Drip
Drip
Drip
The pitter-patter of rain drops falling to the ground filled the air. A storm had just passed through about thirty minutes ago, leaving everything in its wake covered in water. The sun shone feebly on the horizon as the day was drawing to an end, catching the figure of a pony slowly trotting up the main road of Ponyville.
Ponies inside their homes remained inside when they saw the stallion. Ponies outside stopped what they were doing and watched fearfully as the stallion walked by them, and any pony, indoors or out, stared enthralled as he progressed through the town, afraid that if they looked away for even a second, that he would be there in front of them with the undoubtedly solemn news he often carried.
After a minute or two, his destination became clear.
The library.
Some ponies turned away, glad that he was not here for them, while others openly wept, for no pony should have to suffer as the one in the library has.
Twilight Sparkle stood up and stretched, ruffling her feathers as she put down the book she had been reading to occupy the rain filled hours of the storm. Slowly she made her way to the window, pausing only to glance at the picture on her bedside table.
The picture was of her and her marefriend, Rainbow Dash, the day before Rainbow left to, 'Fight for the greater good of Equestria', as the posters proclaimed. Twilight herself had wanted to go as well, to prove that she, as a princess of Equestria, could protect her nation from harm. But Celestia wouldn't allow it, saying, 'While it is good to want to take an active role in the defense of Equestria, I believe you would be put to best use in Ponyville, preparing for the possible fight.'
Twilight remembered her anger that day, as she slowly returned to Ponyville from Canterlot feeling more than a little hurt that Celestia didn't think she could withstand the brutality of war. She remembered the month later when Pinkie Pie had stopped by the library to tell her that she had signed up for the Equestrian Army.
Twilight was surprised. Pinkie Pie? In a war? She had tried her best to dissuade her, warning her that there's no fun and games in war and that the only thing that war would bring was pain and suffering.
Pinkie Pie had responded, 'If the war gets to Ponyville, there won't be anymore fun and games to be had by anypony. If there's a chance that I can stop it from getting this far, I'll take it. Even if it means that I won't be having fun, at least I can make sure everypony else will still have the chance to.' Twilight had bowed her head in acceptance and watched as Pinkie trotted out of the library for the last time.
Three weeks later, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight were visited by a solemn looking stallion in a suit. He told them that their dear friend Pinkie Pie was killed in action. It was devastating to each of them, but to Twilight, it hurt worse. She had felt that she should have done something more to stop her from leaving. Rainbow had held Twilight close as tears streaked down their muzzles.
A week after the announcement of Pinkie's death, Twilight was visited by Applejack. She brought Twilight the same news Pinkie had. She was going to fight in the war. Twilight had barely been able to choke back her frustration, didn't these ponies see that the war wasn't worth it? So she tried to dissuade Applejack, asking her to think of her family and friends, to think of Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh, who had also died in the war.
The orange mare had shook her head slowly and had said, 'Twilight, as much as I'd like to think of just my family, I can't. I look around this town and I see families that have lost more than I have and can still lose more. I can't just sit by and wait for the war to come to us. If there's any chance that I can stop the ponies of Equestria from losing more, I'll take it.' And again with her head bowed solemnly, Twilight said goodbye, and Applejack walked out of the library for the last time.
Two weeks later, Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity were visited by the same stallion in the same suit bearing similar sorrowful news. Applejack had been killed in combat. Fluttershy wailed in grief as Rarity held her close with a comforting hoof on her back, as she herself sobbed. Rainbow, shaking from her sobs as she muffled them in her hoof, held Twilight close, wrapping her wings around her as if to protect her from further pain, as Twilight sat numb, tears pouring down her face, thinking about how she could've tried harder to keep Applejack home.
One month later, as Twilight and Rainbow had just finished dinner, Rainbow had spoke softly to Twilight, 'I'm going to war.' Twilight had dropped the book she was levitating in her magic in shock. 'Wha- what? How could you still want to go to war?! Haven't you seen what it does to ponies yet? Applejack and Pinkie are dead! Apple Loosa is destroyed! How could you sti-'
Rainbow Dash had cut her off by placing a hoof softly over the purple alicorn's mouth, her ruby eyes glowing in the soft light of the oaken library, 'I don't want to go to war. I have to. The Wonderbolts are calling on every able bodied pegasus to help in the war. But even if they weren't, I would still go. Not for me, but for you. I would gladly go to war for you, die for you, if it meant that you would be able to live your life fully and without fear of the war.'
Twilight's eyes had been overflowing with tears, 'But, why? I could easily pardon you, I could call in a favor. Anything to keep you here!' She was begging, pleading at this point. Rainbow Dash too, had tears in her eyes, but remained resolute. 'Why? Because I love you Twilight Sparkle. Because I want to protect you and keep you safe from the war. I know I can't keep you safe from the evils of war; you've already met some of them. But I can do my best to make sure that you will never have to be in it.'
Twilight had been stunned, she had never heard such raw emotion from Rainbow, even at Applejack's funeral when there were tears constantly streaming down her face, her voice hoarse and cracking at every other word as she spoke her eulogy.
After she had finished speaking, Rainbow had stepped forward toward Twilight, wrapped her hooves around her, kissed her, and whispered in her ear, 'I'll be your Wonderbolt.'
That was six months ago.
During that time, both Rarity and Fluttershy had been drafted, and Twilight had been visited twice more by the grim stallion, both times worried that he would bear news of Rainbow's passing, and both times being rewarded instead by news of Fluttershy and Rarity's deaths.
Twilight had been horrified when she heard that the Wonderbolts had drafted Fluttershy. Fluttershy wouldn't hurt a fly, much less another pony! The worst part though, was that she never got to say goodbye. The last time she got to see the timid, yellow pegasus, was at her funeral in Whitetail Woods before she was lowered into the ground. Twilight was the only one of her friends there and one of only three ponies, the other two being Fluttershy's parents.
Rarity had been drafted just three days before Fluttershy's service, and had stopped by the library on her way out of Ponyville. When Twilight invited her in, she declined and levitated a small box from her canvas saddlebags and into Twilight's magical grasp. Rarity prompted her to open it, and so she did.
It was the Element of Generosity.
Twilight felt her eyes tear up and as she opened her mouth to ask Rarity to stay instead, Rarity cut her off, 'Twilight, I wish as much as you do that I could stay. Unfortunately, we both know that it is not an option. I will fight to preserve the beauty of our grand nation so that one day when this horrible war is over, others can have the chance to enjoy it as well. I brought my element here because, quite frankly, there's no where else for it. Sweetie Belle and Opal are with my parents in Las Pegasus, safely outside the war's predicted path, and I'd hate to leave it in my boutique as it will only collect dust and tarnish over the years.'
Twilight remembered her response, eyes once again flooded with emotion as her friend spoke as if she weren't coming back, 'The war will be over before you would need to worry about the element tarnishing, you'll be back before it could even think about it.'
Rarity had smiled wistfully, 'Twilight, I will not delude myself. I highly doubt I will come out of this mess alive. If Applejack and Pinkie couldn't do it, I dare not think that I shall. I brought my element here because I didn't think to have my sister look after it before she left, and, as I said before, I'd hate to leave it in my shop to collect dust, or even fall into the wrong hooves. Last I heard Honesty is being watched by Applebloom, you have Kindness back, Laughter is in a frame on the wall behind the counter of Sugar Cube Corner, you already have Magic, and I would think Loyalty is still somewhere in Rainbow's cloud house.'
Having known that there was nothing that she could say to stop her from leaving, the young princess darted forward and wrapped her hooves around her friend and cried softly into her shoulder. Rarity softly rubbed the alicorn's shoulder slowly.
As Rarity pulled herself away from Twilight, she whispered, ' Rainbow Dash is still out there Twilight, and I bet she's doing her best each and every day to make sure she comes home to you.' and with that, she had left, leaving Twilight forlornly staring after her, alone.
Not two weeks had passed before that grim stallion returned, proclaiming her death.
That was three weeks ago.
Twilight set down the picture softly, and absently noted a wet sensation rolling down her cheek. She walked to the window and stared at the setting sun, lighting the sky on fire with it's fading brilliance as the night slowly approached from the east.
A shadow caught her eye. In the middle of the street, a lone figure slowly making its way across the town, growing ever closer to the library.
It was him.
The herald of bad tidings, the harbinger of pain, the stallion in a suit.
She watched as he slowly approached the library, all of the ponies in the street stared at him, hoping that he wasn't there for them.
She heard a hoof knock on the door, but she remained at the window, tears streaming from her eyes as she fought to refrain from bawling like a little filly.
The knocking came again. She knew why Spike wouldn't answer the door, he couldn't stand the pain of knowing that another friend was gone. She didn't expect him to either, when she had been barely fighting that pain too. Lethargically, the alicorn made her way down the steps of the library to the door, passing by the portraits of her friends hung along the walls.
The knocking sounded a third time as she finally opened the door with her hoof, her sight being greeted once more by the dark-blue stallion in a suit. She stepped away from the door, allowing him to enter. His ice-blue mane was cut short, the same as any other time, but unlike the other times, his face had a scar along the left side of his jaw and his horn was missing the top third, leaving a jagged, sharp edge.
They stood in the main room of the library in silence as they both prepared for what was to come.
The stallion started off slowly, his deep voice echoing through the library, "Princess Twilight Sparkle, I regret to inform you that Rainbow Dash, has gone missing in action."
Twilight, who had been standing, fell back onto her haunches, stunned. She thought she would be numb to the pain by now, but judging by the pain in her heart, she was not.
Rainbow....missing? She wasn't sure what was worse, the lack of knowing for sure Rainbow was alive or not, the fact that anything could be happening to her marefriend at that moment, or the chance that she may never be found.
The unicorn continued, "She was last seen three weeks ago, during a skirmish in the Ghastly Gorge. The only other survivor in her squad, a pegasus stallion, said that Rainbow was holding off enemy pegasi while the rest of the squad were fighting off a pair of quarry eels that had come out of their nests. He said that it took only a couple of minutes to take care of the quarry eels, but when they were done, the enemy had retreated, and Rainbow was no where to be found."
Twilight sat in silence.
As the stallion was about to speak again, a cheer rose up from outside, and a knock sounded off of the library door. The stallion looked to Twilight for permission to answer and received a nod. When he opened the door, the pony outside suddenly lost the smile on her face. It was the mail mare. Silently, she handed the newspaper to the blue unicorn and walked away. He looked at the paper curiously and upon reading the title, a small smirk came across his face briefly as he closed the door.
He handed Twilight the newspaper and watched as her face flickered through many different emotions, finally stopping on anger.
The headline was, 'The War with the Badlands is Over!'
The two ponies sat in silence again as the news was processed.
"Fracture, please tell me that your visit, or this paper is a joke."
Ice Fracture responded, "I would never joke about my job. I've brought too many families bad news, brought you too much bad news, to ever want to joke about something of this severity. I was on the front lines myself for the last three weeks, they just gave me leave to tell you of your loss. I had no idea the war was nearly over."
The princess was trembling, fresh tears falling to the floor as she glared at the cruel article before her. She took a shaking breath, and rasped, "I've now lost all of my friends to this war. And only now, it is over? They fought for the sake of this nation, they died for this nation, as I have been forced to do nothing but watch! Now you're here, telling me my marefriend is missing, possibly dead, and that we 'won'. How do you consider that a victory?"
Fracture was silent for a moment, "I never called it a victory, but I think your friends would have."
Twilight's head snapped up from its bowed position, her violet eyes bloodshot from crying, and her nostrils flared in anger, "How could you say that! How could you say that they'd consider their own deaths a victory?!"
"Because they accomplished their goal."
Twilight's anger faltered.
"They fought for the chance to end the war before it got to their homes and they succeeded. They lost their lives, but they saved their home. Pinkie fought for the country's joy and laughter, Applejack fought for her family, and she considered almost everypony family. Fluttershy fought for peace, Rarity fought for the nation's culture and way of life, and Rainbow Dash fought for you."
All traces of anger were gone from Twilight's face, and were again replaced with sorrow. She managed to keep her tears in check, and she inquired, "How? How did you know any of that? I didn't tell anypony their words, how could you have guessed what they told me?"
"I didn't."
Confused, Twilight merely stared at the stallion.
"Haven't you wondered why I'm the one who has brought you the bad news each and every time?"
She nodded slowly.
"I was in their squads. All of them. They each saved my life at least once."
Bewildered, Twilight asked, "How?"
"Pinkie saved me from depression, I was one of the first ponies drafted into the war and she kept the recruits' spirits high. She always spoke of how she used to play pranks and host parties, and how she had one planned for when she got home."
Twilight smiled sadly at the thought of her friend's endless optimism.
"About a month after Pinkie died, I ended up in a squad with Applejack. She used to talk about her farm and her family back home. We all did that from time to time. Later, she saved me from a tunnel worm while the rest of the squad fled," Twilight shuddered, she knew tunnel worms are vicious creatures with razor sharp teeth and amazing speed, with blood of acid, "she cut the worm with a misplaced buck and its blood got all over her." Fracture shivered at the memory, "there was nothing we could do."
"Around three months later, Fluttershy was put in our squad. The commander used to call her dead weight since she wouldn't hurt anything, but she saved our squad from starvation several times. She was killed in an ambush late at night, she never had a chance. An earth pony caught her from behind, and before anyone could move he had cut her throat."
Twilight grimaced. She glanced out the window. The sun was gone and the moon was part-way up the sky.
Fracture continued, his voice thick after recounting the tragedies he'd witnessed, "Rarity was put in our squad before I even returned from telling you and Fluttershy's family of their loss. She was...unique. She was quite concerned about how our uniforms looked, which was helpful for passing inspection, but not much else. She saved me from a spike trap, her close attention to detail apparently revealing a trip wire that had been on the path we were traversing. She too was killed in an ambush, the enemy was skilled in guerrilla warfare and me and one other pony made it out alive."
Tears once again made their way down Twilight's face, but no sobs shook her body as Ice Fracture recalled her friends' deaths.
"Rainbow Dash was amazing. I was in her squad for two months. She was awe-inspiring and brave. Most of the time, she single-hoofedly took down enemy squads, and on our down time, she spoke of a mare back home that she was fighting to protect. We all spoke of loved ones like that, but when she said it, she had a flame in her eye and an attitude that harbored no argument. She was rotated out to a different squad about a month after joining ours. I don't know why." Fracture paused for a moment, "I saw her again about a month ago in Ghastly Gorge, she was still awesome. She had been fighting in the war for six or seven months at that point. Ghastly Gorge was horrible, the quarry eels were as unpredictable as the enemy, popping up randomly and disappearing swiftly. I don't know what happened aside from what I was told though, but clearly something happened. She was abducted or trapped."
Twilight smiled softly, despite the tales she heard. Her friends were heroes. They had died bravely, they had succeeded at their goals, and she was proud.
Ice Fracture looked at the clock in the corner of the room, it read 9:50 p.m. He sighed, "Twilight, are you going to be o.k. if I leave?"
She nodded.
After another moment or two of watching her, he walked to the door and let himself out into the crisp night air.
Twilight stood up slowly, stretching her legs, which had long since fallen asleep. She wiped her face with a hoof and slowly ascended the stairs to her room. As she passed by Spike's basket, she saw his blanket was wet with tears.
"Spike?"
Her question was met with a sniffle.
She walked to her bed and said softly, "Spike, come here."
A minute or two passed before his blanket wriggled as he got up and dove at her. She caught him against her chest and held him there as he wept away his sorrow. She figured he must have heard what the stallion had said, as Fracture had too deep of a voice to not echo through the tree, and they had not been whispering.
"Is it true?"
Twilight jumped. "Is what true, Spike?"
"The war is over?"
She smiled sadly, "Yes, it's finally over."
"No pony else has to die?"
Her heart twinged, "That's right Spike, no pony else has to die."
"That's good. It hurts too much for anypony else to die."
"Yes Spike, it does."
Twilight fell asleep holding Spike close to her chest, her wings wrapped around him protectively.
Two weeks later, Ponyville was quickly returning to normal, or at least as normal as it could be without Pinkie Pie around. The town felt empty to Twilight, without the sound of Pinkie's singing, partying, or random questions constantly filling the air. She had a small but elaborately decorated tombstone in the Ponyville cemetery. It read, Here lies Pinkie Pie, daughter, sister, friend, Element of Laughter, and Premier Party Pony. The afterlife won't know what hit 'em
She continued through the town and into the market, where the Apple family's stall would be. It was now empty. They had to have their hooves full dealing with the loss of Big Mac and Applejack. Twilight had saw a few Apple family members from out of town a couple of days ago, probably helping to get the farm back to normal. Applejack was buried beneath an apple tree, just as she wanted, and carved in the wood was, Lay your weary head down. There ain't no shame in takin' a break from work to enjoy life. Life is short, live it!
She wandered past Carousel Boutique and paused to stare at it. The gala dress in her closet at home is a permanent reminder of Rarity's grand work and generosity. Beside the boutique, a beautiful white marble tombstone stood, with the words, In Memory of Rarity, the Element of Generosity, friend, sister, and daughter. May she find eternal elegance in the world beyond.
Twilight trotted down the path through Whitetail Woods and could glimpse the small grove in which Fluttershy was buried. She could see the small tombstone, made of powerfully enchanted rose wood. The enchantment was for preservation. There were likely seeds, acorns, and flowers around the tombstone as her animal friends always visited. Carved on the tombstone were the words, Here lies Fluttershy, Element of Kindness, daughter, friend, and caretaker. She made the world a better place.
As she followed the path out of Whitetail Woods, Twilight could see Rainbow Dash's home, slowly but surely drifting on the air currents away from Ponyville, no longer anchored by the cyan pegasus who once resided there. A few tears trickled down her face.
The sun was setting on the horizon showering the town in its dying light, as Twilight walked down the main street to the library, her silhouette stretching in front of her. She walked across the threshold and saw Spike donning his apron and preparing to start dinner. She closed the door and put her saddlebags on the hook by the door.
"What did you do today Twilight?"
"I was just wandering the town, visiting our friends."
Spike cringed. It was still a painful subject to bring up. After all, it had only been a few weeks since they learned of their friend's disappearance.
Twilight walked into the main room of the library and glanced across the shelves. Finding the book she wanted, she levitated a cushion to the fireplace and sat down. Not two seconds later, someone knocked on the door.
"Ugh, I'll get it!" She called to Spike who acknowledged her with a wave.
She grumbled to herself about how these things always happen right as she sits down.
When she reached the door, she glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. 5:20 p.m.
She opened the door with her magic and was greeted by an unexpected sight.
Rainbow Dash.
She looked tired, dirty, and was covered in scratches and bruises, but it was definitely Rainbow Dash.
A second later, Twilight tackled her, hugging her tight, tears streaming down her face as she cried into Rainbow's neck.
"Hi to you too Twi."
Rainbow tried sounding casual, but her voice cracked. Tears were already falling from her eyes too as she cradled Twilight to her chest, wrapping her wings comfortingly around her marefriend and nuzzling her.
"They said you were missing, probably dead. What happened?" Twilight whispered through her tears and into Rainbow's coat.
"A bunch of ponies picked the wrong pegasus to tangle with and paid for it. I promised you that I'd protect you, and I did. I promised you, you wouldn't have to be in the war, and you weren't. I promised to be your Wonderbolt, and I am."
Twilight reached up with her muzzle and kissed her.
"Yes, you are."
"Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"I love you."
"And I love you too."
"Twilight, who was it?" Spike called from the kitchen.
After a moment or two of no response he set down his mixing bowl and walked to the door.
He was glad he wasn't carrying anything or he would've dropped it.
"Rainbow Dash!"
"That's right kid. It's me, I'm back."
Spike ran up and hugged her, tears dotting his eyes, as she opened her wings and hugged him back.
"I thought you were gone like the others! Fracture told Twilight you were probably dead!"
Rainbow ran her hoof across Spike's head, "Nah, I'm too awesome to be dead."
After a moment or two, Spike let go of Rainbow, who was still holding Twilight, and started heading to the kitchen.
He called back, "I was just making dinner! You're just in time for my lettuce and carrot casserole."
As Spike scampered back to the kitchen, Twilight and Rainbow stepped inside the library and closed the door.
Author's Note
Any and all comments are welcome.
