Broken Idol

by TheRussianBrony

Rating: teen
Tags: Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Slice of Life, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5482

Rainbow Dash keeps her promise to a filly that holds her in an inescapable reverence.

After a party to celebrate her first flight, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash hold their first flying lesson.

Published 2014-04-28 17:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-28 17:20:02 UTC

Broken Idol

Broken Idol
by TheItalianStallion7 Edited by TheRussianBrony

I finally did it! I. WAS. FLYING!

Just as that thought entered my mind I began to plummet as a big gust of wind blew me off course. My new destination was, of course, a pine tree that towered into the sky in front of me.

As I tumbled towards the ground branches whipped across my body, stinging my flesh. By landing in a soft layer of dead pine needles that covered the forest floor I was spared a bone crunching fall; at least some of it.

I was covered in tree sap and pine needles stuck to every inch of my body. It reminded me of the day when my friends and I tried to get cutie marks in zip-lining. I made a mental note to talk with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about when our next meeting was going to be.

My whole body hurt from the fall through the tree but none of it mattered because I had been FLYING, even if it was just for a minute. Rainbow Dash was going to be so proud when I showed her!

I trotted back up to the overhang where I began my flight, stopping only to breathe in the fresh air of the morning. For days I had come to this very spot, hoping to experience the thrill of flight. Each time I only managed to buzz my wings for a few seconds, hovering over the edge of the dizzying height.

Until now I'd never been successful in actually going past the edge, crossing the border between the safety of my hooves on the ground and, well, let's just say a long drop that ended in probable death. After my camping trip with Rainbow Dash to Winsome Falls I'd learned that I needed to face my fears, no matter how hard it was.

I've been told by many ponies that I'm reckless, and that one day it was going to catch up to me. I never listened because no matter what other people said I knew that there was nothing worth more to me than learning to fly; and the look on Rainbow Dash’s face when I finally showed her.

I was hit by a sudden jolt of fear as I neared my makeshift runway; I'd forgotten where I left my scooter. I searched frantically for it in the dense forest that surrounded the clearing at the edge of the cliff. Scanning the tree line a glint of light among the dull colors of the forest caught my eye. I trotted over, expecting to find my scooter, the worn-out handles attached to a splintered old board.

Instead of the familiar peeling blue paint and rusty handles of the scooter I had pulled off hundreds of dangerous stunts with, there was something else. In place of my old scooter was a brand new one; painted a magenta that matched the color of my mane.

Somewhere in the trees I heard branches snap and a faint flash of cyan against the tree tops, or maybe it was just the sky. I decided to ignore it and instead check out the new scooter that had replaced my old one. I bucked my helmet with my hind legs; sending it flying into the air. The helmet landed on my head with a resounding thud; indicating that it had hit me upside down.

I now had a new bump to add to the list of aches and pains I felt. I quickly strapped on my helmet, only this time the right way. With my helmet secured on my head I quickly jumped onto the new magenta scooter; it had a sleek feel and I could tell that it was going I be a lot faster than my old one.

If you have ever bitten a fresh apple from Sweet Apple Acres then you may have a slight indication of the feeling I was experiencing as I buzzed my wings and took off at a breakneck speed. The only difference was that riding a scooter was like 100 times more awesome than biting an apple. I mean apples are cool and all, but my new scooter was awesome! Yes, you egghead, there is a difference between awesome and cool.

The wind blew through my mane, causing it to whip violently in a fuchsia colored trail behind me. The world seemed to slow around me as I easily dodged in and out of the thinning forest. I beat my wings faster and faster until I felt the air around me resisting my high speeds and it felt like I was moving through water.

*CRASH* I flew out of the Everfree forest. The leaves of the trees rustled as I sped towards Ponyville to find Rainbow Dash and tell her about what I had accomplished.

I finally found Rainbow Dash at Sugarcube Corner leaning against the doorway like she was just too cool to be there. Celestia, I loved when she did that! Her rainbow mane rippled in the breeze and just her presence radiated awesomeness. I could have stood there and watched her all day, not that I was checking her out or anything; I was way too young to even think about that kind of stuff. The way I look at her is more like in a big sister way. The amazing big sister that would never let me down.
I slowly dismounted from the scooter I had found in the woods and walked towards Rainbow Dash. I tried to act cool, as if I hadn't just done the most awesome thing in my entire life. As I approached her the expression on her face began to change to a look of surprise and hurriedness as she finally noticed me. Before I could get any closer she rushed inside the little shop; leaving her signature rainbow trail in her wake.

I started to get worried and upset that she just ran away before I could tell her about my flight in the woods. Resolve and curiosity pushed me to creep inside the sweet smelling shop. I tiptoed up the steps, each clop of my hooves sounded like thunder claps in the eerie silence. Sweat beaded on my neck and forehead as I slowly approached the entrance. My heart was beating faster than Rainbow Dash could fly and my knees were shaking. One more step that was all that was left between me and the door.
*Boom* *POW* Confetti flew all over the room as one of Pinkie’s Party cannons exploded into the room.

“Surprise!” everypony yelled as they popped out of their hiding spots among the furniture.

The confusion I felt was beyond overwhelming. Just about half of Ponyville was here! Wait... Surprise? Why were they surprising me, of all ponies? Something wasn’t right about this whole party.

Dash came trotting over; her mane flipping to the side as she attempted to move the hair out of her eyes. I ducked my head as a sudden itch overcame my nose. I twitched my nose up and down subtly so I didn’t lose my cool in front of Rainbow Dash, not to mention half of ponyville on top of it.

“Hey squirt, how you feeling? Oh Celestia! If only you could see your face right now; priceless.”

“Oh...” The fake smile I was trying to hold slipped from my face and made way for a ‘what in Celestia’s name was going on’ kind of expression.

Dash’s face drooped to a more serious expression.

“Hey now, don’t be like that. Pinkie and I planned this whole party for you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to set up a party this big in just a couple hours? I’ll tell you. It’s really hard. Anyways, I saw you this morning, ya know...” she leaned in closely so I could feel the warmth of her breath against my ears and whispered, “flying.”

My heart set off on a race of excitement. SHE ALREADY KNEW?! I had been so nervous about how I was going to tell her. Now that she already knew my muscles relaxed and my mind was set at ease.

“Uuuh, You still there Scootaloo?” Concern etched across her face.

“What? Oh, yeah! It’s just, I’vebeenlookingforyouandIwasgoingtotellyou-”

“Whoa, whoa. Slow down Squirt.” Dash said in a hoarse voice that carried the awesomeness of the coolest pony in all of Ponyville.

“Whatcha talkin’ bout?” Screamed Pinkie Pie out of nowhere. In her hooves was a giant five tiered vanilla cake. Vanilla and magenta icing covered every inch of the enormous cake, with an edible statuette of me gracing the top.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, sharing a moment of understanding with me. Pinkie Pie dragged me across the room to join the ‘partay’ and stop being such a sour pony. She set the cake down on a long table filled with various other treats. I only just managed to grab a random cupcake from the assortment before I was swept into the middle of the shop to dance.

Of course Pinkie Pie was there barreling over anypony that got in the way of her dancing. I giggled and joined in on the festivities that were planned for me. There was dancing, music and games. I played pin the tail on the pony, but mostly I just hung out with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. Dash was busy most of the time just talking with Applejack and Fluttershy so I didn’t really talk to her much.

The party lasted for hours; nothing unusual for a party planned by Pinkie. Celestia’s sun had long since gone down and many ponies had already left. The only ponies left were Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and of course Pinkie herself.
The Crusaders soon left and it was just me, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash. I realized I had forgotten to ask them when our next meeting was going to be, but I was too tired to care. I’ll just ask next time I saw them; which would probably be at a Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting. I was way too tired to think about this anymore.

“You’re going to leave now?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, I’m totally beat from that awesome party.” I responded.

“Why don’t you crash with me tonight? In the morning I’ll teach you how to really fly.” She boasted as she flapped her wings a few times.

“Really? So you’re going to take me under your wing and teach me everything you know?”

“Huh, yeah kid, I guess I might be up for something like that,” she said with a smile as she hugged me close with her wing.

“Hey, didn’t we already do this on the camping trip to Winsome Falls?”

We were walking out the door when I felt a hoof tap my flank, startling me. I jumped up to the ceiling and clutched the rafter as if my life depended on it. I clenched my eyes shut and braced for an attack.

"Silly filly! It's just me; Pinkie!" The mysterious hoof said.

I dropped down from the ceiling, pumping my wings to prevent a bone crunching fall.

"Warn me next time you do that Pinkie." I said, relieved it wasn't the headless horse as I had thought.

"Hehehe-" her laughter was cut off by a full body spasm. "Oh dear, not this again!" She exclaimed, as she bounced up and down.

"What is it Pinkie? Are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't like the feel of that, you better watch out Scootaloo. Something is going to happen, and it's going to be a real doozy. Even bigger than the time Twilight started believing in my Pinkie Senses." Pinkie responded.

"Uh… whatever you say Pinkie..."

I slowly backed out of Sugarcube Corner while keeping an eye on Pinkie. When I got to the steps I turned around so that I wouldn't fall down. Oh well, like Sweetie Belle says ‘it’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.’

Dash wasn’t waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. She was nowhere in sight. I hung my head and stopped to kick the dirt. It was light out, considering it was night. Luna’s moon shone brightly in the sky, constantly reminding me of the camping trip with Rainbow Dash.

*BOOM* A bolt of lightning flashed from somewhere behind me. I jumped into the air and my hair stood on end. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I darted behind the side of the building.

“HAHAHA!” Dash was rolling over laughing on top of the dark weather cloud.

“Heh heh” I laughed nervously.

“I got you good, kid.” Dash finally said after she finished laughing.

“Huh, me? Oh, I wasn’t scared. I was just checking to make sure that the walls were working,” I said as I knocked my hoof against the side of the store. “Yup, it seems to be good.”

Rainbow Dash bucked the storm cloud into the air and dropped down to the ground.

“Heh heh. Let’s go.”

“You coming?” She asked after she realized I wasn’t following her. Another one of her hair flips came as she whipped her head around to look at me. It was just too awesome!

“Oh yeah, I am definitely coming!” I assured her. Then an idea came to me, a crazy idea that was right up Rainbow Dash’s alley. I hopped on the scooter from the woods; the magenta one that was fast... Maybe even Rainbow Dash fast.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, you think you can keep up with me?” I taunted.

“You’re joking right?” She responded. "I didn't win the best young flyers competition for nothing."

Her wings unfurled behind her.

“What do ya have in mind?” She challenged.

“A race. Me and you, first one to your house wins.”

“Alright kid... you’re on!” She said as she eyed my scooter. “You know what, I’ll even give you a little head start.”

I took off without another word, speeding through Ponyville to Dash’s house. The speed was incredible. I was going faster than I had ever gone before and I was only getting faster.

Suddenly, I could hear the flapping of wings and heavy panting right behind me. I could see the cloud house floating in the sky a little ways away.

Then I realized why Rainbow Dash was so eager to accept my challenge; it was because her house was 30 FEET IN THE SKY! I couldn’t fly that far. Even if I could I definitely would not be able to carry my scooter too.

I looked around frantically; searching for anything that could help me get to the house. Rainbow Dash was almost at the front door already. This wasn’t about winning the race anymore. This had become a challenge. A challenge to see if I could make it to the house, and I was going to make it.

My eyes locked onto a fallen tree; it was perfect for what I was going to do next. I poured on the speed while keeping an eye on the downed tree in front of me. It grew bigger and bigger until it filled my entire field of vision. My wheels hit the tree and I sped up the downed tree; using it as a makeshift ramp.

Only a split second later I was soaring through the air. Time slowed to a crawl. The wind stopped howling, crickets stopped chirping, owls stopped hooting, and the world was quiet and still, frozen in the moment. A feeling of peace washed over me and I closed my eyes to take it in. Unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last very long. That peaceful feeling of soaring through the air fell through my stomach and the gut wrenching feeling of failure engulfed me. I missed the porch...

The sounds of the night came rushing back as if to make up for the silence just a moment ago. The wind howled loudly in my ear and an owl hooted loudly. I was plummeting to the earth, scooter still in my hooves. The feeling of weightlessness taking over my body.

“Aaaaaahhh” I screamed helplessly into the night air.

Suddenly I was in the hooves of Rainbow Dash and I was no longer falling. It was amazing! She just swooped in and caught me before I hit the ground. She effortlessly glided through the air. Sometimes she would tilt her wings to steer us back to the direction of her house. I could feel the steady heartbeat that came from her chest and the comforting hooves wrapped around my waist to keep me from falling.

She slowly lowered me onto the clouds in front of her door.

“Nice move,” She said as she dropped to the cloud beside me and folded up her wings. “If you had gone a bit faster you would have made it.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

I wasn’t good enough to be hanging out with Rainbow Dash. I couldn’t even do a simple jump! I thought to myself.
“Hey, Scootaloo. No worries. I’ll always be there to catch you.” She comforted me.

Rainbow Dash stretched out her wing and pulled me close to her. This was probably about the closest thing Rainbow Dash was going to get to a hug. Normally I wouldn’t go for namby-pamby stuff like this, but hay this was a hug from RAINBOW DASH!
Just her presence was comforting. Her soft coat felt like a blanket against me. Her mane cascaded down over me; surrounding me in rainbow colored sheet of hair. It was a sickeningly sappy and corny moment.

She silently scooped me up and lifted me onto her back. I could feel her walking into her house, but my eyelids were too heavy to keep open any longer. I soon felt the soft and fluffy feeling of a cloud as she slipped me off her back and onto a bed. All the excitement and worry from the day slowly melted away as I let myself drift off to sleep.

***

I was soaring across the air. My wings easily slicing through the air. Rainbow Dash entwined her multi-colored trail into my own magenta one. The effect was dazzling and I couldn’t help but bask in the sun and soak in the moment. Our contrails continued to inter-loop as we barrel-rolled past each other in perfect harmony.

I felt raindrops falling from an ominous cloud that had suddenly appeared above us. Rain began to pour out of the cloud as if somepony was squeezing all the water out of it.

Not even this heavy downpour could ruin flying with Rainbow Dash. It only made it more liberating to be flying with the most awesome pony in Ponyville. I felt free to do whatever I wanted, and no amount of rain was going to take that feeling away from me.

***

“Hey kid! Wake up!”

The dream faded and I found myself groggily opening my eyes to reality. Rainbow Dash was standing at the side of the bed and looking down at me. I suddenly felt like a bug under a microscope, and if I made one wrong move I would be tossed aside. The rest of the room came into focus as the effects of sleep began to wear off. There was silence as we both looked at each other. Her face was like stone.

“You snore.” She said after a long pause.

“Me? Snore? What? I’ve never snored a day, or night, in my life.” I hastily defended myself.

A grin broke out across her face as she said, “Come on Squirt. It’s time for your first flying lesson.”

Learning to fly with Rainbow Dash?! That was going to be so awesome!

I rolled off the lump of cloud that served as Rainbow Dash's bed. I landed with a slight thump on the cloud floor. There was a Rainbow Dash sized indent in the otherwise smooth floor.

She must have slept here next to me the whole night.

"What is taking so long?" Rainbow Dash called from the door, a bemused look on her face.

I scrambled to get my footing and trotted out the door after her. I followed her through her cloud house. I was just going to the front door when I noticed the new scooter along with my old one leaning beside it. I nearly stumbled and fell to the ground. Emotions clashed inside me as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing.

It must have been Rainbow Dash who put the new scooter in the forest.

Rainbow Dash stood in the doorway trying to evaluate my emotions while keeping her undeniable awesomeness at the same time; somehow she made it work. Her deep pink eyes looked at me, well, not really at me; it was more like through me. I felt as though she could see through my flesh and into my soul. In that moment time stopped as Rainbow Dash smiled maternally at me.

“You like it?” She asked.

I was taken aback. I have had the same scooter since I was a little filly. It was the thing that I treasured the most in the world, after my friends. It held all of my memories, my hopes, and my dreams. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time I made a change, like starting a whole new life, a life with Rainbow Dash.

“It’s amazing,” I responded “but i’d like to keep my old one too. I’ve been through too much with it to just give it up.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” She replied.

We both walked out the door. Her with a shy grin on her face, and me with a nostalgic smile. Outside her door a quiet breeze rippled our manes and carried away the wistful memories of my past. The cloud house looked much higher up in the daylight.

She suddenly scooped me up in her hooves and jumped off the edge. I really wasn't expecting that. Even though we were quickly falling to the ground; I wasn't afraid. My heartbeat matched the slow and steady beat of Rainbow Dash's. If we did hit the ground, it didn’t matter because I was already living my dreams.

Before we hit the ground she pumped her wings to slow our descent. We started to climb into the air and her house flashed past by a blur.

The wind slashed across our faces and pushed against our ascent. The higher Rainbow Dash flew the slower and slower she went. Eventually she came to a stop right above a fluffy cloud. She set me down on the cloud and then landed next to me.

“There are two things you should know before we start. 1: Slow and steady wing beats are going to give you much more power than the buzzing that you do on your scooter and 2: Forget everything while you are flying and do whatever feels natural. You are a Pegasus; you were born to fly.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Right.” I said, a cadet in a unique flying school.

“Slow wing beats and do whatever feels natural.” I whispered to myself.

We were up extremely high. Looking down at Ponyville I could see little dots of the multi-colored ponies that were starting to crowd the streets.

“We are going to jump off.” Rainbow Dash explained. “Don’t worry though I’ll be right there next to you the whole time.” She assured me.

Pro: I can learn to fly. Con: I could die. Pro: Rainbow Dash will be there the entire time. Yeah, everything will be fine.

I took the leap of faith and jumped of the edge of the cloud and began to fall.

Rainbow Dash was falling next to me. She was falling without a concern. All her limbs were relaxed as if she were ready to take a nap in the middle of our death fall.

“Are you going to do something, or are we just going to fall to the ground?” Rainbow Dash asked after falling almost 150 (144) feet in three seconds.

The wind felt like a hundred knives cutting my skin as we fell farther and farther. My eyes were watering from the speed of going so fast. Rainbow Dash showed no signs of doing anything other than falling beside me.

I took a deep breath and unfolded my wings. The effect was immediate. My downward plummet slowed. I wasn’t really flying, it was more like falling with style.

“Not bad.” Rainbow Dash said, “just let the wind take you.”

I stopped resisting the pull of the air around me and just let it take me wherever it wanted.

“Flying is like walking” Rainbow Dash yelled over the howling wind. “Take one step at a time. You’ll get the hang of it.”
I could feel the air currents coming from every direction. It was like the Everfree forest; there was only a few safe places to travel, not that I really had much experience with the Everfree Forest.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I stopped trying to find the air currents and instead let them come to me. I didn’t need my eyes to guide me through the maze of air streams. Princess Twilight Sparkle called it ‘Pegasus magic’, Rainbow Dash called it ‘instincts’, but whatever it was called, I didn’t care. It had eluded me for years and now that I finally had felt it and I knew why Twilight called it magic. It didn’t make sense, it just existed. It was something that I would never be able to explain to anypony who wasn’t a Pegasus.

I soon felt myself moving faster as I was pulled into a jet stream. Rainbow Dash flew beside me with a huge grin plastered across her face. I couldn’t help smiling back with a grin that looked just as goofy. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and pushed me to flap my wings with even more strength.The clouds began to blur as we picked up speed.

Rainbow Dash began to go faster and faster. I feverously tried to keep up with her insane speed. Tears welled in my eyes from the constant wind as Rainbow Dash shrank to a small dot in the sky. A loud boom rattled my ears and threw me off balance. A flash of rainbow colors and a feeling of weightlessness were all I felt before the blackness consumed my vision.

o~*~o

My head pounded and blood rushed through my limbs as I sped across the sky with Scootaloo in my wake. All I could hear was a ringing in my ear that I always felt at high speeds. Pure uncontained joy urged my limbs to carry me faster up into the sky. My wings felt like they were about to fall off as I recklessly flapped them even harder to slice through the air.

I knew Scoots was close behind me, because I could feel a gap in the air around me. Being a pegasus comes with plenty of perks, one of which was being able to sense objects in the area around you as you fly. Wait… Are other pegasi able to do that? Maybe I’m just more awesome. Anyways, with this built in radar I am able to avoid buildings, birds, and other random objects that share the skies with me.

A burning feeling in my hoof brought me back from my internal monologue and snapping back into reality. Surrounding me was the white outline of a mach cone that told me I was traveling at a faster speed than I wanted. Then I unexpectedly jumped into hyperdrive and started moving faster than Pinkie Pie on a sugar high. It felt like a slap in the face. For years I had tried to perfect the technique of performing the legendary Sonic Rainboom that I had performed when I first started flying. Now here I was doing one by accident! Honestly, it hurt to think of all the failed attempts that I had made and all the times I visited the good doc at Ponyville Hospital.

Then I was reminded of something that made my blood run cold and stopped me dead in mid flight. Where was Scootaloo? It’s a thought that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It didn't matter that I was going faster than the speed of sound, as I flipped over in mid air to make a hair-pin turn. Below me was a sea of green and no sign of Scootaloo. Then my eyes locked on to a dot of orange falling from the sky. Before I knew it, the orange was gone, lost under the cover of the trees.

My body reacted faster than my brain, as my wings accelerated me downward and added force to the gravity already pulling my down. At the speed I was moving it should have only taken me a couple of seconds to reach the tree tops, but it felt like the closer I got the longer the distance became. I let out a growl of frustration and snapped my wings back just as I tore through the limbs of the cragged trees. Branches snapped under my weight as I fought to get to the forest floor.

I met the ground with a squelch as my hooves were sucked into the muddy ground. I whipped my head back and forth, desperately trying to catch a wisp of purple mane, or a flash of orange in the darkness of the Everfree.

“Scootaloo! Hello?! Scootaloo!!” I called.

A haunting silence met my desperate call. Without thinking, I sped off through the trees. If Scootaloo was here, then I was going find her.

Oh boy, I really messed up this time. I was supposed to be paying attention to her during the practice. After all, it doesn’t really help if just speed off into the distance. Celestia! I am such an idiot. How could I even face her now? I just made the biggest mistake of my entire life. I went against my element of Harmony, I wasn’t there to catch her. Urg! Forget about what happened to cause this, and just worry about finding her.

Broken branches and demolished bushes marked my path through the forest. So far I was left with nothing but a smoldering anger and an increasing frustration. The sun had reached its peak in the sky, signaling that I had been searching for hours. I didn’t lose hope, because thinking about what would happen if i didn’t find Scootaloo was too scary to think about. Out of the corner of my eye something caught my eye.

As I turned I realized that it was the sun reflecting off a pool of water through the trees. Trotting over, I repeated my call to Scootaloo for the hundredth time. Just like the other ninety nine times, nopony responded. I hung my head, not expecting this clearing to hold anything new. The reflection of the sun grew dimmer as a cloud obscured its light. Without the blinding reflection, I lifted my head to look at the pool. Floating in the water I finally found what I had been looking for the entire day.

Tears streamed down my face as I began to walk closer. Everything stood stiller than blinding fog. I couldn't feel my hooves dragging on the ground as I struggled to find the strength to keep going. Each step I took brought back a jolted memory of her. Her talent show performance, sharing my cutie mark story with her, flying over Winsome Falls together and most recently, her amazing performance to represent Ponyville as the flag carriers for the Equestria Games.

I could have done better, I should have done better.

With a heavy hoof I slowly lifted her out of the water and gently slid her delicate body on my back. It leaked water like a saturated sponge. On my back I carried more than just her frail young body. I carried her broken hopes, her broken dreams, her broken friendships.

Though she barely weighed anything, I struggled to carry her through the forest. The setting sun burned from above, and the cold water ran down my sides.

How would I tell my friends? How was I going to tell her friends? If only there was a way that I could...

Author's Note

At long last, through the minotaurs maze, my good friend TheItalianStallion7 has finished his fanfiction in almost exactly 1 year. It may seem short, but after I edited the work and read in between the lines, I am proud to say that this is one of the most well thought out stories I've had the pleasure of experiencing. I do not expect him to write again soon, but I hope to. Once again I thank kirawolf590 for her beautiful cover art: http://kirawolf590.deviantart.com/art/Left-Behind-382347005