In that moment, things changed for Rainbow Dash. That one moment when he whispered her name, looked her over for the last time with liquid pride in his eyes, and wrapped his wings around her as he pulled her into a final embrace. As she pulled her muzzle away from her father’s chest, the first tear found its way from her face down to the stallion that raised her. From there it did not stop. She didn’t even try to bottle the tears like she had done on past visits; she no longer had anypony to stay strong in front of. She just let them roll while she stared at the stallion who had just drawn his last breath.
Twilight stood at the back of the room watching her friend, cautious whether to move closer or not. Rainbow Dash was grateful to Twilight for all she had done for her. Not only had she managed to get some of the best healthcare available in Canterlot, she had also stayed with her until the end; a true, true friend indeed.
Rainbow cherished all this extra time she had thanks to the care her friend had managed to provide; that was all Twilight had wanted in return. She had been warned by Twilight to leave no regrets or loose threads and she had taken the advice to heart. There were confessions and recollections of things long since considered trivial.
Rainbow’s legs were shaking. She felt as though the ground beneath her was starting to disappear. All attempts to calm herself came to nothing. She gave her father a slow kiss for the first time in a long time, but also the last in her life. She then turned and walked out from the room, leaving a great stallion behind.
“Rainbow Dash, don’t we need to tell some-“ Twilight called out after her, following her out the room, but not much further.
She didn’t listen, she just carried on walking. Twilight could inform the nurses. She would have run or flew home, but she was too exhausted from the nights spent by her father’s bedside. A feeling of emptiness took over her. The ponies she passed on the way to her room were all grey and faceless to her. She disregarded the concerned looks they gave her. The kind words of some strangers fell on deaf ears.
She mindlessly opened the door and stepped inside. It was dark inside, but nothing was done to remedy that. Rainbow made it to the bed and bounced down on it hard. With something firm underneath her, she curled up. She probed her mind for the most vivid happy memory of her and her father together.
She wanted to think of the good times.
She wanted to remember them.
But she could think of not one memory in particular. The happy times were there, and in abundance, but to pick just one memory out of so many was a difficult task. Without any happy memory to hold on to she felt empty. She looked across to the table at the bedside. An old photograph was there. It depicted her mother and her father on her first visit away from Cloudsdale. There were trees in the background of the picture; the first she had ever seen. Even though this picture made her smile, it was just a fleeting moment of nostalgia.
Time began to lose meaning as she lay there, crying. After a while the tears stopped, but the sobbing persisted. She closed her eyes.
She welcomed the dreamless sleep when it came.
A soft knock at the door didn’t wake her. When the door opened, she stirred a little, but remained asleep. When Twilight noticed her friend was sleeping, she quietly stepped in. Twilight couldn’t help but think of how adorable her friend looked while she slept. This came as odd to her though; she had seen Rainbow Dash when she was sleeping dozens of times before and adorable would be the last word she would use to describe anything about her friend. This time however, she looked a little more…helpless. It was saddening to see her in such a state, but it compelled her to help. Twilight sat on the bed, debating on whether or not to wake Rainbow Dash.
“Twi?” Rainbow was startled by waking up so close to her friend. When she remembered falling asleep, she calmed down. The question still remained of what she was doing in her room, on her bed.
“What happened?” she asked Twilight.
“You walked off; I came to check up on you,” Twilight explained. The answer still didn’t answer her question, but that didn’t matter to her.
“How are you feeling? Need to talk?” Rainbow Dash’s initial response to this was, ‘No’, but she didn’t want to snap at the pony who had been her closest friend over the past few weeks.
“Not cool,” Rainbow Dash sighed after a few seconds of thinking. It was so hard to express some feelings with words. Even Twilight, with her robust array of potent evocative words and phrases, had trouble articulating herself at times. “Not cool at all.”
Twilight looked over her with a slightly furrowed face and apprehension in her eyes. Rainbow Dash thought that it should be the other way around; she should be the strong shoulder to cry on. But everypony needs comfort sometimes. Rainbow began to unfold her body and lift her head.
“We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” Twilight offered, moving closer. Rainbow Dash picked up on this and hesitantly leaned in towards her. The steady rhythm of Twilight’s heart was comforting. Twilight used a wing to stroke her back. Everything was going to be fine; Twilight conveyed her message silently. Dash was already feeling a little bit better.
Though her pride wouldn’t let her admit it, she was grateful for such a friend. Twilight knew though; part of the magic in friendship is that you don’t need to say anything to make each other feel better.
Besides, sometimes words just don’t seem like enough.