Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter twelve of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature one no less on the grounds that the last chapter has dealt with another heavy subject matter proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; however, it has also ended on a more uplifting note unlike the others, a strange sentiment born from familiarity no less for reasons already explained.

Aside from disclaimers long ago, I want to take the time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now oh so close to the end of the story, mind you; speaking of which, this chapter is going to feature a character from the merchandise who has yet to appear in the show so far: while I would've told you the identity of the seventh main character, classifying her as an other was the only logical clue that I could give.

Nevertheless, two special guests are going to be joining one of our fateful protagonists in this penultimate chapter below: as such, I hope you would enjoy what I have brought to you for I deeply regret leaving you all to hang long than I had intended; in any case, like regularly and especially previously, stay gold.

Corporeality

It was a dark and stormy day but still possessed the light that was hidden away from the eyes of its own observers whom were now running about at this moment in time thereof. The silver linings that could have been easily found as the shine in the storm were overshadowed by the outpouring of rainwater that fell onto the solid ground almost immediately. Some sounds of thunder that had rolled about within the vast storm clouds while refrained waves of lightning carved its way throughout with blinding speed and synchronicity. Unbound by the vast spaciousness of the very atmosphere, the cluster of grays and whites with the occasional colors spread further apart all over the lands and waters underneath. Kiloliters worth of rain had already saturated the terrain, many square acres of it all were gaining the very texture that was more malleable than even stone and metal themselves. Accompanying the rain and thunder were the howling winds now moving the grass and trees that had already completed the interactive orchestra for the surrounding environment.

Speaking of the environment in question, it was nothing short of an open field resting upon a flat terrain with some fences around the rectangular area. A pair of large wooden gazebos were found standing nearby the openings of which where people would traverse to and from at any given time thereof. The large playground at one nearby corner, a scene of pastel colored wonder, was already soaked with the overwhelming moisture, swings and all. Only the trees that had remained stood their collective ground tall and proud against the rain and winds but even they weren’t remaining unperturbed. Many square acres worth of space were starting to collect a large amount of water in the process to the point of making a swimming pool in the grass. In the midst of the scenery were but a few individuals take shelter from the pouring deluge, their integuments and clothing unscathed for the most part.

Of the few personnel found within the pavilion, there was the sight of at least three females who were perhaps alike in fair dignity at first glance. All three of them had possessed a few common traits: long flowing hair in more than just a single color and a look of dismay were all being worn. They nevertheless possessed many significant differences amongst themselves that the average observer would’ve easily taken notice of already.

The first of the females, bright skinned and with but a clear complexion, was staring out into the heavy downpour with her golden eyes riddled with water as well. She had possessed a spiky set of minty tresses already eclipsing by the lack of light being shed upon herself despite having some whiteness right in the middle. Upon the female’s body was but a simple attire: a bright yellow sweater and some dark purple skirt with some matching leggings barely covering both her feet.

The second of the feminine trio, also bright skinned but wearing a faint tan, had wore some true blue eyes all staring at the ligneous ceiling to hear the rain pounding. Her long and coiled hair was but a clashing of the darkest cold blue and lightest hot pink vying for dominance all across the very way with only depth and texture. Even the female’s own attire was also very simplistic to a fault but rather more uniform as well: an all–white ensemble consisting of a blouse, shorts, socks and boots.

The last of these was literally not like the others: aside from being shorter, she had but a darker complexion and some aquamarine orbs focused onto the plastic table. Also, her hair was a scene with a clashing of colors as well, albeit with only three hues of purple, pink, and aqua neatly curled up past the nape of the neckline alone. Upon this female’s very body was an enormous baby blue pinafore with a pair matching shoes to go along with the rather spacious form of clothing in and of itself.

“It happened again…!” the woman in white worded out at once, her face straighten and narrowed by the pitter–patter of raindrops above themselves.

The other woman stared into the moistening landscape started to cry softly, “rain, rain, go away… come again another day…”

“It has been raining a lot lately…” the smaller female sighed as she’d stood up and nudged the standing bystander’s shoulder, “Bon–Bon, do you think it’s possible that it will rain again next week…?”

“I can’t answer that question, Star Dreams; not even Lyra knows about it…” the target titular woman in white replied, slightly flinching at the roar of thunder above the trio cutting into the rain.

The sight of the prostrate observer nearby prompted the blue female to call out to the former at once, “Lyra…?”

“Rain, rain, go away… come again another day…” the aforementioned onlooker had repeated, unfazed by the blowback of the deluge carried away by the howling winds around her face, “rain, rain, go away… come again another day…”

“Lyra…” Star Dreams said once more, this time breaking away from Bon–Bon to approach the eponymous witness.

Once again, the prostrate woman had ignored the smaller female and began to weep again, “rain, rain, go aw–––”

“Lyra, please…” Star Dreams quickly interrupted as she’d then hugged the titular observer, “get up…”

“Huh… Star…?” the taller counterpart slowly choked out when she’d soon felt a warm sensation at her shoulders, no doubt the work of the aforementioned youth’s hands already nearby at the former’s side.

The standing woman in white had felt only tempted to join the two other females as the driving rainstorm above themselves raged onward with but little signs of ceasing to be anyway. In contrast, Bon–Bon still watched Lyra and Star Dreams all too closely from but a small cold distance only silently as they’d remained keenly aware of each other’s’ presence no less. While the females were safe in one another’s company, only the woman in white had remained nothing but cautious as she could now feel her own hair currently standing on endwise. Alone as they were but also together as well, even though with two of the females in question now firmly in the line of Bon–Bon’s eyesight, she was nevertheless careful for them. Zigzags of white hot lightning soon flashed before their own eyes almost instantaneously as it was then followed by yet another round of thunder that had also pounded the very ears.

Just when it had seemed like that the woman in white was about to say something, the blue female became the first to break the silence, immediately but calmly speaking into the taller counterpart’s ears, “please…”

“Star Dreams… what are you doing here; where am I…?” Lyra peeped as she had faced the eponymous youth at once, “what with all this rain…?”

“Don’t you remember… we’d decided to go up to the capital for vacation, Lyra; can’t you recall of it…?” Bon–Bon answered, now finding the strength within herself to approach the two all at once.

It wasn’t long until Star Dreams joined in as well, “you were talking about how you wanted to go home for the weekend since last Tuesday so Bon–Bon and I were trying to raise some money getting to the capital by selling some candy…”

“Last Tuesday…?” the prostrate woman had only struggled to speak to the titular bystander rather clearly at once, “is that so…?”

“Yeah… I thought that we could afford a nice change of scenery to ease our minds: Appleloosa may be big enough to raise a family but the capital seemed like a return to the past; plus, there would’ve been a chance that you could run into your old friends again…” the woman in white answered with a faint and nervous but calm grin.

Lyra began to face Bon–Bon already with confusion replying at once, “what old friends…? They’d never returned here to begin with…”

“Only one… Twilight Sparkle; she came back to her old home in the city since Golden Oak Library had burned to the ground that night…” the woman in white countered, “they had said that it was the work of a saboteur that came here earlier; ever since that fateful day, one of the Princesses took her all the way to the city right up north of the building. Her parents had said that her upper body had sustained second– to third–degree burns: it was like looking at skeleton that reminded them of her brother, a captain of the guard; of course, he’s also alive though I wish the same could be said for his wife. Some guy by the name of Mercury Promenade blew up the wedding reception years ago and killed Princess Cadence; I was there when it had happened that day too: some shrapnel had ended up etched into the abdomen and cause her to bleed out. Anyways, Shining Armor tried to take his own life but his sister was there for him, trying not to let himself give on life because of it; she wasn’t alone though since she had friends back at home: Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and even Moondancer had came to their side. Even though that it had been a long time since they’d met again, they were able to catch up on old times, talking about what they did; as a matter of fact, Twilight even mentioned your name when you’d met with Applejack then.”

“Applejack… did I do that…?” the sitting woman had said slowly as the downpour started to slack up at once.

Bon–Bon nodded her head in confirmation and said, “yeah, Doctor Stable told me about the progress you’ve made since our first visit…”

“Yeah… she talked to me about why you were there that day…” the smaller female had also chimed in, still remaining crouched all right by at Lyra’s side, “she’d also told me how great of a person you were anyway, always wearing that smile in and out of bed every day to enjoy the best of life…”

“Really…?” the sitting listener had replied.

Star Dreams had still hugged Lyra tightly and continued onward with the tète–a–tète at once, “yeah, Bon–Bon said that you were once a bright and bubbly woman, always full of life and love. She had seen you as a free–spirit, ready, willing, and able to take on the day by being willing to just try out some new things. The very quality that Bon–Bon had like about you the very most was how you’d made her smile once again when she’d wanted to give up on something.”

“Smile…?” the wayward listener said as she had still remained aware of the smaller female, “isn’t that what Pinkie Pie does…?”

“Yes, but not as much as you did: your happy face convinced me to smile again; it reminded me of my own mom and dad…!” Star Dreams cried into Lyra’s sweater, the former’s tears soaking into the latter more quickly than the rain itself.

Another flash of lightning had appeared before themselves as the supine observer whimpered, “mom and dad…? I had a mom and dad…”

“So did I and Star Dreams had them too…” the woman in white worded herself out once more with feeling, moving forward to the two in question, “just because that we had lost them both doesn’t mean that we should be losing our way either: they didn’t bring us into this world just so they can leave us behind without knowing what to do from here. They would have wanted us all to not give up on ourselves even though that they’re no longer with us; just think back to the very time when Missus Smith raised all three of her grandchildren and had to take care of the farm. The Apples may be the largest family here in the very homeland but we’re also a family living here too: you, me, and her; even though that we’re different from certain other families, it doesn’t change the fact that we care for each other very greatly. All that I must ask of you, Lyra… please don’t forget what you once were nor what we still are; your mom and dad didn’t want you to forsake your happiness because of every horrible thing that had happened recently. Don’t just do it for yourself, do it for your neighbors, do it for your friends, do it for her, do it for me…”

“Bon–Bon…” Lyra had called out only quietly to the eponymous observer in but a faint and careless whisper no less.

At this point in time, the smaller female looked into the golden eyes of the taller counterpart and pleaded at once, “please…”

“You guys, I…” Lyra had struggled to speak out once more, this time with only but feelings of acquired apprehension in place of matching melancholy from much earlier before, “I don’t know what else to say about it…”

“There’s no need to say anything; we both love you far too much to risk letting you throw your own life away…!” Bon–Bon soon bawled out as she had now finally made her way to the two at once, letting loosely but a thin stream of tears out from the corners of her very eyes almost rather immediately.

Sure enough, the three females were currently joined up in a loving embrace, uncaring of the rain and lightning that had started to decrease in frequency already. Although that the water and air were being blown around into their faces, they were all found to be down on the ground anyways, smiles plastered upon them. The very trepidation that was holding all of the three in place in the wooden pavilion earlier was now quickly substituted with only but elation for one another.

Finally, the supine woman started to return the gesture all at once and cried happily ever the after, “I love you both too…!”

“Oh, Lyra…!” the woman in white wildly wailed as she had instantaneously nuzzled up to the aforementioned individual, gripping onto to the latter’s back, “I hate what this war has done to us all and what it’s doing to you especially: you deserve a whole lot better than what these fiends have done to you. I want the old Lyra back, the one that was happy, the one that was never afraid to start the day, the one that never even had to take medicine now and then. I know that no matter how hard I wish to go back to the old days when everything had made sense, not even the archaic research done by Starswirl the Bearded would make that happen. Still, that doesn’t mean that you should give up on trying to be happy again, even after everything that happened to the likes of us because of the war alone. You’re still surrounded by people that love and care for you, Lyra, even though that we aren’t biological family: friends like the very ones that you still have to this day, people like me who still can’t on without the likes of you, and even Star Dreams who needs love the most.”

“Please, Lyra… listen to what she’s saying: I know that I’m not old enough to understand and everything that happens in this world but that doesn’t mean that I’m alone either; when I’m with you, I feel safe knowing that all the bad things that happen won’t befall upon the both of us, just like how mommy and daddy kept me safe when they were alive…” the titular tyro told the target.

The eponymous crier could barely believe what her smaller counterpart gave out: it would seem that for a brief second that the visage of the former remained in place of the latter had flashed before the reflections within the golden eyes themselves; soon enough, some words escaped from the mouth all at once, “oh, Star Dreams…”

“We can still see facets of the old you shining thru despite everything that happened: you’d even mustered the strength to read her a bedtime story nightly even in the midst of a thunderstorm…” Bon–Bon said as she had held onto Lyra tightly, tears still flowing throughout the face faster that the rain itself, “I’ll admit there have been times that I’d wanted to give up on life especially before the war had came to our doorstep. Growing up in the countryside, I was still struggling to make so much as a meager living for myself since I’d left my mother’s home; from the day I’d met you, I felt as if the strength that had left me came back. Even now, I’ve already swore to myself not to go back to the very times that I’d struggled in my life following that particular day thereof; I’ve cared about moving forward for the sake of my friends, especially you, and now her as well. I had risked my own life trying to rescue you, not only just because of that silent vow but also because I had believed that you would do the same and I will risk my life again to rescue Star Dreams just as much as you would. The challenges that we have all faced together were unforgettable because of the collective experiences we had learned and the people that we had encountered in the very process overall and her joining us along to face many more is proof of that. The only option we have to deal with them, successfully or otherwise, is to move forward and brave the next challenge with a head upon the shoulders and keep your mind and heart clear of darkness.”

“How can I do that when it’s all around us, Bon–Bon…?” the wailing woman had asked the aforementioned onlooker.

The woman in white placed her hand on the back of Lyra’s head and said, “trust me on this one: Princess Celestia had made a promise to make sure that this homeland of our won’t be torn apart again like before. She has been able to keep us subjects happy and prosperous for a lot longer than we’d ever been even born so we still have faith in her ruling to this day. All that she wants from us to do from here on out is stay determined and preserve like the others have in restoring order.”

“But what do you mean by that?!” the timid crier shrieked aloud, sending the smaller counterpart back with little warning whatsoever, “don’t be naive… where is your mind?! Open your eyes; can’t you see what had happened?! This world has been set on fire because of bastards like Gelatin…!”

“You’re right: it'd been on fire and I don’t know how many tears had to be shed to put them all out but if there’s one thing that I'd learned ever since the war to our neck of the woods, then it’s that life is too precious to be taken in meaningless conflict or thrown away as soon as its quality is degraded…” Bon–Bon answered back.

Lyra calmed back down once more but still wept about anyway, turning her gaze away from both nearby females, “what are you saying…?”

“Think back to the time when we’d first gotten separated: I’d once thought that you’d died in the blast when the town was getting bombarded years ago; yet, the day I’d seen you again left me with my stomach turning about…” the woman in white pleaded, struggling to regain the crying listener’s attention, “the way that you were being treated made me feel so guilty about the times I'd raised my own voice at you, like I'd wanted to cry alongside you because of the very pain that had been dealt by these monsters. It was times like this that had made me realize the very importance of our friendship and what I had felt like needed to be done: unless that I save you, I’ll go down and take as many soldiers with me, including your tormentors as well. Ever since that fateful day when the war had ended, every time that we had slept together I can recall many of the nightmares that had been causing you to scream yourself awake and cry right directly into my arms. As much as I can barely stand the ordeal you’d ended up going through here and there, I knew that it wouldn’t be right to leave you in such a state but I also realized that there would come a time that you would end up destroying yourself even when I’m already around. The only way you would have gotten some hope of recovery was with doctors and nurses because seeing you in a dreadful manner any further on that day made me realize how weak I was in the very end and–––”

“Don’t ever say such disgusting things…!” Lyra lamented loudly, languishing about in the longstanding lachrymose and lackadaisical lag.

Bon–Bon was startled by the interruption and had attempted to continue speaking, “what do you mean by that…? I wasn’t trying to make you relive every aspect of the past, especially considering–––”

“That’s besides the point, dammit: how could you ever call yourself a weakling?!” the lugubrious lounger lectured about a laconic legato, “I’m the one they’ve decided to use and abuse me to no end in sight, I’m the one who couldn’t run fast enough from them, I’m the one who got beaten up for talking back and screaming…! If anything, I was weak and this entire ordeal proved to me how and why; even I couldn’t stop thinking about what could have been ever since you’d saved me! I was so happy to see your face again: home was awful then, here’s being awful now; I thought that going back to the past would mean never having to think about the war but now things are becoming awful. Is it… just me…?”

“Why, of course not: being weak had nothing to with our homeland going to war at all; it was just the stupidity and selfishness of our Prime Minister and the corrupt soldiers that made it awful…!” the woman in white had replied, already on the verge of being infected by the rather overwhelming melancholy.

Lyra had snuffled about and turned to face Bon–Bon once again to speak out, albeit steadily, “not even our Princess Celestia could have seen all of this coming but that doesn’t even make her an incompetent ruler any more than the war could have made you a weakling; so what you’re saying is that we’re not unworthy of living at all…?”

“Lyra, please… think about what you’re saying overall: people back in our town had made us feel welcome and happy to be alive; even though that we were different to one another, it didn’t change a thing as to how we had felt about each other…” the woman in white steadily said to the eponymous listener, “our way of living may be different from before but it won’t stop us from spending another moment together like we’ve usually done. Compare to what this war had done with you and her parents, I can take solace in the fact that neither of you have been dirtied yourselves like I had. Not even your night terrors can faze me at all as long I’m still here; as a matter of fact, I suffer from them too: the sheer thought of you dying kept me appreciative our company. The fact that we had stayed strong in spite of it all is a miracle in the very least: the least we can do is cherish it and use it as an opportunity to enjoy life together with one another, especially for her sake.”

“I’ll… try… for you… and for… Star Dreams…” the laconic lounger exhaled about, just as the rain had now subsided.

Bon–Bon smiled before kissing Lyra and said, “and that’s all that’s needed at this time…”

“Look, mummy…!” Star Dreams interjected, pointing towards the firmament above themselves, “there’s an airplane up in the sky…!”

"Where…?" the minted mumbler mulled on, looking for the object in question.

The small witness stretched her hand towards the sky and answered, "right up there…!"

"Oh, there it is…!" Lyra laughed as she'd now seen the flying machine in action, "I wonder if I can fly…"

"Me too, Lyra… me too…" the woman in white sighed as she turned away from both females at once, wiping away the tears the clogged up her sights recently. While Star Dreams laughed and commented on the state of affairs yet to be deleted by a young comet, Bon–Bon barely paid attention to the sun coming out of the silver linings. The minty fresh lounger stood up and began to follow the younger counterpart outside into the wet grass, their legato of laughter lampooning the long forgotten lugubriousness.