Star Wars: Power of the Dark Side
Chapter XXIII: Aftermath

Rainbow Dash breathed calmly, the torches of the evening blazed bright and with more fervor. It certainly offered her no comfort but it was better than darkness. Though she would have felt better if she had not had to report what she had seen. Her mind jumbled with confusion and a whole mess of emotions that she was not at all ready to feel at her age. She imagined her and her friends dying much much later, never while they were this young. Applejack, she had so much going for her. It made it all the more sad that such a good friend had to be killed. She was conflicted on that matter as well, on whether or not the kill was justified.

No kill was technically justified, it only mattered how a pony felt afterwards.

Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath as she opened Celestia's chambers. It was a large circular shape with various shelves with all assortment of knick knacks and books and ledgers, all manner of documents. There was a bed in the far curve flanked with two exits to the large balcony in the side of the building. The walls were a warm and inviting shade of grey and white, normally colours that would not provoke such feelings but did it all the same.

The monarch sat at the writing desk adjacent to the bed and facing the door just for situations like this. Rainbow Dash stood at attention and bellowed, "Madame. Lieutenant Rainbow Dash, reporting."

The demi goddess lifted her gaze from documents and saw Rainbow Dash at attention, her face more pleasant than it should have been, "Rainbow Dash. I am glad that you have returned. At ease."

Rainbow Dash relaxed, her training was slowly starting become like second nature. All of this training it felt more like military than actual sport. Though she knew that wonderbolts acted as special agents sometimes, she did not understand why so much military training was in the roster.

After a few moments of silence and uneasiness exchanged between the two, only through their eyes, Celestia motioned to one of the many chairs in the room, "Please, take a seat Rainbow Dash. Make yourself comfortable."

Rainbow Dash moved her gaze across the room and found a cushioned chair that caused her to sink slightly in the fabric and the soft felt of the chair. Celestia never moved her eyes from Rainbow Dash, the wonderbolt lieutenant swallowed nervously, "So....I um...I have returned with new information regarding Twilight."

Celestia gave her a pleasant smile. This behavior was very strange, her eyes gave her promise but not the welcoming kind, "I am eager to hear what you have to say."

Rainbow Dash coughed as Celestia scooted closer to her, "Well...um...you see, you might not want to say that yet princess."

"Oh? And why not?" She purred.

Sweat started to show its way on her forehead. She pulled the collar slightly to offer air to her now dampening fur and skin. Why was she getting so hot? Was it the temperature of the room? Once she relocated her eyes to Celestia she knew the reason.

Celestia lounged comfortably, perhaps a little bit too comfortably. She lied on her bed facing Rainbow Dash in a very risque position. That and the playful smile on her lips, she knew why she was so hot all of a sudden.

Rainbow Dash composed herself as much as she could, "Well you see Princess...Twilight is um...well she's...she's a sith."

She looked uneased by the situation, this news hitting harder than she could have ever expected. She seemed hurt and torn by the news. Celestia stood up from her bed and murmured half to herself, "Then it is as I feared...she succumbed to the darkness before I could intervene. I have failed as a teacher, and as a princess."

Rainbow Dash shook her head and chided, "No, you did not fail anypony. It was only the decision of the pony themselves. The ties of loyalty can be easily convinced other ways, most do not keep the same loyalty very long. Those that do are amongst the truer of loyals."

Celestia gave a half smile, dressed in the same garb as last time, "You have always been one for loyalty. True as they are they are hardly comforting, I am sorry."

Gloom seemed to hover over their heads as Celestia released a breath, "We no longer live in a golden age of peace. I had it last for a thousand years and here it starts again. A vicious and endless cycle of conflict. Dark powers are on the rise again and they are coming with the might of shadow. These separatests are following their leaders and follow their every whim. Darth Koselig and Darth Mortis.

"I am going to need all hooves to help me and the country on this one. I trust I can count on you Lieutenant Rainbow Dash?"

Her forehooves folded behind her back and Rainbow Dash searched for the answer. Of everything that she has seen, she just wants to go back to her old life. She did not like the aweful events that has transpired and wish that she could pass up on them. But what could she do now, just sit and mope around while ponies she knows are in mortal danger. The enemy very well might be her friend Twilight Sparkle.

Her mind felt torn asunder. She cannot decide who to remain loyal to, her friend or her princess. Celestia still expects her to make a leader out of Rainbow Dash. She remained silent as Celestia crossed the room and exited to the balcony. Similar to the one where she delivered her speech to Canterlot. The speech to split a nation. She spoke, "I never intended for any of this to happen. I hoped. I prayed. The Sith threat was gone forever from this land. With Sombra killed I felt relief come off my shoulders that no more Sith would reawaken. Now my beloved student has turned to the sith."

Rainbow Dash joined next to Celestia. She stared somberly off into the distance, Rainbow Dash joining her, commenting, "No pony could have ever seen this coming."

Celestia offered, "I suppose you are right. Though I should have known that my era of peace for Equestria could not have lasted long. I was a fool to think otherwise."

She lowered her head, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, "Rainbow Dash...in the next coming months you will see a new side of me. A side of me you will hate. A side you will fear. And a side you will never forget."

"Celestia, you can't-"

"I am a broken mare Rainbow Dash," Celestia interrupted, "I am apart of an order that preaches peace and love, when I am no more a savage than my enemies. My pride...consumes and my true nature is revealed. When I become a warmongering tyrant."

Rainbow Dash looked and saw Celestia, hold back tears. Never in her life had she ever seen a goddess or a demi-goddess, become so much like...a pony. She had always seen Celestia as a higher being of great power and intensity, now she saw a fraction of that immortal's true identity. She saw a mare with everything they love gone. Rainbow never took the time to step back and realize how much Celestia loved Twilight. How much Celestia had considered her like a daughter she never had. Rainbow felt sympathy for the immortal, she could understand the hurt. In more ways than one.

Celestia shook her head, still fighting back the tears, "But none of that matters now. Right now, my ponies need me. They need a leader that is strong and confident."

She paused to sniffle and stifle what little of herself she had left, straightening her robes she added, "Lieutenant Rainbow Dash. I am trusting you to hold all of the affairs of the castle while I am gone."

Rainbow Dash gulped, "What...where are you going?"

Celestia paused as her wings extended and got into a stance to lift off and murmured near a whisper, "To see if I can still salvage what is left of my student."

With those words, she sprang into the air and rushed her way into the sky. Bursting through the cloud cover and finding her way amongst the thin layer of air called the stratosphere.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she allowed her eyes to drift back down from the sky, her eyes heavy with the weight of emotion. Her mind split between her princess and her friend. After a shake of her head she said to herself, "Friends before anything."

Her hooves clicked against the stone ground as she crossed the threshold back into the castle. If she was to help her friend, she would need to give her information. Twilight is now at war with Equestria, and Rainbow would be damned of she would let her friend fight this alone.

Author's Note

The final Rainbow Dash chapter of the story and the second to last chapter of the story. I really am grateful of the attention it has gotten and there are no words to describe how proud I am of this fic. Thank you all!