Old Bird Baths and Worn-Out Paths
In the sea of buildings and roads, there was a tiny island of greenery. The city’s park sat nestled safely between the maze of skyscrapers and towers, sticking out like an artist at a science convention.
To Rainbow Dash it offered a nice break in her peripheral vision. She was tired of scoping landscapes and searching for sanctuaries, so it was a great relief for her to find this sapphire lotus in a field of dead flowers.
The fresh smell of life was all around her. The blooming flowers brought a glowing radiance to the world, basking underneath the midday sun. It was a picture perfect day, one that every single artist in the world could ever hope to have.
Rainbow trotted down the path, feeling the grass shift and give underneath her hooves and twitching slightly as a bit of pollen hit her nose. She could almost hear the chirping of birds and the laughter of foals, as they ran down the fields with colorful kites streaming behind them.
Clouds dotted the sky like paints across a canvas, reminding her of rainy day dreams and stray bits of sunlight, flowing through her window. She missed seeing the elderly ponies sitting on benches and feeding the birds, while foals ran and played around them. And she missed the weekend picnickers, and the birthday parties they threw by the basketball courts, and the peaceful feeling in the air.
A cool breeze blew through her mane, chilling her to the bone. She stepped off of the grass and onto the pavement, noticing some stray chalk drawings on the floor. They appeared to be the work of a foal, including drawings of what appeared to be either Nightmare Moon or a talking pie. She chuckled at the crude drawing of the dark pony, shaking her head at the foal’s imagination.
Trees of green and brown dotted the path besides her, their leaves lost like whispers in the wind. Looking to her right, she saw a small lake sprawling across the park, it's clear blue waters shining in the sunlight.
She remembered flying low over the water, on a clear weekend morning. Her feathers skimmed the surface, making small ripples and spraying water everywhere. The sun was light on her back and barely slowed her down, and she relished the cool feeling of water splashing against her chest.
Rainbow sped up her pace a bit, trotting down the concrete path that cut through the grass. She closed her eyes and took a breath, relishing in the smell of freshly mowed grass and flowers. In her mind she pictured a group of joggers passing her on the right, music pounding from their headphones as they ran.
Stray leaves crunched underneath her hooves as she carried on, bringing back memories of crisp fall evenings and chilly winter nights. To her right was an old marble birdbath, sitting in the middle of the field like a lighthouse in a sea of green.
A few water fountains were also mounted on the side, the kinds that gave mothers nightmares due to how dirty they were. Rainbow pushed the button and watched as a few squirts of water arched into the air before landing in the basin and flowing down the drain.
Rainbow never was one to take long walks in the park, but over the years she grew to like them. They gave her a chance to clear her mind and catch her breath, especially after she learned the value of slowing down for a second.
It was funny, she realized, that even though she was the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria, she still couldn’t out-fly time. It didn’t wait for anyone and it didn’t care that she wasn’t ready: it just passed her by like a train in the night.
Up ahead of her was a rusted playground of plastic and metal. The colors were dulled and faded from years under the sun, and the swing set chains were rusted from rain and wear. But the foals didn’t care how old or ugly it was. Maybe because they saw it for what it really was.
There was a thought. It had been a very long time since Rainbow had seen the world through playground eyes, when everything was veiled in a shroud of innocence. And though she did see the shadows through her veil, she thought they were far away and harmless. Just mindless shapes lurking outside her window. Things that could never hurt her. How wrong she was.
Rainbow glanced to her right to see a familiar form sitting on a park bench, book in hoof. Twilight Sparkle glanced up to meet Rainbow’s eyes and waved. “Oh, hi Rainbow!”
“Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow said, sighing with relief as she trotted over to her old friend. “What’re you reading?”
“Matthias Unidostres. His work on how diseases can affect society are profound, though his theories aren’t completely correct,” Twilight replied as she closed her book and set it aside. “But I’m guessing you’re not here to talk about that.” She tapped the spot next to her, and Rainbow sat down on the bench.
Rainbow nodded, taking a deep breath of the crisp autumn air. She felt the wind move around her and felt like a stone in a river, as the water parted ways and split themselves against her body. “Guess not.”
Twilight shrugged. “Alright. What did you need?”
She thought about that for a second. “I don’t know… closure?”
“You know I can’t give you that, Rainbow. Not now, anyways. You have to find that yourself,” Twilight responded softly.
“I know. Worth a shot, though,” Rainbow muttered. “Look, Twi… how’d you do it? I mean, I just look at all of you girls and I just… I can’t. I can’t do it.”
Twilight put a hoof on Rainbow’s back and smiled. “Well, that doesn’t make you any weaker, Rainbow. You know that.”
The park around them was quiet, yet the silence spoke volumes. Sitting there on that bench, Rainbow felt chills run down her spine, yet her heart seemed to burn brightly.
It was a while before Twilight spoke again. “You know, Rainbow, I once read something that I found really interesting. Without some lows, there are no highs. Without some ends, there are no beginnings. It’s really quite powerful if you think about it.”
Rainbow frowned. “I don’t get it.”
“Well, think of it this way. We only have our highs in life if we have our lows, and we can only start something new if something old ends. It’s a philosophical idea more than anything, but I think it really does apply to life, more so than we know sometimes.”
“But, like, what does that mean? That life just works like that?”
Twilight laughed. “Well, yes, and no. Think of it this way, Rainbow: sometimes, our best moments come from our worst ones. I know that this is hard for you right now, and believe me, it’s hard for me too. But we’ll get through it.”
A few stray leaves floated by their bench, bouncing up and down in the wind. Rainbow glanced up and saw a kite flying through the sky, trying desperately to be free. “But… so much has changed,” Rainbow whispered. “And everything is over now.”
“Time changes everything, Rainbow,” Twilight replied. “And I don’t think everything is over, per say. Things might be different, sure, but it’s not really the same as being over.” She locked eyes with Rainbow. “Your journey isn’t over, Rainbow. You’ve got a little more to go.”
“You really think so?” asked Rainbow.
“I’m sure of it.”
Rainbow smiled, feeling a little bit better. “Thanks, Twi. I guess your egghead tricks worked on me after all.”
They shared a laugh at that, and Twilight stood up. “It’s getting late, Rainbow. You better get going now.” The two friends exchanged a hug, and Rainbow closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened them she was alone again, yet this didn’t surprise her. She glanced at the bench to see that Twilight’s book was still there. Rainbow opened the cover and read the text to herself.
“There are no ends, just grays and half-lives.”
She laughed and took to the air.
