A bright blue sky, a warm sun shining down on all below, healthy-looking trees all around, and a gently flowing river running right through the middle of it all. This quiet and secluded spot was the very textbook definition of peaceful, and so, where better to find two beautiful mares bathing in the riverside? Meadowbrook and Somnambula, both together in the more shallow waters, were currently washing themselves down, smiles of contentment upon their faces. Neither were clothed, as their respective garbs were both neatly folded in the grassy land nearby, and the two simply went about their business as though they had not a care in the world. Eventually, however, Meadowbrook finished first, getting out of the water and giving herself a quick shake. Somnambula nodded to her, watching her go further away to pick up her clothes, before getting back to her own cleaning.
As the ancient healer picked up her dress, she got to the matter of tying up her mane in its usual fashion, as she had worn it loose during her earlier bathing. But, as she walked onwards while doing this, she passed by a large rock near the tree line, and as she did this, she noticed another figure in the corner of her eye. It was none other than her old friend, Flash Magnus, still decked out in his armour as usual. Meadowbrook was pleased to see him, as she usually was, but it wasn't long before she noted that the soldier seemed to have something on his mind. He was leaning against the rock, his expression making it clear that he was preoccupied, and as the healer looked to him, she chanced a glance back to Somnambula in the river behind her. Before long, a knowing smile came to the earth pony mare, and she cleared her throat.
Immediately, Flash looked to her, seeming as though he only now realised that she had been looking at him. He offered her a smile, out of courtesy if nothing else, but soon, he noticed that she was giving him an odd-looking smile, Silently, she gestured with her head to Somnambula, prompting the stallion to look over to her. After staring at her in the water for a few moments, he looked back to Meadowbrook, bearing slight embarrassment as he did so. Meadowbrook stifled a giggle at this, then promptly began to head off into the trees, slipping on her dress while walking. Flash, now alone, let out a long sigh, then elected to go towards the river himself. Once beside it, he continued to look to the famed pegasus there, and Somnambula herself, without even turning to face him, spoke up, her voice as calm and collected as it always was.
"A beautiful day, is it not, friend-Flash?"
Flash smiled too, albeit a small one, and nodded.
"It is."
Finally, Somnambula turned to face him, her blue mane glistening with the droplets of water that still covered it.
"How fare the others?"
Again, Flash nodded.
"Rockhoof and Stygian are gathering firewood for the night. Mistmane is preparing our meal and Starswirl...well..."
Somnambula chuckled.
"His books?"
"His books," Flash confirmed.
Still smiling, Somnambula looked to the water around her, then, slowly, to Flash once more.
"Would you care to join me?"
Raising a hoof, Flash shook his head.
"Thank you, but not today."
The mare was not disheartened by that, instead taking one hoof and rubbing down her other foreleg.
"Remember back then? How we would all come together after a battle to the river by the castle?"
Flash nodded, a nostalgic smile forming on his lips.
"I do. Well...except Starswirl. He always considered such bathing to be...what was the word he used?"
"Uncouth?" Somnambula suggested.
"Yes, that was it," Flash responded.
The two shared a laugh together for a time, and when it died down, it appeared as though the mare was finally finished in cleaning herself off. Gracefully, she got herself onto dry land, and Flash, perhaps instinctively knowing what was coming, took a few steps away from her as she shook the water off herself. Letting out a contented sigh, Somnambula moved over to where her own clothes were, putting on her distinct headdress first, before then picking up her main garb and looking over to Flash.
"Would you mind helping me?"
Flash nodded to this, moving closer to her and taking her outfit from her. In the silence that followed, Somnambula sat down peacefully, while Flash helped her to get her white dress on, taking particular care when it came to helping her get her wings through it. However, as he was doing this, he heard her speak to him again.
"Tell me, friend...what troubles you?"
The stallion was hesitant at first, but, after a few moments, he finally started explaining matters.
"It's just...I suppose it's hard...accepting that so much has changed during out absence."
Somnambula nodded, continuing to listen to him as he spoke.
"But most of all...what truly gives me pause it that...we seven now find ourselves...here...free...with our lives back."
The mare looked over her shoulder to him.
"Surely that is no cause for sadness?"
Flash shook his head.
"Not sadness...just...difficulty. In our day, we were all that stood between evil and the rest of Equestria. How many battles did we fight? How many times was darkness driven back because of us?"
He looked away from her briefly.
"But now? Now...we return to a world that...that...that no longer needs us. It has a new generation of protectors. Princess Twilight and her friends. They helped us...freed us. They helped pull Stygian from the darkness that consumed him. All of these things we once thought impossible...and they accomplished it."
With her gown now finally on her properly, Somnambula stood tall again, turning to face her colleague in earnest.
"You struggle with the thought of being replaced?"
Flash sighed.
"I considered it, but...I suppose I should be happy. The kinds of lives we spent so long protecting, those who would grow and live and thrive and be happy...with our duties, I never expected that we would have that chance ourselves."
He looked to the waters of the river.
"A chance to live lives of peace instead of battle. A chance to allow others to fight the good fight in our stead. A chance to...to...to..."
Slowly, Somnambula smiled, taking a step closer to him and, in a move that surprised Flash greatly, gently placed a hoof on the side of his face.
"A chance...perhaps for family?"
Naturally, the stallion's eyes widened with surprise as he looked to his ancient companion.
"Somnambula? I...I don't..."
But the mare merely smiled to him.
"My most famous feat may have required me blindfolded...but that does not make me blind."
At first, Flash looked shocked by this, perhaps even a little embarrassed. But, as time went on, his expression softened, and he let out a sigh.
"So...you knew?"
Somnambula nodded, prompting Flash to carry on.
"Why did you not say anything?"
The mare considered that for a time before answering.
"I imagine...for the same reasons you never said anything."
A pained look crossed the stallion's face after hearing that, and he looked away from her, almost ashamed.
"So much of our lives was spent fighting monsters and creatures of darkness. We never said a word to one another...but we all knew in our hearts that, one day, a fight may come that was simply...too much for us."
He hung his head slightly.
"And when Starswirl told us what we would need to do when fighting Stygian...to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of Equestria...we knew that time had finally come."
Slowly, Flash looked back to her, right into her eyes.
"I was not prepared to make that sacrifice more difficult for you by saying...by saying what I wanted to say."
There was silence between them after that, as both simply started into one another's eyes. But, in the end, Somnambula resumed her earlier smile towards him.
"Well...like you said, we're back. The sacrifice undone. The darkness defeated. Whatever words we might have denied to one another back then...we can say now."
It was something the stallion had clearly never expected to hear, or even think about. But, there it was, staring him right in the face. Somnambula was right, he knew, and it was something she had known about him for far longer that he'd realised. So, in this place, alone with her beside him, he finally gave a genuine smile, nodding briefly before taking a few calming breaths and, at long last, saying what he'd always wanted to say.
"Somnambula...when I first saw you, as you and Meadowbrook tended to my wounds after my fight with that chimera...I thought that never before had there been a mare more beautiful than you."
Like her, Flash raised a hoof, caressing the side of her face.
"And when I came to know you better...I saw there a mare whose bravery, whose willingness to sacrifice for those closest to her...had touched me in a way that I've never forgotten."
He gave a small chuckle.
"These...there are things I have wanted to say to you for...for far too long."
Somnambula's smile widened.
"Flash...in you, I too saw a soul of great bravery. A stallion who would stand as a shield against overwhelming odds, simply to save those who could not help themselves. One who was willing to risk even death itself to stop the cruel and the wicked. You were not merely an ally to me in the fight against the darkness...you were a friend. And..."
Slowly, she blushed slightly.
"...and to me...something more."
The two continued to look to one another, smiling lovingly as their faces drew nearer. The only sounds were that of the wind in the trees, and the river water against the stones of the banks. Then, at the end of that long and agonising wait, two lips met. Something that had been wanted and hoped for over a thousand years had now occurred, and for the two ponies themselves, their looks of joy as those lips parted was as clear as day upon their faces.
"Well...that was...quiet something," Flash remarked.
Her smile widening, Somnambula moved closer, nuzzling him affectionately.
"Yes...yes it was."
For a time, they sat together, holding each other closely in a warm and tender embrace. But, unbeknownst to them, they were being watched, as both Meadowbrook and Mistmane were standing beside each other in the tree-line, making sure to keep themselves hidden from the couple they now looked at. Meadowbrook especially had to keep herself from squealing with joy at the loving scene in front of her, while Mistmane merely smiled and nodded approvingly. The two looked to one another, nodding in silent agreement, before moving off, wanting to give the two lovers some time to themselves. But, as they did so, Meadowbrook couldn't help but look to her older companion and ask the obvious question.
"So...should we tell them? Starswirl and the others?"
Considering that, Mistmane smiled, shaking her head.
"No...let's give those two just a bit more privacy..."
Then, a knowing smirk came to her.
"...for now anyway."
