Together In The End
Proofread By Fluttrick
Rainbow Dash sped as fast as she possibly could go through the town of Ponyville.
On a normal day, Dash would've been flying a little slower, or at least a little higher from the ground, but, then again, there was no normality in this day. Her wings quickly changed positions, narrowly avoiding buildings and trees. Taking turns both left and right, Dash tried to focus on the subject at hoof, rather than the panic and fear around her. Mares, colts and fillies yelled and screamed alike, all uniting in a large, incoherent maelstrom of utter madness and chaos.
Scootaloo was all on her own, and time was running out.
A couple of weeks ago, a planet-sized meteoroid was sighted on the outskirts of space. Not much attention was given, but when the scientists concluded that it was heading straight for Equestria, all hell broke loose. After a final greeting and speech, the Princesses of the Sun and Moon set out to destroy the danger once and for all. They haven't been heard from since.
Rainbow Dash briefly looked up to inspect how much time she had left. A black, colossal shape filled the sky, with flames of red and yellow burning at every side. With a gulp, the pegasus continued on her way through the streets. She had plenty of time left, even though it didn't seem enough.
Since the day of the Princesses' departure, a group of scientists searched for an alternative way of ending the meteoroid's path of destruction. Another plan was created, but quickly abandoned. It was commonly thought that the race of unicorns could emit enough power to stop the impact of the meteoroid before it was too late.
Before the plan could be carried out, it was proven that if successful, the attempt would systematically, albeit unintentionally, wipe out all life. The discharge energy from the momentum of the meteoroid would simply release, effectively destroying the entire planet in an explosion the size of a thousand suns. Either way, the meteoroid would kill them all, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.
Now, death wasn't exactly at the top of Dash's priorities, but given the circumstances, it would have to be. It wasn't as if she was new to the idea of dying; stunt flying came with its own perils and dangers. One wrong move, and you're dead. Simple as that. Dash was ready for that, however — she got up in the mornings knowing that that day could potentially be her last. She just didn't realise it would happen so decidedly, nor that it was actually going to happen today.
Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped mid-flight. Scootaloo's house was directly on the left. With the dwindling time she had left, Dash climbed the stairs and barged through the door, not caring about manners at this point in time.
“Scootaloo?” She asked firmly. When there was no reply, the pegasus tried a second time.
“Hey, Scootaloo, you in here?”
Again, there was no response. There was no time for messing around — Dash had to find her quick. She briefly glanced inside every room on the ground floor before turning her attention to the stairs. Without a second thought, Rainbow charged up the series of steps and yelled again.
“Scootaloo, come on. Where are you?”
“W-who's there?” A shaky reply echoed. From the sound of things, it must have come from the bedroom. Dash did as her name suggested, turning a right corner to find a young filly hiding under several bed sheets. With an orange coat and a purple, rustled mane, it could only be one filly.
“It's me, Scootaloo. How are you holding up?” Dash asked cautiously.
With almost the same speed as Rainbow Dash herself, Scootaloo leapt out of the bed to wrap her hooves around the older mare. She quickly buried her head deep into Dash's side, taking full advantage of the surprise she caused. It was enough, though, and Rainbow Dash soon felt tears matting her own fur.
“Not good, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said between sobs. “N-not good at all.”
As the surprise wore off, Dash regained her train of thoughts. She quickly returned Scootaloo's movements in equal measure, bringing the young mare in closer for a tight, comforting embrace. The pair simply sat on the floor together — one crying, and the other barely holding back tears. Despite the obvious circumstances, Dash still had an image to uphold. No one, not even Death, could take that away from her.
“It's okay, kid, we'll get through this together. Want anything to do for the...” Dash almost said 'last time', but quickly changed her mind. Scootaloo was only a young filly, and that sentence would only make matters worse. Although she probably knew what was coming already, Scootaloo certainly didn't need any reminders.
“The what, Dash?” Scootaloo asked hopefully, sniffing deeply.
“For the... record. Anything in particular?”
“B-but why me, Dash? Why did you come for me instead of your actual friends?”
That took Rainbow by surprise. In spite of recent events, it was that sentence that surprised her the most, forcing her to release an involuntary gasp. Dash pulled out of the hug to answer Scootaloo, with her eyes focused directly on her.
“Because they're not on their own, Scoots. They all have their families, or at least someone to comfort them. For you, that someone just happens to be me.”
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Six ponies stood in a close circle around the bookshelves and wooden furniture of a library. The atmosphere was just as gloomy and upsetting as each of the mare's expressions. They all stood in total silence, seemingly waiting for another to speak.
“Well, I suppose you've all heard the news,” said Twilight Sparkle before sighing deeply. “We have a day less than we predicted. Tomorrow is the last day we've got.”
Again, the room quietened down.
Twilight Sparkle began once more. “I'm sorry, girls, but I can't be with you when... it happens. I'm going back to Canterlot for my family. Spike will be going back with me tonight.”
Suddenly, every other pony started talking at the same time. When each of them stopped to let others speak, they all repeated their own sentences again only seconds later. The group shared their laughter together, albeit a small, bleak laughter. Everyone besides herself pointed at Rarity, who nodded gratefully.
“My friends,” Rarity began, “Sweetie Belle is all on her own. My parents are not able to join us at such short notice, and, even if they were capable of doing so, I cannot simply leave my little sister. I apologise, but I just cannot join you for tomorrow.”
“Me, too — my animals don't exactly know what's coming, and I don't plan on telling them,” said Fluttershy. “Even though I value our own friendship as much as t-them, I... I just can't.” Pinkie Pie rested a hoof on Fluttershy, who was obviously becoming more and more upset. The pegasus buried her head into Pinkie's fur, releasing small, muffled sobs.
“I can't either, girls. My family back on the rock farm don't really have contact with the outside world. I doubt they've even heard about this whole thing, and I can't just turn my back on them now. Besides, I haven't talked to them in so long; it would just be a shame if I didn't visit!” Pinkie Pie added with a weary smile.
“Well, gals, Ah can't leave mah own family behind, either. Apple Bloom is so scared right now, it just wouldn't be right,” Applejack said while tipping her hat over her eyes. “Ah'm sorry, but that's just the way it goes.”
After the five had spoken, they all turned to Rainbow Dash, who was simply staring at the ground. When she realised they were all looking at her, she chose to not respond. Applejack nudged her gently, saying: “if ya don't wanna say, that's okay. Just tell us if it's yes or no.” Dash rubbed her neck with her hoof before answering.
“I've got some things I need to tie up,” she said, her voice unchanging and monotone. “I can't be there for you guys — there's somepony out there who doesn't have awesome friends, like all of you for me. I have to... want to be there for her, understand?”
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“Rainbow Dash? Can you hear me?”
Dash was abruptly brought back to reality. Despite the conditions of reality, what, with the foreboding death and all, she adjusted back fairly quickly. Turning around to face Scootaloo, she made her response.
“What is it, Scoots?”
“I don't know,” she explained, “you looked like you were daydreaming.”
“I was, but it doesn't matter,” Dash said. “So, have you thought of anything to do?”
“Well, a little, fresh air in the park would be nice.”
Was that it? Not even an hour left, and all Scootaloo wanted to do was to breathe some air? Rainbow Dash placed a hoof on her chin to contemplate. She could, of course, spice things up a bit. “Sure, but you have beat me there!” Without even waiting for a response, Rainbow dashed out of the room and down the stairs. She heard the sounds of giggling and panting behind her, which suggested that Scootaloo was only mere inches away. Before long, Dash felt the grassy earth beneath her very hooves, realising that she was outside.
The noise of the town had died down now. All those waiting with family and friends for their final moments had obviously gathered, because not a single pony could be seen on the streets. The silence was eerie and strange, but Dash continued running nonetheless. Both of the running ponies' laughter echoed around the empty space. So much so, in fact, that several other ponies appeared at their windows to investigate the unexpected noise.
Scootaloo had finally caught up with Rainbow, and they were on the final stretch. The park was in sight, and with every hoofstep, Dash was getting closer. As she was running, however, she turned to see Scootaloo laughing happily, as if all her troubles and woes had miraculously disappeared — as if her impending death suddenly meant nothing, and that the good, old, carefree days were back, if only for an instant.
Anger like she'd ever known boiled in Dash's body. She chose not to speak, for fear of scaring Scootaloo, but rather thought in her mind. Who was Death to take that away from her? Scootaloo, and all the other foals for that matter, were too young for this insanity! Why should they suffer? What evil had they committed? It just didn't seem fair!
And that was then it hit Rainbow Dash. Life wasn't fair, and that was that. The only way of changing that rule was by changing it by themselves. So, for that exact purpose, Dash slowed down. Only slightly, though, so as not to appear noticeable to the young mare sprinting beside her. If good didn't happen naturally, then Dash would damn well make it happen by herself.
As predicted, Scootaloo won the race. She turned back to Rainbow Dash with a wide smile etched across her entire face. “I won, Dash! I won the race!” The young mare exclaimed while panting vigorously between words.
“You sure did, Scoots... you sure did.”
And with that, the looming absurdity of reality returned. Scootaloo's smile quickly returned to a frown as the gravity of the situation sank back in. She seemingly no longer cared about winning the race, despite having joyfully doing so only moments ago.
“So, do you want to go sit down for a while?” Dash tried.
“Y-yeah, okay,” said Scootaloo, looking up at the the fiery ball of space rock above before Dash could even stop her.
“NO!” Rainbow Dash yelled while pushing the young pony's head back down. “Don't do that to yourself, Scoots!” Rainbow looked back at Scootaloo, who had obviously not been expecting such a strong reaction. A lone tear fell down her cheek, and Dash instantly felt responsible. “Just... just don't look up, okay?” She asked before pulling Scootaloo into a short hug. “Just don't.” Dash swept her hoof lightly over the filly's cheek, removing the fallen tear from her face.
“Okay, Dash. Let's go for that break n-now.”
Before long, the pair had found a comfortable spot of grass to sit on. Dash made sure a large tree stood in the way of the meteoroid, so that Scootaloo would be unable to see it. Rainbow Dash looked back at Scootaloo, who was seemingly deep in thought. She decided to leave the young pegasus alone, giving her the space and time she needed. Minutes passed before the silence was broken.
“Dash,” Scootaloo began, “will it... will it hurt?”
Rainbow Dash let out a sigh. She wanted to be truthful to the kid, to tell her that she actually knew less than she did, but it wasn't that simple. Sometimes, a little, white lie was better than telling the truth, especially when the truth explained the inevitable demise of all life as they knew it.
“No, of course it won't,” she lied. “It'll be as quick as me, and you won't feel a thing.”
Again, silence resumed between the two ponies. Dash began to pound the ground softly as she thought about all the things she could've been doing. Running — well, she'd already done a bit of that today. Dash liked a bit of variety in her life, so that was out. Swimming in the lake, perhaps? Perhaps not; the water would always make her feathers go wonky. Water, as it turned out, wasn't very useful to wings. Then again —
“Why don't we try to outrun it?”
Rainbow Dash blinked at this request, and then blinked again. She knew, deep down in her heart of hearts, that neither of them would make it through the next hour or so, even if did they manage to put a couple of miles between the meteoroid and themselves. She looked deeply into the young filly's eyes, wondering if she knew the full implications of 'end of all life as we know it'. When all Dash saw was a pair of scared, pleading eyes, she knew what had to be done.
“We could try, I suppose...” Dash began before being interrupted by Scootaloo.
“Please, Dash. Isn't it at least worth a try?”
“Hey, I was about to say we could!” Rainbow countered playfully. “Besides, my wings could do with a workout.” Despite the lighthearted nature of Dash's words, Scootaloo didn't respond in quite the same way as she expected. She simply stared at the ground glumly, as if awaiting further command.
“Don't give up just yet, kid. We've got a long flight ahead of us.” The mare picked Scootaloo up from the ground and placed her on her own back. Dash unfolded her wings, and with a premature flap, she returned her sight to Scootaloo, saying: “Hold on tight, Scoots.”
Rainbow Dash jumped into the air. She flew away from the meteoroid, and, as futile as it seemed, she tried nonetheless. Effortlessly working her wings, Dash realised something. If she was going to go out at all, she'd go out flying. Flying was second nature to her, and it wouldn't seem right or proper if she didn't keep that notion.
The wind picked up as she flew faster. Despite the bitterness of it, Dash still carried on. Soon, she could feel Scootaloo slipping off her back, and with a quick push of her hoof, she secured the young filly. “I said hold on!” She repeated through the violent gusts. When she saw a nod from her passenger, she returned her focus on the flight.
Rainbow Dash didn't exactly know where they were going. As long as the incoming meteoroid was on their backs, she had no other reason to worry about direction. Before long, the pair crossed over Canterlot. They both stared down at it, regardless of how high up they were. Dash tried to look for that particularly-lavender unicorn, to signal to her that all was well, despite it actually being otherwise, but had no such luck.
Time passed gradually, but, as it did so, Rainbow began hearing the cheering and hollering of a certain filly. She looked back to find Scootaloo, who had her hooves raised high in the air. Somehow, the knowledge that Scootaloo had never been so high before had evaded Dash, as she only remembered just then.
This could be fun.
Rainbow Dash slowly began tilting sideways. Only slightly, at first, but she soon went completely horizontal. She continued to look forward, as if nothing had happened. This was only interrupted when Scootaloo began gently tugging at her mane. She turned around inquisitively, innocently asking if anything was wrong.
By the look on the face, Dash could tell she wasn't enjoying it. Hanging on must have been quite straining, as the mare could see a definitive bead of sweat rolling down Scootaloo's forehead. She couldn't quite understand what she was saying, but, even if she did, the request would've been denied. This was simply too much fun.
Dash soon decided that enough was enough, and that she couldn't keep the young pegasus hanging, thus explaining why she began to spiral rapidly. Barrel rolls were already insanely satisfying to pull off, but with a passenger, too... Well, the more, the merrier, as she always said. The continuous rolls started to make her head hurt, but she didn't care; fun overtook the pain.
After a moment, however, Dash could feel Scootaloo's grip loosening. That really was enough, she thought, so Dash chose to fly straight once more. The wind instantly became more tolerable and easier to navigate through. Moreover, she could now hear Scootaloo verbally abuse her.
“You're a complete... ass,” she tried. “Seriously, what is your problem? Are you crazy or something?” Rainbow Dash suddenly felt a need to laugh. As she burst out in giggles, Scootaloo only got angrier. With a frown on her face and both hooves crossed over her body, she began her barrage of insults once more. “Why are you laughing, eh? Trying to kill me? You belong in a loony bin... Seriously, what's so funny?”
“You are, kid,” said Dash, looking back at her. “You are.”
And then the world turned to darkness.
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“That's okay, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight Sparkle said. “If you don't want to tell us, it's absolutely fine.”
Despite the friendly tone of this, Dash remained resolute. For some, inexplicable reason, she didn't feel it was right to tell them, to show them what her true intentions were, and that those intentions overruled the importance of her own friends.
“So, this is it, girls — the last time we're in the same room together.” Twilight reported.
Peace fell upon the room. Every pony seemed uncomfortable with the sudden revelation, aside from Pinkie Pie. “Well, shouldn't we be having fun? Why not make it a party?” She tried.
“The truth is,” Rarity began, “I don't think this is the right time, Pinkie.”
“But, why not?”
“Well... I'm not sure. It just doesn't seem right.”
“Let's make it right, then! C'mon, Dashie, don't you want to party for the last time?”
“I'll pass, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said reluctantly.
“Anyone? Party?” Pinkie Pie looked from friend to friend, hoping to find some confirmation. When all she received was five frowns, she sat down on the floor. “Well, that's just great, isn't it,” she began, her bottom lip quivering at the same time. “You know, we're all going to... going to die tomorrow, and all you g-girls want to do for our last moments is s-sit there.”
An involuntary sob escaped from the party pony before she continued. “After... after all those g-good times we had, you girls just want to m-mope around.” A tear dripped to the wooden floor beneath Pinkie. “Isn't that... just f-fantastic?” More tears fell to the wood, forming a small puddle. “I don't want to die, girls! I don't want to leave this... all this behind! It's not fair and—"
Before Pinkie Pie could even finish her sentence, Rainbow Dash joined her on the floor. She brought the despairing mare in for a comforting hug, letting her cry furiously over her own shoulder. Dash didn't care about the tears falling on her fur, as Pinkie Pie was far more important. Her other friends joined the group hug, shedding tears of their own. Dash looked around at the huddle of her friends. Somehow, in this mass of emotion and sadness, Rainbow Dash found solace.
These were her friends, and nothing, not even a meteoroid, was going to separate them. Even if they weren't going to be there for each other tomorrow, they would still be together. Together in heart and mind — together in the end.
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The dream changed slightly. Instead of being surrounded by her friends, Rainbow Dash found herself falling through the midnight skies. A burning fireball to the left of her, and clouds to the right, Dash didn't exactly know where she was. She knew she was going down, and that was about it. Scootaloo was above her, reaching out with her hooves while she fell after her. For some reason, there was a sense of urgency in her voice, almost as if she was trying to contact Dash herself.
But, how was that possible? This was a dream, right? Quite a good dream at that — the falling effect was very vivid. She could literally feel the wind on her back as she fell, and the emotion written on Scootaloo's face was very realistic. Dash could honestly see a tear roll up Scootaloo's cheek as she flew downwards. Not to mention the...
This isn't a dream.
With a sudden burst of speed, Rainbow Dash flew up into the sky, catching Scootaloo in her hooves. The explanation could wait, as getting out of danger's way was far more important. When Dash thought all was clear, she leveled out, continuing her flight in much the same way as before.
“Scootaloo, what just happened?” Dash asked.
“I-I don't know! There was this massive noise, and you just stopped flying,” said Scootaloo, who had her hooves over her eyes. She was obviously traumatised by the event, as Dash could feel Scootaloo's small tremours of fear on her back. “And then, we just started falling! Down and down we went, and I just couldn't get your attention!”
“It's okay, kid — we're fine now.”
“But... but, we're not really, are w-we?”
A sudden, world-shaking roar burst through the air. It was so loud that Dash had to cover her ears for protection after indicating to Scootaloo to do the same. She could feel the vibrations of the noise through her own body, and from that aspect alone, Rainbow instinctively knew that the end was approaching. Any noise on that sort of scale couldn't exactly be good. After what seemed like an eternity, the sound died down. It didn't leave, however, as Dash could quite easily make out the same, continuous note. To her gratification, it was much quieter, but still present nonetheless.
“R-Rainbow Dash, what was that?”
Dash decided to ignore the question. Sometimes, it was better to say nothing at all, rather than to deliver bad news. She looked up at the sky to confirm what she already knew. It wasn't night, as she previously thought — it turned out that the meteoroid was partially blotting out the sun, making the sky dark. As she thought about it more, the darker it became, and the louder the sound grew.
“Rainbow D-Dash...” Scootaloo mumbled, “I'm scared.”
The older mare turned to face the filly, her magenta eyes boring into Scootaloo's own. As Dash continued flying, she raised a hoof to Scootaloo's cheek, lightly brushing it. She put on an encouraging smile, despite her own feelings of fear.
“Me, too, Scootaloo, but we have to be brave now,” Dash said. “Just close your eyes, and it'll be all over by the time you open them again.”
Scootaloo did as instructed, covering her eyes with her hooves as well as closing them. “What will happen after... it happens, Dash?”
“I'm not too sure, Scootaloo,” Rainbow admitted, “but isn't that exciting?”
Everything was now fully concealed in darkness. Rainbow Dash looked to the left and right, but simply saw nothing but black. Despite this, she continued flying. The noise had now increased to intolerable levels of volume, but she still continued nevertheless. Dash didn't know where she was going, but she did know that she was going.
An image of her friends flashed through Dash's mind. She saw them in the group hug they shared only a day ago. She saw the day of Twilight Sparkle's arrival, and how happy they were because of it. She saw their willingness to support her as a friend at the Young Flier's Competion, but most of all, she saw the cheer, and the joy, and the happiness and the wonderful times they had all created together. Despite the end, they were all there with her, and, oh, how she loved it.
Then, Dash saw nor thought no more.
