Pony Fantasy X

The sun was starting to sink beneath the land as the dimming glow of its light set upon the ruins of Zanarkand. Everyone was still letting it all sink in as they stood on the summit of Mt. Gagazet, examining every small detail of what used to be a miraculous city of machina. They came so far, gone through a lot of tragic ordeals, in the past and only moments ago, but their happy ending will never come to be a reality once they reach where the fayth is in Zanarkand, as well as Celestia.

"Mah gosh," Applejack said after a long moment of silence. "This place is bigger than Bevelle."

"On the surface, maybe," Twilight said. "But still...This used to be a real place. And Sin destroyed it."

"...I've only heard rumors of this city when I was a hatchling," Spike said. "I lived closer to Zanarkand, but it was forbidden for any dragons to go past the caverns we walked through...Sin could have destroyed Gagazet if it wanted to..."

"Let's just turn back and not go down there!" Pinkie shouted, though Rarity gave her a look.

"Fluttershy is not stopping her pilgrimage." The Al Bhed began to panic, trying to stall long enough to think of something.

She ran up to Fluttershy, growing desperate. "B-But there has to be some other way, Fluttershy...You don't have to kill yourself to save all of us. We just need more time."

"...I know, Pinkie," Fluttershy said. "I wish I could stop...but I've come so far already...I knew this would be my fate...I'm glad you all came with me this far."

"B-B-But..." Pinkie's hair finally went flat as she began to bawl, tackling Fluttershy to the ground. Rainbow saw a sphere fly out from one of the sleeves of her outfit, landing next to her as the depressed pink mare hugged the summoner tightly. "Don't do it, Fluttershy! I don't want to lose you!"

"I know," Fluttershy consoled, hugging her cousin back. "I'm sorry, Pinkie...If anything happens to me, will you tell Uncle Cid thank you for me?"

"No! Don't say that!" Pinkie sobbed. "You can tell him yourself...We're gonna see him again...You'll meet my sisters, and Cheesie..."

It took a while for Pinkie to calm down, but she was still upset. No one wanted this, not even Fluttershy herself, but they all knew there was no other choice. The group continued down the trail, unable to bear the unfortunate fate that will befall the young pegasus summoner, but Rainbow Dash remained sitting. Her ears heard what was happening around her, but all her focus was on this sphere that Fluttershy had dropped.

She carefully picked it up and examined it, finding small writing on the side of it.

To my guardians/friends.

"What is this?" Rainbow played the sphere and watched what Fluttershy had recorded on it.

The sphere began recording the cliffside back in Mi'ihen Highroad, where the Al Bhed Travel Agency was. The sphere turned around, revealing Fluttershy holding it out in front of her, the inn in the background, able to record Spike and Rarity outside, along with several chocobo in the stables.

"Ok...Umm, hello, everypony...If you're watching this...then, I already defeated Sin, and I am...well, you know." Fluttershy fussed with her mane, struggling to find the words to speak. She took a deep breath to calm herself, though she was still a little flustered. "I wanted to say a few words to everypony before I forget...or if I'm too afraid to say anything before it's too late.

"First, to Rarity. I'm glad I got to see you again after ten years. I knew you growing up, always following my father while you were a warrior monk and protecting him, being an important part of Bevelle as an apprentice summoner. I think you had a crush on him, but you didn't want to tell him." Fluttershy giggled at those moments she spotted Rarity eyeing Kindred Heart, even though he was married before, and widower. "You looked tough, but you were still a mare. You liked fashion, and you always made me cute little dresses I liked to wear as a filly. You should have been a designer. I'm sure everypony would have loved your work if you weren't so devoted to the teachings. But now that you're my guardian...I'm a little excited, and I hope we can catch up on lost time the further we go.

"Next, Spike." Fluttershy looked up at the sky in thought. In the background, Spike leapt up onto the roof of the inn and looked down at Rarity as she leaned against the wall. He looked like he wanted to say something to her, but during his silence in that moment, the moment she looked up at him, he looked away, hiding a blush growing on his face. "I was a little surprised when you came down to Bevelle, seeking me out. It had been a few months since my father left on his pilgrimage, and a month after he beat Sin...which came back. I thought I was in trouble with the dragon tribe, having nothing to do with their customs, but I was glad I wasn't.

"You grew a lot faster than I did, and you were adorable back then, acting all tough, saying, 'I'm looking for the daughter of Kindred Heart.' You were a lot stronger than I thought you were back then, becoming my guardian in a heartbeat. You took me to Besaid, where I would be a lot safer, and our journey there was pretty fun." She giggled again as another memory crossed her mind. "I remember on the shoopuf, crossing the Moonflow, I wanted to get closer to the shoopuf to pet it, but I ended up falling off and into the water. It picked me up with its nose, and I was having so much fun. But when I got back on its back, you were in a panic and scolded me for being reckless. I had fun though, my first time ever riding on a shoopuf.

"But, when we got to Besaid, you were going to leave me. I didn't want you to, screaming, 'Please don't go! I want you to stay with me! You're too cute to be out in dangerous places in Spira!' You gave in and stayed with me. I was really curious about dragons, seeing some of them in Bevelle and their blitzball team on the sphere, but I didn't know much about them. You really don't talk much anymore. Maybe you said all you needed to say. Oh well. You're really helpful and sweet, despite how scary you look now. But that's what you are.

"Applejack and Twilight...I know I'm not going to forget my days with you two in Besaid, though it was a few years after I came to Besaid when you showed up, Twilight. I considered you two like you were my big sisters. I always wanted to have siblings when I was little, but after I lost my mother, I didn't know if my father would remarry. But he chose his path...and so did I. You and Big Macintosh tried to stop me, Applejack, but I became a summoner anyway...Sorry.

"I still remember all the fun the three of us had playing blitzball. Your brother was far better than you were, Applejack, but we did have fun. I couldn't hold my breath long when we played in the water. I didn't want you two to go easy on me, but you did anyway. And Twilight, you were always really smart, always reading any new book you've never seen before, but you never talked that much. It was as if you didn't want to get too close to me, though you did break out of your shell with Big Mac. I thought it was pretty funny when Smarty Pants tried to get you to kiss him on the spot. It was pretty cute, being able to bring life to a doll. I think it was your inner feelings trying to get you two together. You and Big Mac really do make a cute couple."

Fluttershy laughed, remembering the times the two had with their awkward moments when they thought they were alone. She took a moment to breathe, all of the happy moments she remembered only making the sphere's recording saddening when she dies. She looked out to the sea for a while, then back down to the sphere, needing to address one more member of her guardians.

"And...To my newest guardian, Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy began to blush, the blitzball player the one mostly stuck in her mind far longer than the rest of her guardians. "...I-I...I know we've only known each other for a few days...But...I'm really glad we met. You might not know a lot about Spira, but you're perfect as a guardian..." As the summoner tried to calm her heart rate, in the background, Rainbow Dash could be seen exiting the inn, looking out at the sunset. "You're very loyal...brave...caring...You're like your father in a way, even though you hate him...And...It hurts, just trying to tell you...I-I...I don't know if I can say it...I...I lo-..." She swallowed a lump in her throat, too nervous to finish her sentence, not noticing Rainbow Dash walking up to the cliff where she was sitting. "No, I can't say that. I need to start that last bit over. It's bad enough to have these feelings when I'm-"

"Hey, Flutters! What'cha up to!?" Rainbow called out, surprising Fluttershy as she quickly stopped the recording and hid it away in the sleeve of her dress.

As soon as the sphere finished playing Fluttershy's last words, Rainbow stared at it, completely silent. The sphere was her will, her final words to everyone while they were on their way through the Mi'ihen Highroad. And right at the end, Rainbow Dash knew exactly what Fluttershy was going to tell her, and even in that moment, she was afraid to tell her her feelings because of how Rainbow would react if she knew the truth. Now matter what situation they were in, whether Fluttershy sacrifices herself or if Rainbow Dash finds some other way to defeat Sin without a summoner using the Final Aeon, their love would end in tragedy.

"...Flutters..." She looked back out at the city, her destroyed home, no escape from the pain either side will end up being in. Shaking her head, she began to snap out of her depression, determined to make sure Fluttershy won't give up her life. Even if it meant disappearing forever once they stop Sin, she didn't care anymore as long as Fluttershy was safe. "I'm not going to let you die...Nopony's ever going to see this."

She stuffed the sphere in her pockets and ran after the others before they wondered where she was. After catching up with the rest of the party, they continued down the slope until they reached the edge of Zanarkand's borders, or what was left of it. Deciding to take a small break before heading off toward the city, they set up a small campsite and sat around it, everyone laying their weapons down nearby.

Rainbow looked around at the others, seeing some of the worry and exhaustion on their faces. Rarity and Spike were stoic, though the former seemed to glance at Zanarkand every once in a while. Pinkie stared at the fire, a little depressed, but her mane and tail were slightly poofy, though not by much. Having so much family in her life around her, she didn't want to lose anyone related to her or anyone that's willing to sacrifice themselves for everyone's safety. Twilight and Applejack were worried as they glanced at Fluttershy, the former occasionally petting Mog's head while the former contemplated everything she believed in that was all a lie a few days ago. Nopony's had a fun adventure, and nopony was smiling, something Fluttershy had wanted during her pilgrimage.

Letting out a sigh, she stood up and walked up to Fluttershy. She gently rested a hoof on her shoulder, both mares looking each other in the eyes, the cyan pegasus assuring her everything will hopefully be ok. Their small smiles were short-lived as the pegasus summoner looked down at her hooves, knowing the end of their journey was getting closer. Rainbow Dash walked away from the campsite and climbed up the nearby hill, standing next to a piece of the ruins as she overlooked Zanarkand. All of her home laid in rubble and debris, a pathway up ahead leading to what looked like a massive ruined building in the distance, a makeshift bridge that led safe travel over the ocean.

Everything in the past few weeks caught up with the mare, all of the good and bad times, but the ones that stuck with her more were the worst of them. She had to think of something fast, or else Spira would continue going down a spiral of death, continue suffering from a corrupted religion spouting lies to the public and a monstrous beast that wrecks the world whenever it pleases. Rainbow leaned against the ruins as she began to think.

"This...may be our last chance," she said. "I need to find something soon...before it's too late..."

Night fell as the fire cast a little light under the bright moon and stars above them. Rainbow Dash was unable to come up with a solution for a long while and sat back with the group. During that time, everyone talked about what had occurred on the pilgrimage, in their pasts they want to reveal, just to pass the time and delay the inevitable for a short time.

"...So, what about that one time?" Rainbow suggested, though she had run out of topics to discuss. "I mean...Well, it uhh..."

"I think we should stop, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said, silencing her. Rainbow had no excuses anymore. It was time for them to go. "Let's go."

Heeding their summoner's call, everyone got up and gathered their gear. Applejack and Fluttershy picked up their weapons while Pinkie, Twilight, Rarity, and Spike held onto theirs, either being small enough to hold or wield or not wanting to be apart from them. Rainbow Dash was the last to grab her sword, pulling the blade out from the earth as she watched the aquatic blade's reflection. She imagined not seeing her face in the ocean-blue sword, almost as if she was dead, but she cast aside those thoughts for now.

Even if she is a dream, Bahamut said she was the dream to end everyone's suffering, including the fayths' constant dreaming. No matter what, even if her life ends, she's going to keep fighting and find a way to save Spira, and Fluttershy. With her resolve set firmly in her subconscious, Rainbow Dash caught up with the rest of her companions as they headed down the long road into Zanarkand, where the Final Aeon and Celestia wait for them.