myself.” She lowered herself a little so she didn’t have to shout to be heard. “Not really used to having somepony with me…”
Twilight’s eyes widened. “Oh… how, um, long has it been?”
“Spent maybe… three days before I met Gale?” Rainbow scratched at her head. Time was so hard to judge when she had only her sleep cycle to count the days, and she knew for a fact she’d spent far too much time flying and not enough time sleeping. “I was only with Gale until I got here, then… I dunno. Another day or two before I ran into Clover?” She sighed. “Not very long, I guess, but I got used to it. Honestly, hardest part was how… quiet it was.”
Rainbow shuddered. “It was so quiet. Not, like, a calm kinda quiet, either. A really… heavy quiet, I guess? I don’t know how do describe it.”
“Oppressive?” Twilight offered quietly. She frowned. “I’m sorry, you-”
“Enough with the apologizing, Twi.” The pegasus turned away. “What happened wasn’t your fault. And what I had to do to get here sure as heck isn’t your fault either. I’m just too stubborn to let things go.” She flashed an obviously fake smile that didn’t even fool herself.
There was a pause, and Rainbow nodded to herself approvingly, happy to put the notion to bed. Until Twilight spoke up; “It’s not your fault, either.” Rainbow froze, one hoof pressed against a book as her wings flapped idly behind her. “It’s not your fault,” Twilight repeated, and she saw the pegasus bite her tongue. “Rainbow-”
“You already said that,” Rainbow said in barely a whisper. Her hoof fell and she lowered herself gently to the ground.
Twilight’s gaze hardened. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
“Sure I do, Twi,” she gave her that same false smile. “It’s… it’s not my fault. Like you said.”
“Rainbow Dash, I know when you’re lying.”
Rainbow chewed her lip, unable to look away from her own two hooves. “Twi-”
“What could you have done? It was-”
“Something!” She slammed her hoof against the wooden floor. “I could have done something.” Rainbow closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. “I should have known something was up with you. I could have come with you. I could have seen through Discord and stopped him from trapping us. I could have just been there. You shouldn’t have had to face Tirek alone, Twilight. There are so many things I could have done. I just didn’t.
“Damn it, it’s my fault you died - it’s all our fault you died. Me, the girls, Celestia - we should have helped you. The girls and I just… we just let you go off on your own, even when we knew something was wrong. We just walked into Discord’s trap. Celestia just pumped all her magic into you and then sat there and waited for Tirek. What was even her plan? Hope he never found you and let him take all the magic from the rest of Equestria?”
Rainbow was panting, her hooves shaking. Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but the pegasus cut her off again. “I didn’t just leave Ponyville because of what happened to you. I left because I couldn’t stand to be there, knowing what I’d - what we’d done to you. Whenever I saw any of the girls all I could think about was how we all just… let you go. We just abandoned you on your own. We let you die, Twilight. I was so… angry. Angry at myself, but at them, too- they were just as responsible as me.
“And instead of trying to do anything about it they were content to just sit around and ‘heal’.” She scoffed, shaking her head. “As if. Life could never just go back to the way it was before. I could never just… move on. Not without you. If… if I couldn’t find a way to bring you back… I didn’t… couldn’t-” her words hitched. “I didn’t want to keep going without you. I would’ve-”
Twilight practically fell on the pegasus, wrapping her in a hug so tight it seemed to squeeze the tears out of her, and Rainbow broke down sobbing. “It’s okay, Rainbow,” Twilight whispered gently, a few tears of her own running down her cheeks. “I forgive you.”
Rainbow Dash lost control entirely as those words reached her. She could hear the sincerity in the unicorn’s voice and she couldn’t stop herself as the dams inside her crumbled. There was nothing left to hold back the oceans of emotion that had only grown deeper since she’d finally found her. The guilt she felt, the fear that Twilight would hate her for what she’d done. It was all released at once and Rainbow lost herself in the tidal wave, clinging desperately to the mare that had started it all.
“It’s okay…” Twilight held her friend close, providing what little comfort she could. Her head still pounded painfully and her vision had started to swim but none of that mattered. “I forgive you,” she said again, and felt as Rainbow squeezed her tighter. She’d never once blamed her - or any of their friends - for what had happened, but that wasn’t what the pegasus needed to hear.
It was a long time before any more words were spoken. When the tears stopped is wan’t from a lack of emotion but rather simply not having enough energy to cry anymore.
“T-Twilight, I-” Rainbow took a slow, shuddering breath, burying her muzzle into the unicorn’s chest. “I… I l-lo-” she bit her tongue. Cursed herself. She’d promised. She needed to tell Twilight the truth. How she felt. “Twilight.” Her tears had stopped but her breathing was still uneven and hitched on every inhale. “I… I need to tell you something.”
Twilight’s ears were ringing, and she winced as her head gave a particularly painful throb. She couldn’t even hear the pegasus any more, only feel her shaking in her arms. Actually, as her eyes idly trailed along the shelves, she noticed that her head hurt the most when she looked at a specific section of books. “Hey, Rainbow?” She looked down, saw the pegasus looking up at her with bloodshot and puffy eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” Rainbow blew out slowly, looking away and pulling out of the embrace. She berated herself for missing her chance. “S-sorry. That… really wasn’t cool.” She rubbed at her face. “I… uh… guess I needed that, though.”
“It’s been more than a year.” Twilight smiled ruefully. “You’ve been carrying all of that with you since… what happened. Knowing you, you probably didn’t talk to anypony else about it, either. Just bottled it up and tried to forget about it.”
Rainbow chuckled weakly. “Yeah, that sounds like me, but-” her eyes hardened “-I never tried to forget about it. That… there was no way I was going to forget about what I did to you. What we did to you.”
“Rainbow…” Twilight sighed, then just shook her head. She winced as the motion made the room spin, and she remembered why she’d spoken up. “I think I found the exit.”
The pegasus’s eyes lit up. “You did!?”
“I think,” Twilight stressed, pointing towards a seemingly innocuous shelf that, nonetheless, seemed to strengthen the curse’s effects whenever she looked directly at it.
Rainbow followed her hoof, eyes landing on the wall. She raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Don’t you feel it?” Twilight asked, trotting forward until she was in front of it. “Look away, and then look back at this spot and focus on the curse.”
“Okay…” Rainbow did as she was instructed an turned her head to the left. She furrowed her brow, paying attention to the slight fog that had seemed to coat her mind since they came up to the first floor. When she looked at the indicated shelf, the fog grew thicker and she could feel the urge to turn away. “It’s… it’s like the curse doesn’t want me to see it…”
Twilight nodded, running her hoof along the wood. “Exactly. And since the curse is designed to try and keep us here, anything that it doesn’t want us to see must be- whoa!” She stumbled forward as her foreleg passed straight through the wall, the books rippling in a wave like water. “I think I found it!”
“Awesome, Twi!” Rainbow rushed over and stuck her hoof out, watching as it disappeared through the shelf like it wasn’t there at all. “Just lemme go grab Clover and- Twilight!” She rushed forward and caught the unicorn just as she collapsed. “Twi, you okay? What’s wrong?”
Groaning, the unicorn held a hoof to her head. “Yeah, yeah; fine. Just… really hard to stay focused. I’ll be fine; go get Clover. The sooner we get out of here the better.”
Rainbow hesitated, but eventually relented when Twilight was able to pushed herself upright again. In a flash she flew over to where she’d set Clover down and returned with the sleeping mare across her back. “C’mon; let’s go.”
Together they stepped through the false shelf, coming out the other side into a inky blackness that seemed to go on forever. Rainbow recognized it from when she’d first entered the Halls. “Straight ahead,” she said, glancing over to where she thought Twilight was. “You good?”
The unicorn grunted. “You mean aside from not being able to see a thing and feeling like someone's trying to pick out my brain with an icepick?”
“Fair enough. It’s not that far; you want me to carry you?” Rainbow asked, stepping a little closer to where Twilight’s voice had come from.
Twilight rolled her eyes - and sincerely hoped that Rainbow picked up on it. “I’ll be fine. I think… it’s getting easier. We’re almost-” she was cut off as they were both overtaken by a bout of vertigo, throwing them off balance. It lasted a few, long seconds, and when it stopped they looked up to see a grand wooden door stood in the middle of a black void.
Looking at each other, neither mare hesitated as they ran forward, pushing open the doors together and bursting out into a light bright enough to momentarily blind both of them. Blinking hard, Rainbow’s eyes slowly adjusted and she looked out across a grassy field. She pushed forward, feeling the sun hit her coat for the first time in days, took a deep breath of fresh air that didn’t smell like musty books.
“Rainbow!” She looked up when her name was called, and grinned as she saw the silhouette of a pegasus approaching. Rainbow waved, then glanced to make sure Twilight was with her. The unicorn seemed to be having a harder time adjusting to the light, but she looked okay.
“C’mon, Twi,” Rainbow urged gently, wrapping her wing around Twilight’s shoulder and guiding the mostly-blind unicorn beyond the doors. As they stepped out from the shadow of the entrance, Rainbow heard Gale touch down in front of them.
Hurricane stood tall, a grin stretched across her muzzle. “Took you long enough. I was starting to wonder if you were ever gonna come out, or if you were just gonna hunker down and read with this Twilight of yours. Speaking of-” she looked to the lavender mare next to Rainbow, and smirked. “What was all that nonsense about her being an alicorn?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Long story. I’ll tell you later. For now, I’ve got something for you.”
“Oh?” Hurricane lifted her brow, crossing her hooves. “If you brought me back a book I’m gonna-” the air was sucked from her lungs as Rainbow turned and her eyes fell on the light green unicorn sprawled across the pegasus’s back.
Rainbow smiled gently, nodding. “I think she belongs to you.”
“C-clover?” Gale froze, hoof frozen in a half-step towards them. “Y-you… you found her?”
“She’s fine, by the way; just sleeping. She should be up soon,” Rainbow explained, about to lower the mare from her back when she felt herself get tackled into a fierce hug.
Gale squeezed the pegasus tightly. “Thank you… I… it’s been so long I… thank you. So much.” She let Rainbow go and took Clover into her own hooves, smiling down at the mare’s peacefully closed eyes. A faint purple glow passed over Clover’s head, and after a moment her eyes fluttered open. She blinked as her vision was filled by a cyan face.
“Gale?” She asked groggily, looking around. “I… where am I? I was… in the library when I…” Her eyes snapped wide open. “Gale!?”
Hurricane nodded, shaking loose a few tears. “Yeah, Clover; it’s me.”
“Gale I… I’m so sorry. I-” she was cut off as the pegasus leaned down and their lips met for the first time in a thousand years.
Rainbow watched them a moment before looking away, and her eyes met Twilight’s. The unicorn was smiling at her. She blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “What?”
“Nothing.” Twilight shook her head, sighing as she looked up to the bright blue sky. “It’s… thank you, Rainbow. If it weren’t for you… I don’t know if I’d have ever left.”
“Nah.”
Twilight tilter her head. “What’s that?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Rainbow playfully bumped their flanks together. “Even if I didn’t come here to take you back home, when I got here… naturally… I’d have come and gotten you anyway. Ain’t no way I’d leave you down there.”
Twilight couldn’t help but to laugh, smiling brightly as she dragged Rainbow into a hug. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
“Hey! If you two lovebirds are done we should get going; I found that flower you were talking about!”
Rainbow blushed brightly, worming out of Twilight’s hooves and rushing over to Hurricane. “Listen, I know I promised, but stuff happened - I haven’t told her yet,” she said in a hushed whisper, glancing over her shoulder at the confused unicorn watching them. “I will, just… keep it quiet for now, okay?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Hurricane rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. “Fine. You…” she looked over at Clover, practically glued to her side with a blue wing around the unicorn’s back. “I owe you, so I’ll do it. But you gotta tell her, kid.”
“Thank you.” She waved Twilight over. “So, where’s this flower thing I need?”
Gale sighed. “Come on back to town with us; I found where the flower is, but… well, it’s not gonna be easy.”
“My dear student…” Celestia sighed, hanging her head. Her white coat was stained black by the sooty ground she knelt on, but she paid it little mind. She sat in the center of what was once Ponyville’s public library, now nothing but a charred husk. A painful memory. A memorial, of sorts. The notion of clearing the debris fully and rebuilding had been brought up multiple times to the mayor, but each time it was decided to leave what remained. The site had been cleared of anything salvageable, and the surrounding area had been cleaned, but within the shell of the once mighty tree the ruins remained untouched. For the most part.
Celestia gently ran her hoof across the small sprout in the center of the destruction. Rainbow Dash had been quite clear in her instructions to care for the plant, and Celestia was hardly in a place to refuse. She’d even opted to care for it herself rather than delegate it to a professional from the castle’s gardens. It only seemed fitting. It wasn’t long before she understood why Rainbow had been so adamant about it. At first she’d made the trip only to fulfill the pegasus’s request, but as the days ticked by she found herself growing fond of the time spent alone. Reflecting. In those moments spent caring for the tiny plant, it felt as though Twilight was with her once again. Maybe it was because she was in the former home of her precious student, or maybe it was because new life sprouting from the reminder of death brought with it a sense of hope. A hope that she desperately needed.
Whatever the reason, Celestia had made it a part of her daily rituals to come and check on the sapling.
“Hey! What are you- P-princess?”
Celestia forced herself not to sigh as she stood, wiping the soot from her fur with a wave of magic. She turned, smiling at the dragon who had found her. “Hello, Spike.”
Spike shuffled awkwardly, glancing around. “What are you doing here?”
“Just visiting,” Celestia said, carefully stepping over the young tree as she approached the dragon. “Nothing important, I assure you; I just… like to stop by, from time to time. Pay my respects.” She nodded at the largest wall still standing.
Nodding his head, Spike smiled sadly. “She’s not really gone,” he said. “At least, that’s what Rarity says. Nopony’s ever really gone as long as we remember them. They... live on. As a part of us.” The tremor in his voice told how little faith he had in the line.
Celestia smiled. “Rarity’s wise for her age.”
“Maybe…” Spike trailed off, shaking his head. “Doesn’t feel like it, though. Feels like a load of horse apples they feed to ponies who are grieving to make them stop.” He bent down and scooped up a pile of ash, opening his claw and letting it run between his fingers like the sands of an hourglass. “It feels more like she’s gone, and she’s never coming back.”
Celestia bit the inside of her cheek. “I’m sorry,” she apologized almost on reflex. “It must be hard on you.”
Spike wiped his claw on his leg. He snorted, a small burst of smoke wafting up from his nostrils. “It’s been hard on everypony. Me, the girls, her parents. I didn’t hear Shining say a word for weeks after.” He took a steadying breath, closing his eyes and forcing himself not to cry. “And everypony always says how hard it must be for me. How much I must be hurting. Well it’s not fair; we’re all hurting. It’s not right to focus on me and ignore everypony else’s pain. I never asked for anypony’s pity. Even the girls; Rarity thinks I don’t hear her when she wakes up crying. Whenever I try and talk to her about it, she just says she’s fine and asks how I’m doing.”
“I understand.” Celestia nodded slowly. “You may be young, but you’re not a child anymore. It seems that news hasn’t caught up to them yet.” She glanced to the sun, gauging the time. “I have a while yet before I must return to Canterlot. Would you care to join me for some tea?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Spike rubbed his shoulder. “Yeah, I guess.”
Celestia smiled and gently guided him forward with her wing down the street. “How are the girls doing?” She asked gently, eyes trailing the sky and noting the abundance of clouds. “I confess I have been meaning to come and see you all officially for a while.”
“Same old?” Spike offered uncertainty. “AJ’s pretty well thrown herself into the farm; I don’t see all that much of her except for the weekly get together Rarity forced everypony into. Pinkie’s starting to throw parties again, but she hasn’t baked anything since it happened. Something about it not ‘feeling right’ anymore. Rarity’s doing her best, but I can tell she’s struggling; her fashion lines have been coming less and less often and are getting smaller. She temporarily closed her other boutique so she could stay here, but at this rate I don’t know when she’ll open it again. Fluttershy…
“Actually, I think Fluttershy's handling it best out of all of us. She’s out at the market every other day or so, and she stops by Rarity’s shop with sandwiches and tea. I think she brings it to all our friends.” He frowned slightly at nothing in particular. “She said something about making sure she didn’t let it all go to waste. I don’t really know what she meant.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow when Spike trailed off into silence. “And Rainbow Dash?”
“Who cares?” He huffed, crossing his arms. “She’s not here. She’s never here. I don’t know where she is, and she can stay that way for all I care.”
“Spike-”
“Do you know what she said to us?” He asked sharply, glaring daggers at the clouds. “She told us all she was going to find a way to bring Twilight back. Something about a bunch of stories she’d read leading her to some magical mare that knew how to bring ponies back from the dead. That was weeks ago, and since then I haven’t seen her. Fluttershy says her house is empty again.”
Celestia sighed softly. “Everypony grieves in their own way, Spike. Rainbow Dash is a mare of action, and she’s been faced with a situation over which she has no control; have you considered how she feels?”
Spike growled. “Did she consider how we felt? No. She just up and left. You know she didn’t even show up to the funeral.” He scoffed. “I knew she was selfish, but this is a whole different level.”
Seemingly content to leave it at that, Spike allowed the conversation to peter out. For a time they walked in silence, and he seemed in no rush to change that. Glancing down at the dragon next to her, Celestia’s shoulders sagged. “Could I ask you something, Spike, and have you be totally honest with me?”
“Huh?” He looked up at her, his lingering anger dissipating and replaced by confusion. “Sure, I guess?”
“Do you… blame me? For what happened?”
Spike’s eye widened. “Of course not! You did your best to protect everypony by keeping your power out of Tirek’s grasp. If you hadn’t, Twilight might not have been able to stop him.”
Despite his assurance, Celestia frowned. “And if I may ask, who do you blame, if anyone?”
“Discord,” was his answer without a single thought. “I saw him at the funeral, and I know he didn’t shed a single tear. I don’t think he regrets what he did at all. I’m telling you, he’s going to do it again. Now that… without the Elements…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Discord’s the one responsible.”
Celestia let his answer hang in the air as they came to their destination. She opened the door to Sugarcube Corner in her magic and allowed the young drake inside ahead of her. Mrs. Cake gasped upon seeing the pair enter, rushing over and bowing lowly. “Your highness,” she greeted. “Please, forgive the state of the shop; we hadn’t known you intended on visiting today, if we could-”
Holding up a hoof, celestia effortlessly silenced the mare. “Please; this is a casual visit. If you could just provide us with some tea, I’ll only be here a short while.”
The baker was gone at her command, and Celestia somewhat awkwardly sidled into one of the booths lining the wall. Spike sat across from her, and in no time at two steaming cups were laid out before them.
“I hope I’m not keeping you from anything,” Celestia said, sipping at her tea.
Spike waved his hand dismissively. “Not like I had anything to do today…” he trailed off, gazing into his drink. “I don’t have a lot to do in general anymore… I’m still not used to having so much free time.”
“Still, I appreciate you humouring me. It’s nice to get away from the castle from time to time.” She seemed quite content to leave the conversation at that, and continued to idly drink from her cup, watching the young drake over the rim.
He sighed, and his shoulders sagged. “Is it ever going to get better?” Spike asked timidly, more to his tea than the monarch opposite him.
Celestia paused a moment, gently setting her cup down. “I… cannot say,” was the only answer she could provide. It all depends on Rainbow Dash, now…
“Thanks,” he snorted sarcastically. The thought he was just rude to Princess Celestia flickered in his mind for only a moment. “I guess all we can do is just… keep moving forward, right?”
“Is that something Rarity says, too?” Celestia asked knowingly.
Spike chuckled quietly. “Yeah, Rarity’s been saying that a lot lately. That we just have to keep going, no matter what. That it’s what she would have wanted.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if she even knew Twilight; that mare would have been catatonic for a week if she were in our position…” he trailed off sadly, fidgeting with his cup.
In the silence between conversations a plate of pastries and cakes was set between them, and a pink mare with a cotton candy mane slid into the booth next to Spike. “Heya Princess, Spikey!” Pinkie greeted with a giggle, reaching forward and snatching a danish. “You should have some; Mrs. Cake makes the best pastry dough!”
Celestia offered a thin smile. “Hello, Pinkie Pie. I trust you’re doing well?”
The exuberant mare nodded. “Uh-huh! Mr. Cake’s been teaching me a whole buncha stuff about money so I can help out around the shop more, and Spikey here has been a wonderful little assistant to, like, everypony all around town! He’s so super serious when he’s working, and he gets this grumpy look on his face when you interrupt him, it just makes me want to pinch his cheeks!” She reached forward to do exactly that, but her hooves were quickly slapped away, the dragon shooting her a glare.
“Oooh! That’s the grumpy look I was talking about! He’s all like-”
“Pinkie!” Spike’s balled fist slammed down on the table, rattling their cups.
Celestia frowned. “Spike-”
“It’s okay, Princess,” Pinkie interrupted quietly, her smile fading slightly. She hesitantly reached over and placed a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said, and her eyes were sad despite the smile on her lips. “I couldn’t make you smile this time.”
Spike winced at the words, the depressed tone behind them. “Pinkie, I-”
“I’ll do better, next time,” she said reassuringly, though which one of them she was trying to convince was’t clear. “It was good to see you, Princess. You should come by more often; Twilight was important to you too, right? We should all be together.”
“Perhaps I will…” Celestia trailed off as Pinkie Pie slid out of the booth, watching as she walked away and disappeared into the back room. She looked back to Spike. “You shouldn’t be so hard on her. She feels a lot of weight on her shoulders to make ponies happy. It’s the only thing she knows how to do right now.”
Spike shewed his lip. “I know, it’s just… I can’t deal with her, sometimes. She tries too hard.”
“And you don’t?” Celestia raised a single eyebrow. “Just how many ponies have you offered your time to as an assistant just to regain some vague sense of normalcy?”
He couldn’t meet her gaze. “It’s different. I just… help out around town, is all. I… I’m not…” Spike took a slow, shuddering breath. “I’m not anypony’s number one assistant, or anything.”
Celestia watched the dragon fight with all his might not to cry. Her heart ached for him, for all the ponies who were connected to Twilight, and not for the first time she’d considered revealing the truth behind Rainbow Dash’s words. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking down and seeing a with only the memory of tea in it. “I should be getting back to Canterlot…”
Spike took a moment to respond. “Before you go, could I… show you something?”
Glancing out the window to the sun, Celestia nodded. “I have a little more time.”
Sliding out of the booth, Spike motioned for Celestia to follow. He led them out of the shop, waving to Mrs. Cake as they left. Once more out on the early morning streets, Celestia walked a step behind the dragon, watching him curiously.
“We were going to have you come down and make it official when it was finished, but… I thought you might like to know now,” Spike explained slowly as they turned down a street on the outskirts of town. Many of the houses here were recent additions, built after Twilight’s coronation as those hoping to take advantage of Equestria’s newest Princess moved to the town.
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “When what was finished?”
Instead of answering, Spike stopped in front of a rather large building still surrounded in scaffolding, though it was nearly finished. He motioned for her to follow, and produced a key that allowed them through the front door. Inside was a large, open entryway with plastic tarps and various tools betraying the active construction still ongoing. Looking around, Celestia frowned. “What is this building going to be?”
“It’s… something I think she’d have appreciated…” Spike passed through a tarp, returning with a large brass plate before the princess could follow. He turned it around and held it so she could read it.
“Everypony in town pitched in for it. Most of the builders are just doing it in their spare time for free, and we’ve received large donations of books already from all over Equestria. But… well…” he sighed, and shook his head. “It’s not quite enough. Truth is, we’re almost out of funds, and I can’t ask anypony in town to give anything more. They’ve already donated so much. It’s almost finished, we just need a little more and-”
“How much?”
Spike blinked up at her. “Huh?”
“How much do you need?” Celestia asked again. She took the brass plate in her magic, running her hoof across the words. “I will personally see to it that you receive whatever you need to make this happen.”
“I… I’ll send you the builder’s estimate as soon as I can…” Spike trailed off in shock.
“She’d love it,” Celestia noted quietly, looking around the room and envisioning what it would look like fully furnished with books of all kinds. Then, she sighed. “And… if you could…” she hesitated. It was against the contract. She shouldn’t. It could very well end in yet more heartbreak, but… didn’t they deserve to know?
She wasn’t the only one hurting.
“If you could gather the rest of the Elements here for me. There’s… something I need to tell you all.”
Twilight sighed, eyes tracing the prominent scar along Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. She had noticed it before, but hadn’t had the chance to really take a proper look. It was wide, and stretched from her back all the way down to her upper chest. Without knowing why she reached out and placed a hoof on it, feeling the rough skin from where the fur hadn’t grown back - and likely never would.
“Do you know how she got it?”
Twilight jumped, looking away from the sleeping pegasus to the mare who had just entered the room. Commander Hurricane was leaning against the door frame, watching Rainbow’s sleeping form.
“No, she wouldn’t tell me. All I know is it was from the trials to get into Elysium.”
Hurricane nodded. “I didn’t think she would. Truth is, that’s how she met me; I was one of her opponents in the trials.”
Immediately Twilight stood. “Did you do this to her!?”
“Whoa, easy; I was just one opponent, and our fight was a harmless wrestling match. She had those injuries when my round with her started.” Hurricane held up a hoof, motioning for the unicorn to sit back down. “I saw what happened, though; Cronus had already summoned me when she started the trials. He knew she’d make it through.”
“Cronus?” Twilight echoed curiously. She frowned. “I remember him; he was there… when I died.”
Gale nodded. “As the guardian of Elysium he’s the one who judged you worthy of eternal paradise.”
“And he would be the one to judge her.” She looked again to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus slept in a simple if comfortable looking bed in a small stone room. From the Halls of Knowledge Gale had lead them to a small town that reminded them both of Ponyville. The only difference was the buildings were made of stone rather than wood, the style calling back to ancient pony tribes. Despite the small size of the town it was populated with several creatures, only a few of which were ponies.
Upon reaching Gale’s home, she had insisted upon allowing Rainbow to rest before discussing anything further, and despite the mare’s reluctance Rainbow had eventually been convinced to take a nap. She’d been out as soon as her head hit the pillow, to nopony’s surprise.
Twilight’s frown deepened. “What happened to her?”
“Where do you want me to start?” Gale asked with a chuckle. “Between fighting those skeleton gladiators and that golem, she managed to get pretty roughed up. Still put up one heck of a fight for me, though. Before she got to Elysium… I couldn’t tell you. Clover might, but…” she looked to another bed in the room, along the opposite wall from Rainbow’s.
“She’ll be fine,” Twilight assured gently. “The curse had infected her mind further than I thought, and the shock of that connection being severed took a lot out of her.”
Hurricane nodded. “If Rainbow Dash trusts you, I will too. It’s just… when she collapsed I… I thought I was going to lose her all over again.”
“I can’t imagine what that must be like,” Twilight said quietly, looking between the two sleeping mares. She lingered on the purple six pointed star that had been permanently affixed around Rainbow’s neck ever since they’d first met up. “My friends… they’re all hurting like Rainbow is, because of me. I knew what was going to happen to me if I did it, but… I didn’t see another way. I should have, though. Had I known the kind of pain I’d put my friends through, I never would have done it.”
“Losing somepony close to you always hurts.” Hurricane entered the room fully and pulled a chair from against the wall so she was sitting in front of Twilight. “There’s nothing anyone can do about that. What matters is how they cope. Rainbow Dash quite literally threw herself headlong into hell so she didn’t have to move on without you. Very few can claim that kind of dedication to another.”
Twilight snorted. “She wasn’t called the Element of Loyalty for nothing. I just wish she hadn’t; I can’t stand feeling like such a burden.”
Frowning, Hurricane leaned forward slightly. “Do you really wish she hadn’t come for you, or do you just wish she hadn’t gotten hurt?”
“Well of course I wish she didn’t get hurt. But…” she sighed, shaking her head. “I just… I don’t know. Isn’t it… selfish of me to be glad she’s doing this? What happened isn’t her fault, but she’s the one paying for it anyway. I can’t… I can’t possibly condone what she’s done, can I?”
“Condone it?” Hurricane echoed, shaking her head. “No. I don’t think anypony can condone or encourage what she did. But… she did it anyway, and you have to let her know how much that means to you. You must by now know she blames herself for your death, right?”
Nodding slowly, the unicorn watched the gentle rise and fall of Rainbow’s chest. “Yeah, she… mentioned something about that. Honestly, I should have known she would. It’s just who she is. But to think she’d feel guilty enough to risk everything trying to fix what she sees as her mistake.” Twilight laughed humorlessly. “Actually, that does sound exactly like her.”
Hurricane chuckled. “I’ve only known her a short while and I could tell you that much. The kid’s got a heart of gold, for better or for worse…” she trailed off, and the room was silent save for the gentle breaths of the two sleeping mares. Eventually, Gale stood. “Hey, you want a tour around town or something? It’s gonna be a while before either of these two are up.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me about the flower you mentioned. Rainbow didn’t say anything to me about it,” Twilight said as she stood up, giving a final glance at the pegasus before following Gale out of the room and into what she assumed to be a living area. Eternal paradise was shockingly similar to a regular village. Though she supposed a simple life without worries was as close to paradise as one could reasonably get.
“Ah, yes. She didn’t tell me much, just that she needed two other things to bring you back to life; a flower called the Poppy of the Soul, and a Fruit of Life. She didn’t really explain the how or the why to me, just that she needed them. While she was down in the Halls looking for you, I asked around and found the poppy. Turns out it’s a super rare flower that only grows in one place here in Elysium; the summit of Mount Othrys. Blooms once a month during the new moon.” Hurricane reclined in a chair, motioning for Twilight to take her choice of the various seats in the room. “Thing is, I can’t find anyone who’s actually been up there. The mountain’s always surrounded by a storm, and the few who’ve come close to it say it wears you out. Even though we’re just souls without physical bodies, the storm drains your energy. While you’re on the mountain it’s like you’re alive again. Gets worse the higher up you go.”
Twilight’s muzzle scrunched up. “Why am I not surprised? The more I hear about this place the less it seems like a paradise.”
Gale just shrugged. “It’s fine if you don’t go to the places you obviously aren’t supposed to go.”
“So I just have to climb a mountain with Rainbow?” Twilight asked, brushing off the remark. She smiled. “Sounds easy enough; not the first time we’ve done that.”
Raising an eyebrow, Gale looked at her from the corner of her eye. “You know she’s not gonna want you to go with her, right?”
Twilight scoffed. “She can try and stop me, if she wants, but she’s not getting rid of me.”
“Hah! I see why she likes you,” Gale laughed, smiling widely. “Well, I’m sure we’ll make it up just fine.”
“We?”
Gale shot her a look. “What, you thought I’d just abandon you two? Nah, I’m seeing this thing through to the end. It’s the least I can do, and I can guarantee Clover feels the same; like it or not we’re coming with you.”
“I couldn’t ask you to-”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Both mare’s eyes snapped to the door leading to the bedroom. Clover stood in the doorway, her face twisted into a pained grimace as she limped into the room fully. “You didn’t ask Rainbow to come save you. I didn’t ask you to rescue me. You aren’t asking us to come with you - we’re volunteering. Because that’s what friends are for, right?”
“Clover!” Gale jumped to her hooves and was at the unicorn’s side in an instant, a wing already wrapped around her barrel. “You shouldn’t be up yet. You-”
Clover laughed, shaking her head. “Gale, I have spent more than enough time away from you. You are not getting rid of me.”
Unable to stop the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, Gale just pulled the unicorn into a hug. “You stupid mare.”
“Hey now, who’s official title is ‘Clever’?” Clover asked with a laugh, though she returned the embrace. “I’m sorry, Gale,” she whispered.
Twilight watched them with an idle smile. “What are friends for…”
“What’s this about, Spike?” Applejack asked, ducking under a tarp and holding it up for three other mares to follow her. “Is something wrong with the library? I know Big Mac offered to help but he’s still busy at the farm and-”
“Hello, girls,” Celestia greated gently, sitting amongst the construction. The brass plaque was sitting next to her, freshly polished.
Rarity gasped and quickly lowered her head. “P-princess Celestia! I-”
“Please,” she stretched out a hoof and motioned for the mares to rise before they could all bow. “This is a casual visit; I’m not here as Princess of Equestria, but as a friend. A friend who also lost somepony very dear to them.”
They all looked to the plaque.
“Um, if I may, Princess, what did you want to talk to us about?” Fluttershy asked softly, chewing her lip nervously. “There isn’t another monster running loose, is there? Because I… I don’t know what we could do…”
Celestia sighed. She knew she shouldn’t, but they deserved the truth. “I… need to tell you all something. Before I do, however, I need you to promise me that what you hear today will never leave this building.”
Glancing amongst themselves, they all nodded and mimed the motions of a Pinkie Promise almost on instinct. Celestia smiled. “Very well. Spike told me what Rainbow Dash said to you all the last time she was here.”
Applejack scoffed. “Mare’s off her rocker, if you ask me…” she trailed off, and her eyes saddened. “Ah just wish she’d stick around long enough for us ta help her. But we don’t even know where she’s gone.”
“I think she needs to work through it on her own,” Fluttershy offered quietly. “She’s not used to feeling so… helpless. She was always the one to jump in and solve any problems for her friends. But… how can she fix this?” She motioned to the inscription.
Pinkie nodded. “She works almost as hard as I do to keep her friends smiling.”
Watching them with a heavy heart, Celestia knew what she had to do. “I have to be honest with you girls; what Rainbow Dash told you… is true. She found a mare by the name of Harvest who has the knowledge required to bring ponies back to life-” she held up her hoof and silenced the brewing questions. “-and she’s journeyed to the Underworld to retrieve Twilight’s soul and bring her back. If she succeeds, Twilight Sparkle will be revived.”
There was a long, pregnant silence in the wake of the revelation. All present parties too shocked to ask any of the questions swirling in their minds. Eventually, it was Spike who regained his voice first. “What!?”
“Spike-”
“Did you know the whole time?” He asked, his voice dangerously close to accusatory. “Did you know from the beginning there was a way to bring her back!?”
Celestia winced. “Spike, please understand I-”
“You did! You knew we could bring her back and you didn’t tell us! How could you-”
“Spike!” Fluttershy’s shout seemed to echo through the empty building. All eyes turned to her, and Spike withered under her glare. “Let her explain. Please; she must have had a reason.” She looked to Celestia hopefully. “Right?”
Smiling appreciatively at the yellow mare, Celestia nodded slowly. “You all must understand. While I was aware there was a way to bring Twilight back to life, the means to do so is far beyond me. Even if it were within my power, to resurrect somepony - no matter the reason - goes against every natural law of our world and does not come without consequences that far outweigh the possible benefits.”
“What… kind of consequences?” Rarity asked hesitantly.
“The kind that would make me hesitate to save a pony I considered akin to my own daughter.” The Princess’s voice was quiet, and her tone seemed to bring down the nervous energy in the room. They all looked at her, perhaps for the first time, as somepony hurting just as badly as themselves. She took a breath. “There is an ancient contract amongst the immortal beings of this world - and the next. Among other things, it states that we may not interfere in the other’s domain. According to the terms of our agreement, even just telling you this could constitute a breach of contract should they find out. For me to have tried to bring Twilight back myself, or to have told any of you of the possibility, would result in repercussions I cannot even begin to describe.
“The balance of this world relies on the realms of the living and dead remaining separate. However, the methods Rainbow has employed seem to leave no lasting negative effects, and because she found a way without the aid of myself or another immortal, her actions do not violate the treaty. Still…” Celestia trailed off hesitantly, looking at each of the shocked mares in turn. Her shoulders sagged. “I felt I needed to tell you all this because… you should be prepared for the worst.”
Applejack bit her lip. “The worst?”
“There is a… very real possibility that Rainbow Dash will not make it back.”
Spike stepped forward. “How do we get to her?”
“Spike-”
The dragon shot a glare over his shoulder before anypony could voice their concerns, and Rarity’s mouth clicked shut. Her turned back to Celestia. “Where is she, and how do we get to her? We can’t just sit here and do nothing, not if she’s in danger. Not if there really is a way to bring Twilight back. Not… not after what I said to her.”
“I understand how you feel, but I didn’t tell you this so you could help. In fact, if you were all to try and gain access to the Underworld it would almost certainly result in all of you being lost, and would guarantee Rainbow will not make it back with Twilight. I couldn’t hide the truth from you all any longer, but I also have to be honest with you; the odds of Rainbow Dash making it out alive, let alone with Twilight, are basically one in a million.”
There was a chuckle that started with Applejack. The others shot her a look, and she shrugged. “That mare’s nothin’ but one in a million chances.” She smiled, and the chuckle spread to the rest of the mares. “She’ll be just fine, even if we can’t help her.”
“Unfortunately, all we can do is wait and hope Rainbow Dash is successful. In the meantime-” Celestia lit her horn, and lifted the brass plaque off the floor. She set it down in front of them. “How much do you need?”
“Alright, so.” Hurricane unfurled a large map across the table, surrounded by four mares. She pointed to a spot near the center. “This is where we are-” her hoof trailed along a curving line “-if we follow the river, we can make it to Mount Othrys in about three days on hoof.”
Rainbow looked up at her. “We?”
“Yes, we,” Clover said, raising her eyebrow. “You didn’t think we were sending you off on your own, did you?”
Twilight reached over and put her hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. “I’m not leaving you now.”
Looking at the hoof and following it back to its owner, Rainbow smiled slightly. “Twi, you don’t have to-”
“Three days on hoof,” Twilight started, ignoring her attempted plea. “But I count two pegasi here. How fast can we fly?”
Hurricane grinned, and she glanced at Rainbow. “I like your friend. If we fly, it’ll be about a day, assuming the kid can keep up with me.”
“I’ll leave you in the dust,” Rainbow shot back, sticking out her tongue. “Even if I gotta carry both of them.”
Chuckling, Gale shook her head. “If you say so, kid. Obviously, I’ll carry Clover if you carry Twilight. Othrys is a day’s flight away, but that’s the easy part. The hard part is going to be climbing it.”
“Uh… hello?” Rainbow fluffed her wings. “Who said anything about climbing?”
Clover rolled her eyes, lighting her horn and summoning a projection of thick clouds above the map. “Othrys is surrounded by an eternal storm, vicious and magic in nature, so that it can even affect those of us without physical bodies. There’s no way you’re flying through it. Especially not with a passenger.”
“So we climb,” Twilight said, calling on her magic and turning the map into a three dimensional projection. The mountain reached up to her chin from the low table. “From what we know, it’ll probably be three days to climb it. Which is good, because we only have six days before the new moon.”
Rainbow felt like a little filly in school again, and she blushed when she realized she’d actually put her hoof up. Snapping it back to her side, she cleared her throat. “What does the moon have to do with it?”
“The Poppy of the Soul only blooms during the new moon,” Clover explained. She produced a book with a flash of magic and laid it in front of the rainbow maned pegasus. It was open to a page with a picture of a flower. “There’s only magic in it when it’s in bloom, so it’s worthless if you pick it at any other time.”
“Legend says it was created by the king of the Underworld to propose to his mortal wife. It’s said it’s a marriage between the living and the dead. But when his wife was killed by the Dragon King, he hated seeing the reminder of his love and so concealed it atop the highest mountain surrounded by an impenetrable storm,” Twilight said in a tone dangerously close to lecturing, watching as the holographic storm raged around the mountain. “Well, that’s how the story goes, anyway. Point is, the poppy contains a magic unlike anything else that bridges the gap between life and death, which is why we need it for me.”
Rainbow scratched the back of her neck. “I just know I need one. So, one day to get there, three to get to the top. If we leave today that gives us an extra two days in case something goes wrong, right?”
“If we left today, yes, but the plan is to leave first thing tomorrow morning.” Hurricane pointed to another point on the map. “There’s another town here where we can get supplies for the trip. It’s about half a day if we fly, so we go there, prepare, come back here then leave tomorrow.”
“Supplies?” Rainbow echoed. “What kind of supplies do we need? I’ve got enough food, and you three don’t need to eat or anything.”
Twilight shook her head. “Usually we don’t need to, but like Clover said; the storm affects us as though we were alive. If we’re right about it, it’s going to try and drain our magic. We’ll be exhausted and need a way to recuperate. Which is where the supplies come in-”
“Ambrosia,” Clover said, producing a glass flask filled with a bright golden liquid. She sloshed it around, the shimmering substance slightly thicker than water. “Also referred to as the nectar of the gods. It’s harvested from the flowers that bloom here in Elysium - I’m sure you’ve noticed them; they’re everywhere. Thanks to this plain’s proximity to the magic plain, the plant life here is overflowing with raw magic. This will allow us to keep our energy up through the storm, and it’ll help you, too.” She put the flask on the table. “Enough of this and we’d even be able to survive in the Underworld for a while.”
Rainbow examined the liquid curiously, removing the cork and sniffing it. There wasn’t an odor she could detect, but it made her nose tingle. “Okay, so, supply run today, rest up tonight, and head out first thing tomorrow morning. That gives us five days for a four day trip, right?” She looked to each mare in turn, recieving nods from all of them. “Works for me.”
“Thanks for your approval, ‘commander’,” Hurricane mocked, rolling her eyes. “It’ll just be you and me on the supply run; the bookworms are gonna try and dig up any extra information they can for us.” She rolled up the map, dispelling the magical projection atop it in the process. “If the plan’s settled, then let’s get ready to head out. I’d like to be back here before dark.”
There were agreements all around and the mares split off to their respective tasks. As Twilight was about to wander outside, a hoof caught her shoulder. She turned, and Gale smiled at her. “You remember what I told you?” the pegasus asked, nodding towards Rainbow, idly sorting through her saddlebags. “You should tell her.”
Twilight smiled slightly, walking over to the mare that had forced her way into hell. She glanced back, and Gale gave her an encouraging nod as she practically pulled Clover out the door. Twilight giggled a little, and the sound drew Rainbow’s attention.
“What’s up, Twi?” She asked, standing and throwing her bags over her back. She shifted them until they sat comfortably. “You gonna be okay without me for a while?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Can’t get rid of you fast enough,” she said, sticking out her tongue a moment before sighing, her smile falling. “I need to tell you something. Hurricane mentioned something to me, and-”
Rainbow’s face went pale. “She told you?” Her voice came out as a panicked squeak. “W-what, exactly, did she say?”
“Honestly?” Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “Nothing I didn’t know already.”
“What-”
“She said you blame yourself for what happened, and I knew that, but… she also said I should tell you something. So-” she looked up and smiled. “Thank you. For coming to get me. It… it really means a lot - everything you’ve done for me, how much you’re willing to risk, just for me.”
“Oh!” Rainbow gasped, then sighed in relief. She shrugged casually. “No biggie, Twi; what’re friends for, right?”
Twilight’s smile twisted. “Right… but… it is kind of a big deal. Like, violating the laws of nature big.” She chuckled. “More like a huge deal, especially with how dangerous it is for you. And… I can’t help but wonder if you really would have done it for anypony.”
Cheeks lighting up, the pegasus had to look away. “‘Course I would, Twi.”
“Then can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Twilight took a breath, chewing her lip. “When… when I was… dying-” she saw Rainbow flinch at the word “-I remember you holding me. All the girls gathering around… a lot of crying…” she trailed off, squinting through the hazy fog surrounding the memory. “And… it’s blurry, but I remember you saying something about… not getting a chance to tell me something?”
Rainbow’s heart leapt into her throat and stopped dead, forcing her to swallow thickly. “I, uh-”
“I was just wondering if that had something to do with it?” Twilight asked gently, frowning slightly. “Or, really, just what it was you never told me?”
“It…” Rainbow hesitated, glancing between the mare in front of her and the necklace against her chest. She smiled breezily. “Nothin’, Twi; it was nothing. Just… shock after what happened.” She stepped past her before the unicorn could ask anything more. “C’mon; they’re probably waiting for us.”
Twilight watched her go, her frown growing. “Why won’t you tell me?” She asked herself, then dismissed the thought. She’d known it was a long shot anyway. Getting Rainbow to open up was an artform, one which required patience and a delicate hoof. Begrudgingly, Twilight followed the pegasus out the door and onto the small dirt street outside. Gale and Clover were stood next to each other, and waved them over quickly.
Hurricane raised an eyebrow, and Twilight nodded. Gale smiled approvingly. “Alright! If you’re good to go, let’s head out.” She leaned over and nuzzled Clover affectionately, pulling away after a chaste kiss. “I know the way, so just follow me.”
Rainbow watched her jump into the air before turning to Twilight. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, kay?”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight pulled her into a short hug. “I’m not a little filly that’s gonna wander off without you, featherbrain. Get going.” She shoved her playfully, and Rainbow grinned as she took off, both pegasi rapidly blending into the bright blue sky.
“Think you can keep up, kid?” Gale asked tauntingly over the winds, grinning as Rainbow caught up to her. “Or am I gonna have to slow down for ya?”
Rainbow didn’t share her smile. “What did you tell her?”
“Relax; I didn’t let anything slip.” Gale rolled her eyes, but the other mare’s glare didn’t relent. “All I said was that she should let you know how much what you’re doing means to her. That’s it, promise.”
“Why?” Rainbow growled. “You didn’t have to say anything.”
Gale’s smile fell. “Look, kid, I like you, but you’re hopeless. I told you already you need to tell her the truth - before it’s too late. I don’t need to tell you how well putting it off last time went for you. You gotta face the facts, kid; there’s a real chance here that one of you isn’t going to make it back.”
“Gee, thanks for the pep talk ‘commander’,” Rainbow groused, flapping her wings faster and pulling ahead. “So what if I want to wait until we’re not literally in Hell?” She shouted over her shoulder.
Hurricane frowned, keeping pace with the mare. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure you make it out of here with your mare, but you have to know your chances.”
“I’ll beat the odds. Like I always do.”
“You’re gonna get yourself killed faster with an attitude like that.”
“At least I’ll die saving her!” Rainbow shot off ahead faster than Hurricane could react, a rainbow trail left in her wake. Gale sighed, cursing under her breath.
“Damnit, kid…” she shook her head and pushed ahead.
Twilight’s eyes flicked across line after line of words, pages flipped idly in her magic. On the wall a clocked ticked quietly, noting the passage of time. Clover was somewhere, doing much the same.
It was dark, the smell of must and paper filled her nostrils. By flickering lantern light she read anything she could get her hooves on, eagerly devouring the information this place offered.
She turned the page. Focused on the words in front of her. Ignored the scene in her mind.
There was a staircase leading down. More floors? More books? More knowledge. She grinned eagerly at the thought. Just to think of everything she could learn here.
The book was closed. Another was opened. The memories continued against her will.
The lower floors were darker, but the books were becoming more advanced. Contained knowledge long lost to the ages or information yet to be discovered. There was just so much. How could she ever leave?
Twilight shuddered, closing her eyes.
There was a sound. She’d grown so used to the silence, the noise felt out of place. It was a quiet, slow creaking.
“Are you okay?”
Twilight head snapped up, and she saw endless darkened halls of books and shelves, and before her was a tattered black cloak holding a lantern that glowed an eerie white. She screamed. Her book was thrown across the room in a burst of uncontrolled magic as she lost focus on her grasp. Then she blinked, and felt a hoof on her shoulder. Clover looked at her worriedly. “Twilight?”
“I…” she was panting, eyes flicking around the room. The same room she’d been in for most of the day, reading Clover’s impressive collection and whatever they could find from the others in the town. She shook her head. “Yeah, sorry, I-”
“You’re crying.”
Twilight lifted a hoof and rubbed at her cheeks, feeling the dampness there. “Sorry, I uh… was thinking about something…”
Clover frowned empathetically. “The Halls, right?”
“Y-yeah…” Putting a hoof over her own chest, Twilight felt the pounding pulse of her heart. “It’s-” she felt a shiver run down her spine. “It’s like I’m back there, when I’m reading.”
“Imagine what it’s like for me,” Clover said with a humourless chuckle. “I swear I can hear the Keepers everytime I pick up a book. The walls shifting…” she trailed off, eyes glossing over. Shaking her head, the unicorn smiled. “Hey, how about a break? Gale said there was a gryphon around here who makes the best ice cream.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “We don’t need to eat?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Clover was already stood at the door. “Well I mean yeah, but that doesn’t mean we can’t. What’s endless paradise without a little ice cream? I’ll tell you; not a paradise.”
Looking between her book and the door, Twilight sighed and stood. “Ice cream sounds good.” Together they trotted out of the small house. Twilight glanced over her shoulder as she shut the door, and for a moment she saw those same, endless hallways before it was closed.
“It’s gonna take a while,” Clover said, reading the other unicorn’s expression. “But I think we’ll be okay.”
Twilight smiled slowly. “I think we’ve both dealt with worse.”
“Snow demons come to mind.”
“A god of chaos for me. Or the shapeshifting queen who trapped me in a cave. And there was-”
Clover cut her off with a laugh. “It’s not a contest, but if it was I think you’d win.” She shook her head. “You certainly lead an interesting life, didn’t you?”
Twilight blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I guess you could say that. Funny thing is, I never really wanted any of that, you know? When I was young I dreamed of being a great magical researcher who had her own library. Then I met my friends and… well, I suppose life had other plans for me.”
“I know what you mean. When the Platinum family took me in I was still too young to really know what I wanted to do with my life. Due to the food shortage my parents had abandoned me on the castle's doorstep, and before I knew it I was taken in by royalty. Trained by the servants, I spent a lot of my time in the castle's library. One day I wanted to take it over, but I guess it paid off a little more than I expected in the end; I became the Princess’s personal advisor and eventually the head mage of the castle. Then when we left to find a new land…” she sighed wistfully. “And I met Gale. I became the Arch Mage of Equestria for a time, but… I was just looking forward to when I could retire and spend more time with my family.”
“It must have been hard, leaving your entire country behind like that,” Twilight said softly.
Clover just shrugged, looking to the bright blue sky above. “My country was dying before I was even born. I’d never even seen the open sky until I left. There wasn’t any love lost for me.”
“Still, I couldn’t imagine. Just moving from one city to another was hard for me. To leave my country behind, to know I could never come back…” she trailed off solemnly.
“Hey, this break is supposed to be about cheering up, not getting depressed. C’mon; Gale said he’s usually around here…” Clover turned a corner, forcing an extra pep into her step and making Twilight keep pace. The dirt roads were surprisingly busy, various creatures milling about and just… enjoying themselves. It reminded her a lot of Ponyville, if she was being honest. A small, simple town for those who had earned a reprieve from the worries of life.
On the side of the street a large, muscled gryphon stood behind a cart. Several scars coated his body, and his eyes seemed to be set in a permanent glare. Clover seemed unphased by his intimidating appearance as she rushed over to him. Her looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Are you Remus?” She asked.
The gryphon nodded slowly. “Indeed,” he said in a thick, unplaceable accent that sounded just as rough as he looked. “Who’re you?”
“Clover, I’m-”
“Clover?” He interrupted her, eyes growing wide. “You’re Gale’s mare, ain’t you?” He received a nod, and a grin stretched across his beak. “I don’t believe it! You’re finally here! Gale’s told us all about you!”
Clover blushed, looking away. “S-she has?”
“Shoot, a day doesn’t go by she don’t talk about you. Some of us thought she was makin’ it up.” Remus stepped out from behind his stand and offered a talon that was taken in a firm shake. “A pleasure to finally meet you, Clover the Clever.” He looked up and saw the other unicorn standing awkwardly a few steps away. “And who might you be?”
Twilight jolted, realizing he was talking to her. “O-oh, Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”
He hummed in thought, scratching his chin. “Ain’t a name I recognize. You must be a newcomer then?”
“Y-yeah, you could say that.” Twilight received the same offered talon as Clover, and Remus quickly slipped behind his stall.
“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you both. Seeing as you knew my name, I’m gonna guess miss Gale told ya ‘bout me?”
Clover nodded. “Said you make the best ice cream she’s ever had.”
Remus laughed again, opening a cupboard on his cart and fiddling with something inside. “You’d better believe it. An old Griffonstone tradition, just like my pa used to make. Here-” he passed them each a paper bowl piled high with white, fluffy balls. “You must try some.”
They took the bowls in their respective magic, giving each other a glance before shrugging and taking up the provided spoons. As one they took a bite, eyes lighting up. Remus grinned. “Is good, yeah?”
“Oh my gosh- this is amazing!” Clover cried, eagerly shoveling more into her mouth. “How-”
“Ah-ah-” he held a feather over his lips. “Family secret, I’m afraid. Still, glad to know you approve.”
Twilight nodded her agreement, moaning happily around her spoon. Remus looked between them with a smile. “So… if you don’t mind me asking, where have you been? Gale’s been here quite some time.”
“It’s…” Clover’s face fell, and Remus quickly shook his head.
“Ah, I see. Don’t worry about it; you don’t need to tell me anything. Miss Twilight, would you mind sharing when you joined us?”
Twilight nodded. “A little over a year ago. First time coming here, though.”
“Interesting. Well, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other-” he laughed at his own joke “-but you two should enjoy the treat. I’m usually around here if you ever want anymore.”
“Thanks, Remus!” Clover called as he returned to his cart, the two unicorns turning to walk away. “Well, he was surprisingly pleasant,” she noted quietly. When Twilight didn’t respond she looked over to see the unicorn’s face contorted in thought. “Twilight?”
“Is… this all the afterlife is?” She asked, more to herself than the mare with her. “Just… enjoying yourself?”
Clover shrugged. “How am I supposed to know? This is all as new to me as it is to you.”
“I guess…” Twilight trailed off, looking around the sleepy town. She smiled slightly. “I think… I like it. It’s simple, but there are no worries here. Just doing whatever makes you happy. Remus likes making ice cream, so he just… does.”
“Hey now; don’t start enjoying yourself when you’re gonna be getting out of here,” Clover said jokingly, nose still buried in her ice cream. “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows; most ponies don’t make it here. You’ve still got friends and family that miss you on the other side.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about staying, just that… I think I’ll enjoy myself, the next time I get here.”
“Rise and shine, kid!”
Rainbow groaned as the shout rang in her ears like a gong. Rolling away from the noise, she quickly found a distinct lack of bed beneath her. She hit the floor with a thud, and the laughter that filled the air woke her up fully. “Har-har. Laugh it up while you can. I’m gonna be flying circles around you in a minute,” she grumbled pushing herself onto her hooves.
Gale grinned wolfishly. “We’ll see about that; this old mare’s still got a little fuel in the tank.”
“Don’t worry; if you run out of gas half way I’ll carry you,” Rainbow bit back, dusting herself off and throwing her bags over her shoulders. She heard the clinking of the many jars of ambrosia they’d gathered the previous day, but didn’t feel any of the added weight. Making a mental note to thank Twilight again for the bags, she followed Hurricane out of the small bedroom.
The living room was lit by the first rays of the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. Already Clover and Twilight were there, their noses buried in books. Gale rolled her eyes. “Alright bookworms, that means you too.”
Twilight glanced up, smiling as she saw the pair. “Good morning, Rainbow,” she greeted chipperly. Far troo chipperly for that early in the morning. Her eyes were bright and shining and her fur seemed to glow. Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
“You okay?”
“Hmm? Oh!” Twilight giggled. “Never better! I tried some of that ambrosia stuff- I finally know how Pinkie Pie stays so energetic all the time! It’s like sugar if sugar was, like, magic and coffee! We should see if we can take some of this back with us; imagine how much studying I could get done!”
Rainbow took a step back. “Okay then…” she leaned over and whispered in Hurricane’s ear; “can we trade?”
Huffing, Gale shook her head, whispering back. “Take a look at mine. She drank almost a full jar. Yours only had a sip.”
Rainbow looked at the other unicorn and, sure enough, she seemed to be just as hyperactive as Twilight, only she twitched and fidgeted like she’d had five more pots of coffee than could be reasonably advised.
“Huh. Fair enough; have fun!” Rainbow laughed as she walked over to her passenger. “You good to go, Twi?”
Twilight nodded rapidly. “Yep! All packed and ready.” She shook her shoulders, then frowned and glanced back when she didn’t hear the rattling of her bags. Spinning in a circle, Rainbow had to reach out and grab her shoulder to stop her, pointing to a pair of brown bags against the wall. Twilight giggled. “Right. I knew that.”
“Sure you did…” she looked over and saw Gale trying to force Clover’s bags onto the unicorn's back and counted her blessings. “C’mon, Twi; let’s wait outside. They… might be a while…”
“Clover Cleverhoof I swear if you don’t put your bags on right now I’m going to-” Rainbow closed the door, trying her best not to burst out laughing. Twilight was doing much the same.
“They’re fun,” she said matter-of-factly, looking at the quaint little house. “I like them.”
Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, I like ‘em too. Never thought I’d meet Commander Hurricane though.”
“I know! And that’s the real Clover the Clever in there! That’s amazing!” Twilight’s endless energy seemed to dampen slightly. “I’m gonna miss them.”
Rainbow shrugged. “We’ll be back, one day. Then we can introduce all the girls to them, and a bunch of others, too! Hurricane Mentioned Private Pansy was around here somewhere. This is where all the heroes end up, right?”
Twilight looked at her own hooves. “Heroes…” she trailed off and looked to rainbow. “I guess we are, aren’t we?”
“Huh? ‘Course we are, Twi.”
“I mean yeah, we are, but…” she shook her head. “I never really thought of it like that. We were just… ponies. Friends, doing the right thing.”
Rainbow’s smile fell slightly. “Well, a bit more than that, maybe, but… I guess you’re right. I mean, I certainly never expected to be an Element of Harmony and have to help protect Equestria against all those crazy bad guys. But that’s how it happened, and I don’t regret one second of it.”
“I don’t regret it!” Twilight said hastily, waving her hoof back and forth. “Not at all! I’m really glad it all happened the way it did, just… don’t think about it, usually.”
“Yeah, I get that. You’re not exactly the bragging type.”
Twilight giggled. “Unlike somepony I know.”
“Eh.” Rainbow smirked, rubbing the back of her neck. “Gotta let the world know how awesome I am, right? Can’t help it.”
Mouth open to respond, Twilight was cut off as the door slammed open Clover came running out, laughing manically. Her saddlebags were, thankfully, strapped around her barrel, but by the look of the pegasus that followed her out it hadn’t been an easy victory.
“Alright,” Hurricane growled, patting down her mane. “I think we’re good to go. Finally.”
“Lighten up, Gale!” Clover sang, running over and wrapping her hoof around the mare’s neck, practically hanging off her. “We have plenty of time!”
Gale did anything but lighten up. She looked longingly to Rainbow. “Still wanna trade?”
“Nah. I think you got this,” Rainbow responded with a laugh. She adjusted her saddlebags, glancing around. “We good?”
The gathered mares all nodded, and Hurricane groaned. “If we’re going let’s go. I wanna make it to Othrys by sundown if at all possible.” She looked to the sun, frowning. “Which means we gotta go.”
Rainbow watched as Gale crouched down, her passenger hopping on in a single, fluid motion that told of their years spent together. She did the same, and noted Twilight struggling for a moment to find purchase. When the unicorn was secure, she wiggled to make sure everything was sitting right, then spread her wings.
“Try and keep up, kid!” Gale shouted, launching into the air. Rainbow rolled her eyes. She jumped up and was alongside the pair in an instant.
Sticking her tongue out, she asked; “I’m sorry, who beat who to the town yesterday?”
“Yeah, and who got back here first?” Gale shot back. They glared playfully at each other, but were quickly distracted by the laughter of both their passengers. Hurricane glanced back. “What?”
Clover giggled, shaking her head. “Nothing. Nothing. Just thinking, is all.”
“What’s so funny?” Rainbow asked sharply, eyes narrowing at her own rider. “Something you’d like to share?”
“You,” Twilight stated flatly. She smiled over at the other unicorn. “I think they’re gonna try racing while carrying us.”
Snorting, Clover nodded. “I think they are. You should probably talk yours out of it, though; Gale here has never lost a race.”
“Oh, hasn’t she?” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Well, then maybe we shouldn’t. Wouldn’t want to break a perfect record, after all.”
“As if she could manage that.”
“Try her.”
Rainbow Dash and Gale traded a look. “Girls, could we-”
Clover scoffed, cutting her pegasus off. “You think she’s so fast? Gale could fly circles around her.”
Laughing haughtily, Twilight patted Rainbow’s side. “Rainbow’s been racing since she was a filly. Gale wouldn’t be fast enough to eat her dust!”
“Uh, girls?” Rainbow asked, waving her hoof and trying to break the suddenly intense glaring match that had developed above her with little success.
“Alright, fine!” Clover pointed ahead. “There’s a town ahead. First one there is the fastest.”
Twilight lifted her nose. “Sounds good to me.”
“Is…” Rainbow trailed off, looking between the two unicorns now refusing to look at each other. “Is this what it’s like to be married?”
Gale laughed. “More often than you might think. Still… feel like humouring them? We are tied, after all.”
“Another chance to race a legend? Anytime. To the town they mentioned?”
“Yeah, it’s pretty well due west; between us and Orthrys.” Hurricane rolled her neck, and both of them slowed to a stop. “You ready kid?”
Rainbow grinned, stretching her shoulders. “Born ready. Hey, Twi-”
“On three!” Twilight shouted, glowering at the other pegasus’s passenger. “One!”
“Two!” Clover tucked herself as close to Gale as she could, burying her muzzle into the back of her neck. Twilight did the same, and Rainbow had to fight down a blush.
“Three!” Hurricane and Rainbow yelled as one, their cries echoing in the void of air they left behind them as they shot off towards the horizon. Instantly they were both leading rainbow colored trails, their tails whipping wildly behind them.
Rainbow couldn’t resist the grin that spread across her muzzle, the wind rushing in her ears. Her wings burned in the most pleasant way, pumping relentlessly against the air. Glancing to the side confirmed her suspicions; Hurricane was having no problems keeping pace, and the look on her face was very much the same. Gale caught her eyes and winked at her before pulling ahead.
“Oh no you don’t…” Rainbow mumbled, forcing herself ahead and overtaking her opponent for only a moment before Gale was once more right next to her.
Gale shouted something, but the wind was whistling too loudly for her to hear. From the grin though, it was probably some lighthearted trash talk. Rainbow’s eyes narrowed, and she twisted her head back. “Hey, Twi!” She had to yell to be heard. “Hold tight!”
Twilight didn’t respond, but she felt the unicorn’s hooves tighten around her neck. Nodding to herself approvingly, Rainbow brought her hoof up in a mock salute before redoubling her effort and shooting past Hurricane. She glanced back and saw the smile on Gale’s face - as well as the glare on Clover’s.
Then she heard the whooping laughter from the unicorn on her back, and Rainbow chuckled. “Enjoying yourself!?”
Twilight grinned into Rainbow’s mane, lifting her head just enough to see ahead of them. “It’s amazing, Rainbow! I mean, I had wings, but I was never this fast!” She trailed off into more laughter. “And we’re winning!”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “We?” She asked, more to herself than the unicorn thoroughly enjoying the ride. Merely rolling her eyes, Rainbow looked ahead just in time to watch Gale go screaming past her. If she didn’t know any better, she’d have sworn Clover was sticking her tongue out at them.
“Faster!” Twilight all but demanded, and Rainbow was more than happy to oblige. It had been a long time since she’d felt like this. Too long since she’d felt this alive. For just that one moment, nothing at all had happened. The past year of pain and searching and the days on end of travel were all nothing more than a hazy dream. An unpleasant nightmare. This was real.
Then she was broken from her reverie when she saw the tell-tale crackling cone of energy form.
Around Gale.
Rainbow’s jaw fell open as, with a burst of speed, Commander Hurricane smashed through the sound barrier, a vibrant rainbow ring exploding outwards. The inside of the ring, however, was tinged the same shades of green and silver as clover’s mane and coat.
“Whoa…” Rainbow’s eyes were wide as she slowed slightly, taking in the sight. She’d never seen a Rainboom from the outside before. She was quickly shaken from her admiration by a prodding at her side.
Rainbow frowned. “Twi, did you not just see what I saw? She did a Rainboom. With a passenger.”
“So? You can do it, too! Get a move on!”
“Twili-”
“GO!” Twilight hissed, and Rainbow got the distinct impression she’d never hear the end of it if she didn’t. With a sigh, she took off, hooves outstretched and ready to push through the barrier. Sure, the Rainboom had almost become second nature to her, but doing one with a passenger was an entirely different can of worms. Although, she could already feel the tingling in the tips of her hooves, and she didn’t even feel strained yet.
Then she remembered that her magic was stronger here, and Rainbow grinned as the mach cone formed. The air was rough, and she cringed as she was hit by a particularly turbulent spot. Hurricane’s own explosion had messed with the air currents, and the unicorn on her back wasn’t helping.
“Aerodynamic, Twi!” She yelled. “There’s no way I’m breaking through if you’re creating that much drag!”
Rainbow felt Twilight’s belly press hard into her back, and the turbulence lessened noticeably. She smiled to herself. The air sparked with energy, and Rainbow felt more resistance than she ever had before. It was like all those times before, when she’d struggled again and again to overcome that barrier. This time, though, she knew she could do it.
Another flap of her wings. Another deep breath. Just one more push and-
An explosion filled her ears, and suddenly there was no resistance at all as Rainbow flew through the sky faster than the speed of sound. She looked back and saw her own rapidly expanding ring of colours, meshed with Twilight’s own purple hues. Ahead the rainbow trail left by Gale was passing her by, and the pegasus herself wasn’t far.
Below them, the town that was to be their finish line approached rapidly, growing from a spec in the distance to clearly defined houses in a matter of seconds. Rainbow’s eyes darted back and forth between her opponent and the finish, and she couldn’t tell which she’d reach first. Gale glanced back, and her eyes grew wide. Her wings faltered for just a second, and Rainbow caught up to her just as the first house passed by beneath them.
As soon as she saw the town below Rainbow fanned her wings and lurched to a halt. Finally the sound of her passenger laughing caught up to her, and she turned to see a wide grin stretched across Twilight face despite the unicorn’s frazzled mane.
Gale caught up to them a moment later. “Nicely done, kid! I had no idea you could do a Sonic Rainboom!”
“I didn’t know you could!” Rainbow shot back, bumping her hoof against Hurricane’s.
Clover humfed, sitting upright and crossing her hooves. “Well we still won. Looks like mine’s faster after all!”
“Oh please, we totally beat you!” Twilight scoffed.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Would you two knock it off?”
“It was a tie,” Gale declared, reaching up and jabbing Clover in the ribs. “Now be a good sport about it.”
“That goes for you, too,” Rainbow added, glaring at Twilight. “Shake hooves. It was a fair race, and we tied.”
Despite neither unicorn looking particularly pleased about it, they begrudgingly took each other’s hoof and shook, immediately drawing back when it was over.
Rolling their eyes, the pegasi set out at a much more restrained pace.
Rainbow Dash sighed, watching as the moon began to peak over the horizon far behind her. For a moment she found herself wondering if it was the same moon that was rising over Equestria. If it was even the same time back home at all. The thought struck a chord in her, and she frowned. It had been a long time since she’d spent any real time in Ponyville, but she had never before felt so disconnected as she did now, staring up at stars she wasn’t even sure were the same ones she knew. For the first time since her journey had begun, Rainbow Dash was homesick.
“Are you okay?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Rainbow twisted her head back, giving her passenger a cocksure smile. “Never better. Just thinking, is all.” It wasn’t entirely a lie; she felt better now than she had since it happened.
Twilight frowned at the predictable response, but relented with a slow nod after a moment. “If you’re sure,” she said, tilting her head up to the darkening sky. The sun hadn’t fully set yet, but it had long since disappeared behind the silhouette of a mountain looming ominously in the distance.
Their destination had come into view on the horizon a couple hours prior, and while at first glance it had appeared to be an ordinary mountain, it quickly became clear it was anything but. The closer they came the larger it got, until it dwarfed even the mountain Canterlot was built into. It stuck out from the smaller mountains around it, making them look like hills next to its stature. Entire towns could fit on the smallest of its rocky outcroppings, and the forests coating its slopes were as dense and larger than the Everfree. In the fiery glow of sunset, lakes could be seen shimmering on plateaus that jutted out from the sides.
Above it all, obscuring the peak from view, was a dense covering of clouds, dark gray and rumbling with an unnatural energy. The occasional lance of lightning struck the mountain side, flashing through the thick layer of clouds that coated the upper half of the rocky spire. If its purpose was to ward off curious creatures from getting too close, it certainly did its job well. Even just looking at the roiling mass of storm clouds made Rainbow nervous; if they’d seen a storm like that rolling in from the Everfree there would be no attempt made to stop it; Ponyville would have been evacuated and the storm allowed to run its course. To fly anywhere near was suicide.
“I don’t know about you, kid, but I don’t want to try climbing that thing in the dark. We should find a place to make camp near the base,” Hurricane called over the winds that strengthened the closer they got.
Rainbow nodded. “A cave or something would be nice; that storm looks like it’s pretty bad.”
“May as well put up a ‘no trespassing’ sign,” Clover remarked, though she chewed her lip nervously. “Looks like the storm covers the entire mountain; I see rain near the base. I don’t know how high up we’ll be able to fly before we have to land.”
Twilight tapped Rainbow’s shoulder urgently, attracting the pegasus’s attention before pointing downward. Rainbow followed her hoof, eyes widened as she saw it. “Hey guys; check it out.”
Just far enough away from the base of the mountain to be free from the storm, there was a small log cabin built in a clearing alongside a stream. No trails lead to or from it, and it seemed abandoned, with no smoke rising from its chimney.
“I don’t know; that’s the kind of place little fillies get lured to in all those fairy tales.” Clover shuddered. “It never ends well.”
Gale scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You see a better option? I’d rather not spend the night huddled in a cave. That’s assuming we can even find one. I vote the murder shack.”
Chuckling, Rainbow nodded her agreement. “My bits are on the murder shack. How about you, Twi?”
“It’s not a murder shack,” the unicorn said dismissively. “It’s just a shack. Really more of a cabin though.” They all gave her a flat look, and she shrugged. “Fine. Murder shack. Beats the dirt.”
“Sorry babe; you’ve been outvoted.” Gale tilted her wings and began her descent towards the small clearing, much to her passenger’s displeasure. “We stay the night in the murder shack.”
Clover groaned, slumping forward and holding on tighter in preparation for landing. “I thought you were supposed to be supportive of me.”
“Hey, I support you plenty. I just don’t want to spend all night on a rock because you’re a scaredy cat,” Gale quipped, reaching up and patting the unicorn’s shoulder. “Besides, even if it is a murder shack, we’re already dead.”
Rainbow coughed.
“Most of us are already dead.”
“Gee, thanks. That makes me feel so much better,” Clover muttered. “Just remember this conversation when we find ourselves in a super cliche horror story, and don’t come crying to me.”
Gale chuckled. “Relax; you know I’ll keep you safe. Besides; we have two other perfectly good meatshields. They’ll buy us plenty of time to escape.” She laughed at the glares she received. A laugh that proved to be infectious, as soon all four the them were stifling giggles.
Before the mirth faded they had landed amongst the trees near the edge of the clearing. The ground was covered in bright purple flowers, much like the rest of Elysium, and the stream next to them flowed quietly with crystal clear water. In the center of the clearing the small log cabin, surrounded by a dense garden contained within a wooden fence that looked to be rotting away. Lush green plants seemed to grow with reckless abandon within the fence, making it look like a captured jungle. All of it was shrouded in the shadow of the mountain beyond, lending an even eerier look to it all.
“Looks abandoned,” Gale said, trotting up to a gate and finding what used to be a latch almost entirely rusted away. She pushed it open and the hinges groaned with years untold.
“Oh great, an abandoned murder shack,” Clover commented dryly, dismounting and circling around to the side of the building. “You sure this is better than a cave?”
Twilight slid off Rainbow’s back, approaching carefully. “Why would this place be abandoned? I mean, this is the after-life. Where would they go?”
“Maybe they just moved into one of the towns?” Rainbow offered with a casual shrug, wincing as the muscles in her back twinged painfully. She stretched her wings, gritting her teeth as she felt a dull ache pulsing through them.
Twilight noticed the look. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Rainbow sighed as Twilight’s glare only intensified. “Just a little sore; been flying a lot recently. Not enough napping.”
“Uh-huh…” the way the unicorn trailed off made it clear she didn’t believe a single word of it. When Rainbow turned away, however, Twilight was forced to let it go.
“Maybe they just got tired of living alone?” Clover offered from around the corner, a sliver of hope cutting into her tone.
“Don’t you think it’s strange, though?” Twilight asked, running her hoof along the fence. She raised her eyebrows when she felt the familiar tingle of magic contained in the wood. “Wait…” she squinted into the garden, lighting her horn.
Rainbow watched her curiously. “You find something?”
“Woah! Girls, check it out!”
Clover came running around the corner upon hearing the shout. “Gale?” She called, glancing around. “Where’s Gale?”
“She’s right-...” Rainbow trailed off as her hoof pointed at the empty space Hurricane once stood in, right in front of the open gate. “What the… Gale?”
“I’m right here!” The missing mare’s voice called from within the jungle of a garden. Suddenly her head appeared, floating above the gate. “You’ve gotta see this.” Her head pulled back and disappeared once more, as though sinking into a pool of water.
Twilight’s eyes widened. “It’s an illusion… this place isn’t abandoned.” She was the first to follow Gale into the garden, Rainbow Dash and Clover watching as she disappeared as soon as she stepped over the threshold, the air seeming to ripple. The two mares left outside shared a glance.
“Murder shack,” Clover said insistantly. “It’s a murder shack.”
Rainbow smirked. “Always wanted to be in a horror film.” She didn’t hesitate to jump into the garden, and Clover was left standing alone in the clearing, jaw hanging open.
“I’m going to die…” she said aloud. “...again…” With a begrudging sigh the clearing was left empty save for the quietly babbling brook.
Inside the garden the view changed drastically. What was once an untamed mess of plant life became a neatly organized garden, lit in the warm light of several lanterns placed among the crops. Rows of flowers and vegetables and plants of all shapes and sizes grew in patches of soil surrounded by either decorative rocks or fenced in by smoothly polished wood. A path of stepping stones wound amongst them all, leading up to the front door of the cabin, which had changed as well. What was once a rickety, run down shack of a building was now a pristinely polished wooden house. Instead of being made of logs, it looked as though the walls were grown naturally; wooden vine-like tendrils twisted together to form a single solid mass in the shape of a cabin. As though the entire thing had sprouted from the earth like a tree.
“Hello?” Gale called curiously, already at the base of the steps leading up to the door. “Anyone home?”
“What are you doing!?” Clover hissed, rushing over to her wife. “You’re going to get us killed faster!”
Rainbow watched them, chuckling slightly before her eyes returned to her surroundings. It reminded her of Fluttershy’s cottage, only with less animals and way more flowers. Some she recognized, most of them she didn’t. Every colour and shape seemed to be growing from somewhere, and each one seemed to glow like the rest of the flowers in Elysium.
“It’s beautiful…” Twilight trailed off in awe, reaching a hoof out and gently running it along a blue flower’s petals. “I wonder who lives here…”
Gale knocked firmly on the door, leaning over and trying to catch a glimpse into the glassless window. “Hello?” Suddenly the door opened, and she took a step back.
An earth pony mare stepped out, her coat a rich, earthen brown and mane striped in vibrant greens. She looked across her garden, and the four ponies looking at her. “Hello,” she greeted casually, and her voice reminded Rainbow even more of Fluttershy. A gentle melody that drifted through the air like the music of a glass harp. Though she was significantly less fearful looking than the butter yellow mare would have been faced with strangers outside her house.
“Ah, I’m sorry to bother you,” Gale said quickly, scratching the back of her neck. “We were just passing through, and were wondering-”
“Would you like a place to stay the night?” The mare asked, tilting her head curiously. “The sun’s setting.”
Clover shook her head, turned around, and marched back through the garden. “Nope. Thanks, but we’ll be on our way, we- hrk!” A sky blue wing shot out and caught her by the neck, swinging her around so she was facing forward again. Gale shot her a look.
Watching with a mildly amused smile, the mare stepped out of the cabin and down the front steps. “What brings you out here?”
“The mountain,” Rainbow said, pointing with a wing. “We’re heading up it.”
“Ah.” The mare grinned. “So you must be Rainbow Dash. And… Twilight, I presume?” She asked, her piercing sapphire eyes falling on the unicorn.
Twilight shared a cautious glance with Rainbow before nodding. “Yes, but how did-”
She chuckled. “Cronus told me I might be seeing you. My name is Gaia.”
Gaia looked to her. “Indeed I am, Clover Cleverhoof. I’m glad you were able to escape the Halls.” Her eyes switched to the pegasus. “You must be very happy to have your wife back, Hurricane Gale. It has been many centuries, has it not?”
“It has, but-”
“Shush.” Gaia commanded, and Gale fell silent. “All you need to know, is that I know. Now, you’re here because you’re after the Poppy of the Soul that resides atop Mount Othrys, correct?” She received nods from the mares, and turned. “Then come inside. It is much too late for you to begin your journey; traveling the mountain path in the dark is not wise. You can stay here for the night.”
As Gaia disappeared into the cabin, the other four mares were left confused and more than a little hesitant. Eventually, Rainbow shook herself from her stupor and stepped up to the door, glancing behind her. “Come on; she said Cronus let her know, that means she’s probably some kinda god or something, right?”
“It’s Gaia!” Clover practically shouted. “Have you actually never heard of her? Terra? Mother Earth?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Not really? Never came up in any of the books I read. Who is she?”
“Gaia, or Mother Earth, is usually depicted as the goddess who created… well… everything,” Twilight explained slowly. “It’s said all life comes from her, and one day returns to her. Most historians consider her an analogy for the planet itself, but…”
“Yeah, but what do historians know?” Gaia asked, making them all jump as she stuck her head out a window. “Come on now; I have tea.”
With a shrug, Rainbow stepped into the cabin, and the others quickly followed her. Inside was just as organized as the outside; neat and immaculately clean, shelves lined with books were without a spot of dust and there were several potted plants that looks just as healthy as those in the garden. The shack itself was a small, one-room design, with a kitchen along one wall and a living area to the left of the door, complete with several chairs and a rug. A hall extended from the back wall, splitting off into several doors. Inside it looked exactly like the outside; all made of what looked to be living wood, intricately woven together. Leaves randomly stuck out from the walls, and Twilight felt at home for the first time.
Gaia stood in the kitchen, five mugs in front of her and a kettle on the stove. “Take a seat,” she said. “Tea will be ready shortly.”
Reluctantly sitting down, there was an awkward lull as they waited for the literal goddess to make them tea. When she finished, she looked around confused for a moment. “Oh, silly me.” She stomped her hoof, and from the ground sprouted thin vines that rose up and wrapped around each other, growing taller and weaving together until there was a living table between them. She set their cups in front of each of them, then summoned herself a chair in the same manner and sat herself. “So, how are we all doing?”
Clover cleared her throat hesitantly. “Are… are you really…?”
Giggling, Gaia nodded. “Indeed, I am the goddess of life. If it grows it is mine. Though I’m afraid I didn’t create the world, or anything; similar to how your Solar and Lunar goddesses did not create their celestial bodies. We are merely born from that which we represent.”
Twilight felt like she should be taking notes. “Earth ponies especially attribute their creation to you, given their latent magic. Is that true?”
“Well you’re certainly curious. If I recall correctly, the legend states I molded the earth ponies from clay and breathed life into them to tend to my fields in my absence, yes? Well, where’s the fun in knowing all the answers?” She chuckled to herself, despite the notably disappointed frowns the two unicorns in the room sprouted. “I’m afraid I’m not all that interesting. You four, on the other hoof, interest me greatly.” Leaning forward over the table, Gaia’s eyes shone with a curiosity both Rainbow and Gale knew well, her bright blue eyes landing intently on the oddity in the room.
“Cronus told me a lot about you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at the only living pony present. Rainbow shifted awkwardly under the intense gaze. “To make it through not only his trials, but to delve into the Halls and return with not one, but two who had all but lost themselves to the curse.” The mare sipped idly on her tea. “Fascinating.”
Rainbow found it difficult to meet her eyes, instead looking into her own cup of tea and scratching the back of her neck. “Heh… yeah… fascinating’s one way to put it. Most ponies call me crazy,” she added quietly.
Gaia’s look switched to Twilight, and Rainbow swore she saw a predatory grin form. “All for you, her dear friend.” The way her words dripped with honey told Rainbow how much Cronus had told her. Or perhaps she already knew. “It’s quite an honour.”
“Yeah…” Twilight trailed off, a contemplative look of her face and a faint blush on her cheeks. “Doesn’t matter that I didn’t ask her to,” she shot a look at the pegasus. “She just does what she wants.”
“Isn’t that what she always does?” Gaia asked with a hint of humour in her tone. “I may live in Elysium, but I still keep tabs on the mortal realm. You and your friends caused quite a stir, even on this side.” She set down her tea and leaned back. “Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty. You have to be fiercely loyal to the ponies close to you in order to claim such a title. Seeing how far she’s willing to go for you… well, if she’s representative of the other Elements I’ll bet their power is greater now than it has ever been. My tree must be doing well.”
A sharp gasp echoed around the room. “Your tree?” Twilight asked urgently. “As in the Tree of Harmony?”
Gaia blinked. “Why, yes; my tree. I planted it eons ago and spent a great deal of time raising it. I’m glad to see my effort has paid off; Discord’s forest has been well contained, and the Elements were even able to seal his magic for a thousand years.”
“Discord’s forest?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “You mean the Everfree?”
“Is that what you call it now? Yes; the Everfree is the seed of chaos in the word that gave rise to Discord. The tree was planted in an effort to contain that chaos; unchecked it would have consumed the world, as is the nature of disorder.”
Gale leaned over to her wife. “You know what they’re talking about?”
“No idea, but isn’t it fascinating?”
“The box!” Twilight cried. “The tree, when we returned the Elements, it gave me this… box. Do you know anything about it? What it is? What’s in it?”
Humming in thought, Gaia tapped her chin. “I might, but…” she grinned mischievously. “Wouldn’t it be more fun to find out for yourself?”
Twilight deflated slightly. “I… I tried but… I never figured it out. I knew it had something to do with the Elements, and therefore us, but I never found anything that could be used as one of the keys.”
“Well, it seems you’ll have another chance to uncover the Tree’s secrets.” Gaia waved her hoof dismissively. “It’s nothing to worry about.”
Crestfallen at the lack of a proper answer, Twilight hung her head. Gale spoke up in the silence. “Can you tell us anything about the mountain? If we’re going to be climbing it I’d like to know what we’ll be up against.”
“Nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure,” Gaia said shrugged casually. “Though… perhaps I should tell you a little more about the flower.”
“Any information you have would be helpful!” Clover piped up eagerly, eyes wide and attentive.
Gaia chuckled quietly. “The Poppy is said to be a marriage of life and death, and not only because of the magic it contains. The King of the Underworld asked me to make him a flower that was capable of showing his affection for the mortal mare he loved. However, I alone was unable to produce such a flower; my magic does nothing but bring life. To bridge the gap between living and dead, I needed the help of my brother, Thanatos. Together, we created the Poppy of the Soul. The King picked one, and confessed his love to the mare that would become his wife.
“Then…” she sighed, shaking her head. “When his wife was taken from him, the King had every last reminder of her stricken from the Underworld, including the flower. I was able to save a few, and planted them atop Mount Othrys, hidden from his rage and grief by the eternal storm. What this means for you is relatively simple.” Gaia’s smile returned, and her eyes landed on Rainbow Dash. “To pick the flower is not enough. It needs a catalyst to bring forth its magic. In order to properly harvest a Poppy, it needs to be given to another in a demonstration of pure, honest love.”
Rainbow’s heart all but stopped in her chest. Gale grinned toothily. Gaia seemed on the verge of laugher, and Clover’s eyes were wide.
Twilight nodded slowly. “So, we’ll have Gale pick the flower and give it to Clover. That should work, right?”
“Y-yeah!” Rainbow agreed urgently. “No problem there!”
“Indeed.” Gaia tipped her cup back, and frowned when she found it empty. A sudden crack of thunder rumbled from outside, and they all looked to the window. The moon had well and truly risen by now, the sky pitch black save for the shining stars. “But it’s late,” she said, standing from her chair. “And you all have a long journey ahead of you. You should rest.”
Gale stood, realizing for the first time the exhaustion that suddenly descended upon her muscles. “What the-...” she trailed off, holding a hoof to her head. For the first time in thousands of years, she felt tired.
“The storm,” Gaia said, hearing the unasked question as she gathered their cups. “Its reach extends far beyond the mountain; you’ve been flying through its effects for quite a while now. And before you go reaching for that ambrosia-” she glared as Clover retracted her hoof from her bags as though it’d been smacked. “-you should know you’ll be needing it. A good night’s rest will be sufficient for now.”
Trotting to the small kitchen, Gaia motioned with her head. “I have two spare bedrooms; both the doors on the right. Each has two beds…” she hesitated, stomped her hoof, and nodded to herself. “Now they each have two beds.”
“We appreciate it,” Twilight said gratefully, standing and levitated both her bags and Rainbow’s behind her as she made her way to the first door. “Goodnight, everypony.” She disappeared into the room, and Clover wasn’t far behind her, a pout on her face as she looked longingly to the amber liquid contained in her bags. Entering the second room, she poked her head out one last time.
“Thank you, Gaia,” she called, smiling brightly. “It’s an honour to meet you.”
The goddess chuckled. “Not nearly as high an honour as meeting all of you. Now rest; I’ll guide you to the mountain trail tomorrow.”
Gale nudged Rainbow with a wing as they both filed into the narrow hallway. “Hey, kid.” Rainbow looked up, swallowing nervously when she caught sight of the other mare’s serious expression. “I’m not gonna be the one picking that flower.” Gale turned and marched into her room, slamming the door shut and forcing Rainbow’s protest to die on her lips.
Rainbow sighed. She’d been expecting as much as soon as she’d heard what needed to be done. Just as she was about to head into the room Twilight had entered, Gaia cleared her throat forcefully.
“Can I talk to you a moment?”
Hesitantly Rainbow returned to the main room of the cabin. Gaia had her back turned, busying herself by making another pot of tea. “Yeah?”
“You necklace,” Gaia said, “Where’d you get it?”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, placing a hoof over the amethyst star. “Same mare that showed me how to get here. Called herself Harvest.”
Gaia chuckled, shaking her head. “No she didn’t. But… well, I suppose it’s wisest to stick to that story. However, rest assured you won’t be overheard here, and I’ve never been a fan of that contract anyway. It was Celestia, right?”
“I…” Glancing around suspiciously, as though they were being overheard, Rainbow paused. Eventually, seeing no reason to lie when her bluff had already been called, she nodded. “Yeah. Said I’d need it. Twi said somethin’ about her horn and a focus or… something. I dunno.”
“The importance of that item cannot be understated,” Gaia said firmly. She turned finally, a steaming cup in her hoof. “Whatever you do, do not lose it or damage it. If you do, it will be impossible for Twilight to leave Elysium.”
Rainbow grunted. “Yeah, I know. She told me she’d need to, like, attach her soul to it. I ain’t gonna lose it.”
“No, you won't.” She sipped her tea with a smirk. “Cronus told me how you crossed the Lethe. That pendant in your teeth to remind you. He said Twilight was the only thing you could remember at first.”
Rainbow shuddered at the memory. She could remember first crossing the bridge, remembered the feeling of forgetting things. Then it went blank until she emerged on the other side with nothing left in her head except Twilight’s name. It was a strange, unsettling feeling to remember not remembering anything.
Seeing the look on the pegasus’s face, Gaia snorted. “Well, I shouldn’t be surprised; for you to come so far for her… it’s admirable, truly.” Another crack of thunder lit up the sky out the window, and Rainbow yawned. “You should get some rest; with that physical body you’re probably exhausted.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow flexed her wings, felt the muscles in her back seize. Cringed at the sight of her feathers. “That all you wanted?”
“For now,” Gaia waved her away with a hoof. “Go rest. We’ll talk more on the way up the mountain.”
Rainbow followed the direction, turning into the first door in the hall. Twilight was already laying on one of the two beds against the back wall, a book lay open in front of her. She looked up as the door closed. “What did Gaia want?”
“Eh, nothin’ much. The usual; I’m alive, be careful, yadda yadda,” she lied, walking over and all but falling onto the empty mattress. It was softer than any bed she could remember; an impressive feat, given that it seemed to be made of a large green leaf wrapped around whatever plant was used as the stuffing. Rainbow sighed, melting into it.
Twilight smiled gently at her. “You look tired.”
Rainbow peeked one eye open, raising an eyebrow. “What gave it away?” She groaned, rolling onto her back. “My wings are killing me. I’ve been flying non stop for days. How are you not tired?”
“No body, remember?” Twilight giggled, but was cut off by a yawn. “Actually I… am a little tired. We’re close enough to the storm for it to start affecting me. It’s weird; I haven’t been tired since I died. It feels strange now.”
“Then enough reading,” Rainbow grumbled. “More sleeping.” She tried to roll away, but hissed in pain when her back seized. She reached up, rubbing at her shoulder. “Heh. Guess I’m really not used to having a passenger.”
Twilight winced empathetically. “I’m sorry. Did you want some help?”
“Help?”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight stood up and jumped off her bed. “Roll over.”
“Twi, what are you-” as soon as Rainbow was laying on her stomach again Twilight climbed atop her, straddling her back. She felt like her face was going to burst into flames, but before she could ask any more questions she felt a pair of hooves press firmly into her back, right between her shoulder blades. A moment of silence passed, then a low, rumbling groan filled the room.
Twilight smirked. “I’ll take that as a ‘keep going’.”
“Celestia, yes,” Rainbow practically moaned, all but melting under the unicorn’s ministrations. She grateful Twilight couldn’t see her blush from this angle, but she wasn’t about to stop it.
Twilight’s eyes unfocused slightly as she worked absentmindedly. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but the pegasus beneath her certainly didn’t seem to mind. As long as she could help, at least a little. “You really tense…” she trailed off with a humourless chuckle. “Who wouldn’t be? You've been carrying so much stress looking for me here.”
“Knock it off with the apologizing already.” Rainbow’s wings flapped weakly as Twilight’s hooves worked down from her shoulders.
“I’m s-”
“Twi.”
Twilight giggled. “Right. No more apologizing. Got it.”
From then on time passed in a comfortable silence, broken only by Rainbow’s pleased sighs and the occasional grunt from the unicorn when she found a particularly difficult knot. Of which there were plenty; she could literally feel Rainbow’s stress.
Eventually, Twilight sat upright, and the pony beneath her was little more than a pegasus shaped puddle. “Better?” She asked.
“So much. For something so uncool that felt great,” Rainbow said, yawning and stretching as Twilight hopped over to her own bed. Their eyes met, and Rainbow once more became aware of the colour in her cheeks. She looked away, scratching the back of her head. “I uh… thanks. I needed that.”
Twilight smiled. “I could tell. It’s the least I can do; you did carry me all the way here, after all.”
“How d’you know how to do that, anyway?”
“I got bored during a spa trip with Rarity,” Twilight explained casually, shrugging. “They had a few books on therapeutic massage. Oh, and one time Fluttershy needed some help with Henry and showed me the ropes.”
Rainbow blinked. “Henry? Like… the bear, right?”
“Yeah… that was an interesting afternoon.”
Opening her mouth the response, Rainbow was cut off by a yawn. She smacked her lips, blinking wearily. “We should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow, right?”
“Probably…” Twilight hesitated a moment, squinting slightly at her own hooves.
“Twi?”
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. Her horn sparked to life and the lantern above the door was extinguished, sending the room into darkness. “Good night, Dash.”
Rainbow frowned, struggling to see the other mare through the dark. She heard Twilight shifting as she crawled under the blanket, and as her vision adjusted she saw the back of her head. “Twi?”
Despite the fact she knew perfectly well Twilight couldn’t fall asleep that fast, Rainbow sighed and nodded to herself at the lack of a response. “‘Night, Twilight,” she said, settling deeper into her bed and closing her eyes.
“Their release,” Tirek said, his grin stretched wide, showing his sharp teeth. “For all the magic in Equestria.”
Twilight balked at her friends, sealed in bubbles of magic. She could hear them calling out to her, pleading with her, begging her to reject his offer. To… to sacrifice them. “I…”
“What’ll it be, Princess Twilight?” Tirek goaded, lifting his hands as though about to snap his fingers.
“Don’t do it, Twilight!” Rainbow cried desperately bucking against the magic that contained her.
Fluttershy nodded rapidly. “We aren’t worth it.”
“I…” Twilight swallowed thickly. It felt like she was being torn in half. Celestia, Luna and Cadence had entrusted their magic to her. She was supposed to protect it, no matter what. It was their final hope. But her friends…
“Choose, Princess,” Tirek spat, “before I do it for you.” He snapped his fingers and Twilight watched as the bubbles began to shrink.
“No!”
Twilight’s eyes flew wide open, and immediately she found herself in familiar territory. A darkened hallway lines on either side by shelves filled with books.
“A nightmare?” She asked herself aloud, her voice echoing around the silence of the great library. “I was… asleep?” There was a book in her hooves, its cover was a purple six pointed star with a crack running down the middle.
Twilight opened the book, her eyes trailing across the words.
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, it read, there was an alicorn Princess of Friendship named Twilight Sparkle. She and her five friends protected the land from many dangerous threats, until one day, tragedy struck. She turned the page, and saw a picture of herself, slack in a pair of cyan hooves.
When Equestria needed her most, Princess Twilight failed in her duties to protect her subjects. Because of her incompetence, all the magic in Equestria was stolen by a terrible enemy. She let everypony down.
“Twilight!”
Twilight’s head snapped up, and her eyes grew wide as she saw Rainbow Dash appear from the darkness, running towards her. The pegasus’s face was frantic, and a moment later Twilight saw why; right behind her a cloaked figure gave chase, carrying a rust metal lantern that cast an eerie white light.
“Rain-” Before Twilight could even call out to her friend, it was too late; the Keeper lunged forward. She watched as Rainbow’s body shimmered and faded upon contact with the light. Heard the mare screaming as her soul was taken, and then… nothing. Silence once more. Twilight’s jaw hung open, throat working uselessly as she struggled to comprehend what she’d just seen.
“Rainbow…”
Twilight jolted upright, her breathing ragged and a cold sweat drenching her fur. She held a hoof to her chest in a vain attempt to calm her racing heart as she gathered her bearings. The room was dark, but there was enough moonlight filtering in through the lone window for her to recognize the bedroom in the back of Gaia’s cabin. She looked over and all but jumped out of bed when she saw Rainbow Dash’s eyes shining in the dim light.
“Twi?” She asked, her voice betraying no hint of sleep. “You okay?”
“I…” Twilight hesitated, scanning across the room. Eventually, she nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Rainbow sat up in her bed, stretching slightly. “You sure? You were mumbling and stuff. Nightmare or somethin’?”
Sighing, Twilight relaxed slightly, falling back and staring up at the ceiling. “Something like that, anyway. Just… just a bad dream, is all. I haven’t actually slept in a long time; not really used to it anymore.”
“Must be strange,” Rainbow said, rolling onto her back. “I can’t imagine not sleeping. It’s like, my third favourite thing to do.”
Twilight snickered quietly, but it quickly trailed off. “Why are you awake?”
“Eh.” Rainbow shrugged halfheartedly. “You woke me up.”
Eyes narrowing slightly, Twilight glanced over and noted the way the pegasus refused to look at her. “You can’t sleep?”
“Twi, I told you I-”
“You’re still having nightmares, aren’t you?”
Rainbow groaned, bringing her hooves up and crossing them over her eyes. “I just said-”
“I haven’t seen you have a good night’s rest since you got here…” Twilight gasped suddenly. “Rainbow, when was the last time-”
“Before you died.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”
“Rainbow, I-”
Rainbow growled. “Stop it! Please, just… just stop. It’s not a big deal; so I have nightmares. So what? I’m not a little filly. I can handle it.”
“But you shouldn’t have to!” Twilight argued. “You won’t even tell me what they’re about. I mean, I assume-”
There was a knock on the door, and it opened just wide enough for Gaia to poke her head inside. “Time to wake up,” she said, her sapphire eyes almost glowing in the darkness. “The storm’s calmest before the dawn.”
When the door was closed, Rainbow wasted no time jumping out of bed. She stretched languidly, flapping her wings a few times. “Thanks for last night, by the way,” she mumbled. “Wings feel great.”
“Why won’t you talk to me?”
Rainbow paused for only a moment before throwing her saddlebags over her shoulders. “Nothin’ to talk about. My head just hasn’t caught up with me yet.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow as she crawled to her hooves. “What?”
“The nightmares.” Rainbow shrugged casually. “Been having ‘em since… y’know. But now I’m getting you back, my head just hasn’t realized it yet. Once I get you back home I’ll be fine.” Rainbow turned, her glare causing Twilight’s muzzle to snap shut. “If you apologize again I’m gonna tape your mouth shut.”
Sighing, Twilight nodded. “Fine. But this isn’t over; I can tell when something’s bothering you.”
Rainbow snorted. “Well lets see; my best friend died ‘cause of me, I wandered around Equestria for a year looking for a way to bring her back, literally came to Hell, got beat up by a giant stone thing and got lost in an evil library for days. Pick one. Or make a list; you love lists.”
“If it was just that you wouldn’t be so scared of talking to me about it,” Twilight noted, smirking when she saw the way Rainbow froze momentarily. “Whatever’s bothering you, you don’t want me to know.”
“Nothing,” Rainbow muttered, pushing past the unicorn and out into the hallway. Lanterns illuminated the cabin in a flickering orange light, and she saw three other mares already gathered in the living area.
“‘Bout time you joined us,” Hurricane said, sitting on the floor and stretching. Clover sat next to her, muzzle buried in a book. Gale groaned, rolling her neck. “I haven’t slept that great since I was alive. Thought maybe you two wouldn’t want to get up.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “What happened to not needing to sleep?”
“Not a paradise without naps,” Gale chuckled. “You two ready to head out?”
Twilight came into the room alongside Rainbow, checking over her bags. “As ready as we’re going to be.”
“I’ll guide you to the mountain pass,” Gaia said, sipping once more on a cup of tea. “It’s the safest way to the summit. From there, I’m afraid you’re on your own.”
Rainbow snorted. “What’s new?” She jolted as she felt a body press against her side.
“We’re with you this time,” Twilight said quietly, a tentative smile on her lips.
Blushing, Rainbow looked away. “Yeah, I guess,” she mumbled.
“Come on; we ain’t got time for this. We have a schedule to keep.” Gale stood, grabbing her bags and snatching the book from in front of Clover’s face. She received a glare from the unicorn, but ignored it as she threw the book in her bags.
Clover groaned as she stood. “We leaving?”
“As soon as you get off your flank,” Hurricane quipped. “How far is the pass?”
“Not far.” Gaia finished her tea and set her cup down. Making sure everypony was with her, she lead the group out the front door and into her garden. They passed through it without much thought, and as they crossed through the gate they found themselves once more in a small clearing with a run down shack.
Thunder rumbled in the distance from the storm, and the forest surrounding them took on an ominous tone as Gaia pointed into the trees, groaning quietly in a gentle wind. “This way. Stay close; getting separated in this forest in the dark won’t end well.”
Rainbow glanced around as the darkened sky was consumed by foliage, and she couldn’t help but smirk.
“What are you so happy about?” Twilight hissed out of the corner of her mouth, eyes flickering between the trees.
“Huh?” Rainbow looked over, chuckling slightly. “It’s just… it reminds me of home. Think about it; this place is exactly like the Everfree, isn’t it? Dark, dangerous, all that.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “That’s a good thing? The Everfree is not what I think about when I think of home.”
“Closer to home than anything else around here.”
As darkness consumed them and the final sliver of moonlight were blocked, Twilight’s horn flared to life. An orb of purple light grew from the tip of her horn and split off, hovering over them and illuminating their surroundings just bright enough to not have to worry about tripping on anything. The wind had picked up, and the ruffling leaves grew louder than their hoofsteps.
“Neat trick,” Gale noted. She elbowed Clover. “If you’re not careful you’re gonna get upstaged.”
Clover just rolled her eyes. “It’s a fairly simple spell.”
Rainbow snickered quietly to herself. Gaia glanced over her shoulder at them before pushing further into the thickening foliage. The rumbling thunder grew louder, and Rainbow’s wings twitched as she felt the static charge in the air. “We’re getting close.”
“To the storm, yes. The mountain is still further ahead,” Gaia explained. She stomped her hoof and the thickest of the underbrush ahead of them parted. Beyond was a small clearing, the break in the canopy allowing an almost perfect circle of silver light to fall upon the rich green grass like a spotlight. Gaia lead them into the clearing, where she stopped in roughly the center. She turned to face her party, her mane whipping in the wind.
“This is as far as I go,” she said. “From here you are at the mercy of Mount Othrys. Stay together, rest when you can, and some of you might just make it to the summit.”
Rainbow stepped forward. “That’s it? You said you’d take us to the mountain!”
Gaia pointed up, through the hole in the roof of the forest, and as Rainbow followed her hoof her eyes grew wide. Looming over them was a sheer cliff face that disappeared into a dense covering of cloud.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to fly up that…” Gale said, squinting into the sky. “It’s calm down here, but those clouds make it look real rough.”
“No, I don’t recommend flying,” Gaia agreed. She stomped her hoof, and around her glowing purple flowers began to bloom. She picked up and held it to her lips. With a puff of breath the petals scattered into the forest, their dim light rapidly fading into the darkness. A moment of silence passed, then more lights began appearing from the darkness as several more flowers sprouted, forming a path of connected dots of light. “Follow the trail; it will take you to the pass.”
Gale raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess; don’t stray from the path?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it, no.” Gaia turned away. “Make camp before sundown; the storm is at its worst during dusk.”
“Hey! Hold on a second!” Rainbow called, but Gaia had already faded into the darkness between the trees. “Seriously?”
Twilight nudged her. “Come on; we’re not gonna get anywhere by standing around.”
“She’s right,” Clover called. She crouched down, examining the glowing flower. “I’ve never seen a plant like this before. Bioluminescence alone wouldn’t be this bright; it must use magic as a secondary mechanism, but then…”
“It’s a magic flower made by a goddess, babe,” Gale deadpanned, sparing only a glance at the plant as she stepped past it. “No point trying to figure out. We should keep moving.”
“You mean we get to go deeper into the pitch black forest?” Rainbow asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Woopty doo.” She rolled her eyes and trudged forward behind the other pegasus, Twilight and Clover following.
The light from the moon was snuffed out as soon as they left the clearing, plunging them once more into a thick void that seemed to strangle the light from Twilight’s summoned orb. Little specks of purple guided them, the flowers having grown intermittently along the forest floor as the ground began to slope upwards. The underbrush thickened and the trail curved to the right, closer to where the cliff had been. Eventually the trees became denser, forcing the group into a single-file line. Groaning wood and howling wind filled the air, the trees bending in the gusts.
“Stay close,” Gale muttered, squinting ahead into the darkness. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Gee, ya think?” She paused a moment, feeling something hit her muzzle. She crossed her eyes and stared at a blotch of darker fur. Glancing up, another drop hit her forehead. “It’s raining.”
“We’re getting close,” Twilight called, having to yell over the roar of the wind. “I think the flowers end up ahead.”
Leaning around Gale to get a better look, Rainbow followed the trail of purple lights until they stopped, the furthest light still well within view. Beyond it was a faint silver glow.
“Come on; that’s gotta be the way out.” Rainbow ran ahead, taking wing and weaving through the trees towards the promise of open air. She vaguely heard the calls of the others, but it lasted only a moment before it was drowned out by the wind. Her eyes set firmly on the final flower of the trail, she felt more raindrops hitting her wings. By the time she reached the last guide it was properly raining, her mane starting to mat to her face.
Then, suddenly, the trees stopped and Rainbow Dash shot out into the open under the silver light of the moon. As soon as she was free from the trees she realized the full strength of the wind; the forest had sheltered them from the brunt of it, but in the open it was like a hurricane. Rainbow was tossed to the side as a gust caught her wing.
“Whoa!” Rainbow just barely managed to avoid crashing back into the treeline, but the turbulent air was anything but done with her as another draft hit her and sent her flying upwards, wings flapping uselessly as she struggled to gain any purchase against the wind. A moment of weightlessness passed and then she was falling, spinning in nauseating circles and catching momentary glimpses of the ground approaching faster than she could right herself.
Bracing for impact, she clamped her wings close in a vein attempt to prevent breaking one and clenched her eyes shut, gritting her teeth. A moment passed, then two, then three, and still there was no crash or pain. Carefully, she opened one eye, and found herself face to face with a very wet, annoyed looking unicorn.
“Heh… thanks.”
Twilight brushed her sopping mane out of her face - which only flopped back into place - and set the pegasus down on the ground. “Don’t run off like that,” she muttered. “You’re supposed to be saving me, remember?”
“Sorry.” Rainbow looked over as Gale and Clover came running up to them, the rain quickly giving them the same treatment it had her and Twilight.
“Well, I guess we found the pass Gaia was talking about,” Gale noted, her tone hesitant. Rainbow raised an eyebrow at her, and she nodded ahead.
In front of them was the cliff they had seen from the clearing, reaching up high into the dense cloud covering. But in the rock a massive fissure had split the face in two, a crack trailing down and forming a narrow pass that sloped upwards into the mountain. In the rain, the ground had turned to mud and rivers of water ran down the fissure.
The thought of flying through it was tossed out the window the second they approached; winds stronger than they had experienced before rushed out of the mouth of the crevice, forcing them to squint their eyes to look into it.
Rainbow groaned. “You have got to be kidding.”
“Come on,” Gale urged, “the storm’s only gonna get worse if what Gaia said is true; we best make it through this before it does. I imagine it’ll become a river before too long.”
Sighing, Rainbow glanced down at the pendant around her neck, flailing in the wind. Then to the mare herself, and she smiled. Twilight caught her eye and tilted her head. “Dash?”
Rainbow chuckled. “Nothin’, Twi. Let’s go.” She pushed ahead into the gorge, stepping carefully as she felt the mud sliding beneath her hooves. The wind pushed back against her, the sheer force of it blow-drying her mane as fast as the rain could wet it, sapping the heat from her body.
But pegasi were nothing if not water resistant, and Rainbow pushed forward without so much as a shiver. She threw a look over her shoulder, smirking as she saw the rest of her group following her lead. Twilight had dispelled her orb of light, and the light from the moon setting behind them granted plenty of light for them to see. The horizon was starting to change colour as the sun rose behind the mountain, tinting the sky a light purple. Though it wouldn’t be long before the thick clouds above blocked out what little sky the could see as they ascended the pass, pushed forward by the knowledge that the storm would only grow worse as time passed.
The mud beneath their hooves grew deeper the higher they climbed, the rain coming harder and harder, accompanied by the occasional crack of thunder. Walls of rock encased them on either side, towering over them and disappearing into the clouds above. Ahead the path continued to slope up until it too was obscured by the storm, and behind was only a tiny crack that allowed them to see the sky behind them as the moon set fully.
“Whoa!” Rainbow turned at the sudden shout, and she watched as Twilight slipped and landed face-first in the mud, sliding a few feet back before she could regain her footing. The unicorn looked upt, her fur matted with mud and more brown than purple.
“Twi! You okay?”
Twilight stood, rubbing at her eyes. “Peachy.”
Rainbow bit her lip, motioning for Gale and Clover to pass her before carefully allowing herself to slide down the hill until she was alongside the unicorn.
“Seriously, are you alright?” Rainbow asked, her tone soft and tinged with a hint of urgency.
Twilight regarded her curiously. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Nodding, Rainbow waited for Twilight to start walking again before she did, making sure to stay beside the unicorn. Twilight gave her another odd look. “I slipped, Rainbow; it happens. What are you-”
“Just wanted to make sure, is all,” Rainbow answered somewhat awkwardly, looking away. “I uh, thought you might have hurt yourself.”
“Right…” Twilight watched her a moment longer before shrugging it off, looking ahead and noticing Gale and Clover waiting for them to catch up.
The rain came down in sheets atop them, beginning to obscure their vision as the vicious wind bit at their coats. Ahead, the trail disappeared into a dense fog, hiding the end even as they approached the edge of the cloud.
“You know,” Twilight started, drawing Rainbow’s attention. “This kind of reminds me of how we met.”
Rainbow blinked. “I mean, I guess I did knock you into a puddle of mud, but I don’t think-”
“Not that,” Twilight corrected with a giggle. “I meant the trek to the old castle.”
“Oh…” Rainbow looked around herself. The steep canyon walls slicked with rain, the wind howling in her ears and the ever-steepening slope beneath her hooves. “Reminds me more of the time we had to go deal with that dragon, remember?”
Snorting, Twilight nodded. “How could I forget? You flew up and kicked it right in the jaw.”
“Yeah, and it deserved it!” Rainbow argued. “Trying to cover my town in smoke. Just who did he think he was?”
Twilight laughed, and it wasn’t a moment before Rainbow joined her. Lost in their mirth, what happened next was inevitable as Rainbow’s hoof hit a particularly slick patch of mud and she hit the ground with a splat. She looked up, muck dripping from her muzzle, and glared daggers at the unicorn doubled over in hysterics.
“Careful, egghead,” she muttered as she clambered back onto her hooves. “I will make you regret it.”
“As if,” Twilight scoffed. “What are you gonna do, fall down again?”
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed, and before Twilight could react she reached down and scooped up a ball of mud, hurling it through the air. It hit the back of Twilight’s neck with a satisfying smack, the mare freezing with her jaw hung open.
“Rainbow.”
Rainbow fluttered her eyelashes. “Yes, Twilight?”
“Run.”
Clover sighed, forcing another pulse of magic from her horn. The barrier around her and Gale shimmered as more power was added to it, protecting them from the rain and the worst of the wind as they ascended the trail. “You think she’s gonna do it?”
Gale looked over. “Huh?”
“Rainbow Dash,” she clarified. “Do you really think she’ll be able to give Twilight he flower?”
The commander chuckled. “She won’t have a choice; I’m not gonna babysit her. She’ll be fine, though.”
“She reminds me of you,” Clover said with a smirk. “You danced around your feelings for me for months before I asked you out.”
Gale’s eyes widened. “Excuse me. If I recall correctly, it was me asking you out.”
“Oh sure, that’s what you told everypony, and I let you; didn’t want to ruin your image as the big, tough commander, after all.”
“I’ll have you know-”
“I’m sorry!” Rainbow practically squealed, running past the two chatting mares with a panicked look on her face. Twilight followed close behind, horn glowing brightly and two large balls of mud floating at her side.
“Oh no you’re not. But you will be!”
Clover blinked as the two ran ahead, mud balls being hurled back and forth. She sighed. “You’re right.”
“Huh?”
“They’ll be fine.”
Rainbow groaned, pulling herself over a rocky ledge and sprawling out on her back, letting the rain splash her face. “Finally,” she panted, lifting her head just enough to watch Twilight climb up next to her, adopting much the same position. They’d finally reached the end of the path after far too long a climb up far too steep a slope. Rainbow’s muscles burned from exertion, and from the looks of it Twilight fared no better.
The trail ended at the top of the cliff they’d seen from the forest. The wind this high had died down compared to what it was in the crevice, but the rain continued to fall in heavy sheets. Rainbow rolled her head to the side, looking over the flat plateau. The mountain still towered over them, the sky filled with clouds, and looking over the edge of the cliff showed not the forest below but another thick layer of storm clouds.
Clover and Gale followed behind, each looking just as worn out as the mares laying on the ground.
“Hey slowpokes,” Rainbow greeted, grinning despite the knowledge the mud was ruining her wings.
Gale rolled her eyes. “What, tired already? It’s only been a few hours.”
“Speak for yourself!” Clover wheezed, seemingly debating it for a moment before giving up and flopping onto her side. “I haven’t had to walk that much since we were sent out to settle Equestria!”
“If we’re gonna take a break I’d rather do it out of the rain,” Gale muttered, holding a hoof over her eyes and squinting into the downpour. “Anypony got an idea?”
“Twilight, are you familiar with Shield Mender’s work?” Clover asked without moving.
“Of course,” Twilight replied. “I’m quite good, if I do say so myself.”
Clover lit her horn. “I’ll do the base if you want to do the projection.”
“Sure.”
Rainbow groaned. “What are you two nerds-” she was cut off by a flash of light. In an instant, the feeling of rain on her coat vanished, and she opened her eyes to see a semi-solid dome around them, the rain hitting it and running in rivers down the sides. “Oh. Neat trick.”
“That’s not even the best part.” Twilight’s tongue poked between her lips as her eyes clenched in concentration. After a moment another flash of magic burst from her horn, and when it faded they were no longer on a rocky outcropping surrounded by an endless storm. Instead, they were in a grassy meadow with bright blue skies. If Rainbow didn’t know any better, she’d have sworn she could actually feel the sun’s warmth.
“What in the world…” Gale trailed off, spinning in circles as she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing.
“That is the best part,” Clover said, laughing to herself. “It’s just an illusion, but it’s a lot nicer than the alternative. The barrier will keep out the wind and rain, so we’re good to rest here for a while.”
“Magic, never leave home without it,” Rainbow mumbled to herself, glancing to Twilight when she heard the mare snicker.
Twilight waved her hoof vaguely in Rainbow’s direction. “If you give me some ambrosia I’ll dry everypony off, too.”
“Actually, I think we could all use a little pick-me-up,” Gale said, her head already bent back and rummaging through her saddlebags. A second later she pulled out a bottle of golden liquid, setting it on the ground between them as she sat back on her haunches. The cork was pulled and she took a drink from the flask, smacking her lips. She passed it to Clover, before hesitating. “One drink,” Gale said.
Clover rolled her eyes. “Yes mom.” She snatched the jug and downed a mouthful, handing it to Twilight, then to Rainbow.
Rainbow examined the liquid curiously a moment before shrugging and downing what was left. She was pleasantly surprised by the taste; it was like a sugary cocktail without being overly sweet, tinted with a metallic aftertaste that wasn’t unpleasant. “So, this stuff’s supposed to-... oh…” she trailed off, feeling a warm, tingling pulse wash over her body. The aches and pains from the climb slowly faded from her muscles, and she felt more awake than she had since she’d first been dragged out of bed. “Okay, that… that works.”
Twilight giggled. “Told you; it’s great. This storm’s been sapping my magic, but with the ambrosia I feel fine.”
“Which is why we’re rationing it,” Gale muttered, snapping her saddlebag closed before Clover’s hoof could find its way in. “We’ll need it more the higher we get, so we can’t go using it up now. If-... hey, you hear that?”
“Hear… what?” Rainbow frowned, perking her ears. She could still hear the rain outside their bubble, but… there was something else beyond it. A low rumbling. Growing louder. Then she realized she wasn’t hearing it; she was feeling it. The ground was shifting beneath her. She jumped to her hooves. “Twi, get rid of the shield. Something’s coming.”
Twilight’s horn flash and the illusion dissipated. They all scanned the cliffside carefully, vision mostly obscured by the heavy rain. Suddenly, Rainbow saw it; the ledge they’d climbed was a little closer than it had been before, and as she watched it, a little more fell away. “We gotta go.”
“Huh, why-” Twilight’s eyes widened as she saw where Rainbow was looking, and a large chunk of earth vanished over the edge, putting the cliff just a few steps away from them. The ground shook again and like a trail of dominos the ground started disappearing faster and faster.