Foreword: So yeah, I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and wrote the next chapter of What Else is up There. After fighting with Microsoft Office, deleting what I had done so far and rewriting it, then deleting that take and finally writing something I was satisfied with I bring you chapter two of the long awaited sequel to Ever Wonder what's up There.
Chapter Two
Life
March 14th, 2553
Equestrian star system
Twilight Sparkle of the Unicorn race
Town of Ponyville
Twilight awoke in the morning as usual and stepped over to her mirror, looking at how disheveled she looked.
She always looked this way, now, twenty years after the Covenant Conflict and fifteen years after Rainbow Dash's suicide and the lavender Unicorn always looked terrible throughout the days.
Twilight brushed her mane and tail, pulling every last strand of hair until they were perfectly taut and her mane and tail were straight.
The Unicorn looked herself over in the mirror; her pink star over a white star surrounded by five smaller stars cutie mark staring back at her as she looked it over as it rest on her flank.
Not five anymore Twilight thought, remembering that three of the smaller stars had vanished after the Covenant Conflict ended, and another following suit after Dash's death.
Twilight knew what this meant.
Her cutie mark was supposed to represent her special talent, magic, just like all cutie marks were representative of a pony's special talent, but Twilight had attained her mark on the same day that all of her future best friends did. All five of them acquired their cutie marks as a result of Rainbow Dash's spectacular Sonic Rainboom, meaning all six of them formed a special connection with one another before they had ever even met.
When Twilight's friends died one by one during the darkest days of the Covenant Conflict the smaller stars surrounding the large ones began disappearing, each lost star representing the lost connection with one of her friends.
One solitary star was all that remained of the smaller ones, and it represented the last special friend Twilight Sparkle still had: Applejack.
Applejack, the orange farm mare with the yellow mane and tail and three oranges for a cutie mark was the only other pony out of Twilight's group of friends that survived the Conflict, and it was barely a survival the orange mare had been able to keep.
Applejack, whose special talent was farming apples via bucking the trees with her hind legs, had lost the appendages in a surprise attack from a Sangheili aristocrat, whose weapon, the energy sword, had slashed the pony's legs clean off.
The only reason Applejack was still alive today was the quick decisions made by Commander Preston and a Spartan-II supersoldier by the name of Maxwell-021.
Commander…Michael… Twilight thought, reminiscing about the humans' heroic efforts to save all of ponykind from destruction at the hands of the Covenant.
Twilight finished looking at herself and travelled downstairs to the main foyer of the Ponyville library, where she and her dragon assistant Spike lived.
The baby dragon, with his purple scales and lime underbelly. With his green spines and lime ear barbs. With his green reptilian eyes and cute, pointy little fangs, was currently in the kitchen, cooking up a light breakfast for the two of them.
"This looks very good, Spike" Twilight said in a monotone voice, feeling more depressed today than usual. The Unicorn's depression stemming from the loss of five of her friends and the many other atrocities that had occurred during the Covenant Conflict.
That and not being able to find replacement friends in the twenty years since the end of the Conflict.
"Come on, Twilight, you really need to cheer up. Why don't you go see Applejack today?" Spike suggested, trying to get the lavender Unicorn to be happy for a change.
"I don't know, Spike. Maybe" Twilight replied, feeling even more down at the thought of Applejack and the loss of her rear legs. She had received mechanical replacements from the UNSC, so she could still walk, but she couldn't buck apple trees anymore. The farm mare had opted to merely stand on her hind legs and strike the trees with her forehooves.
Twilight was glad to see Spike as happy as he was; the young dragon had mourned quite a bit after the death of Rarity, one of Twilight's friends.
Rarity was the only other Unicorn in Twilight's group, and the only Unicorn Twilight knew personally. Rarity, with her white coat, expertly coiffed mane and tail, and generally regal appearance made her quite the sight to behold. Her generosity and willingness to help others had also helped in making her one of the most talked about mares in all of Ponyville, and Spike had fallen head over hooves for her.
Head over claws, rather Twilight corrected herself, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
The loss of Rarity had torn hard at both Spike and Twilight, as well as Applejack. Even Rainbow Dash, who wasn't that close to the fashionable Unicorn, had shed tears over her death.
Though Twilight had always suspected that the loss of two other friends coupled with the loss of the Pegasus' wings had been what drove Dash to break down and cry, eventually leading to…
Twilight didn't want to think about it, and knew that if she did she would start crying. She didn't want to cry; she had cried enough in the nights and days following the end of the Conflict and had done so even harder after Rainbow killed herself.
Twilight will never forget the night Dash left and never came back.
June 7th, 2536
Equestrian star system
Former Pegasus Rainbow Dash, now turned earth-pony
City of New Cloudsdale
Rain.
Rain is what was falling on the city of New Cloudsdale, the old Cloudsdale having been destroyed by Thar 'Saramee and his ship, the Divine Wind.
Rainbow Dash had specifically requested that the weather Pegasi make a rain storm fall on Cloudsdale on this night, the night Dash had paid one last visit to her parents, the night she paid one last visit to her old flight school buddies, the night that would be her last night on the planet.
She felt the rain understood her pain, understood her sorrow, understood her suffering. She was tough, no doubt, and she was always the bravest of any pony she knew, but she wasn't invincible.
She was grateful that having been born a Pegasus she had natural cloud walking ability that hadn't been lost with her wings.
Dash tried to feel anger, anger at Thar 'Saramee, who had been the one that robbed Rainbow of the one thing she loved the most; flying.
Flying was Rainbow's world, the thing that would allow her to join the Wonderbolts. Even if she didn't get in she would always have her flying, one of the many things that made her happy in the world.
The only other things that made her happy were winning and her friends, three of which had been killed in the Covenant war or whatever the historians called it.
Pinkie, who was killed when a plasma bomb landed on her. Rarity, who was torn apart by a mob of Unggoy…whatever they are. And Fluttershy…who…who… Rainbow tried thinking, only to start lightly sobbing as she sat at the edge of New Cloudsdale, the surface of Equestria several miles below her, awaiting the embrace she so desperately wanted to give to the ground.
They're GONE! They're all gone and there's nothing I can do about it Rainbow mused.
She tried to feel anger, but instead felt sorrow.
The former Pegasus looked up as the rain continued to fall, weighing down her mane and tail and soaking her entire body.
The rain understood, it had to, otherwise it wouldn't be so dismal and dark. Rain fell on sad days, on bad days, the rain always fell. It was scheduled to, but it still fell. Rain fell as if it were the souls of Goddesses past crying over the loss of one of their subjects. Rain definitely understood what Rainbow Dash was feeling.
Rain.
Rainbow Dash stood up and shook herself off, getting her mane out of her eyes by slicking it back with a hoof.
She was getting ready.
A flash of lightning illuminated the night for a brief moment, allowing Dash to see the surface two miles below; more than enough distance to accomplish what she was about to do.
There were many ways to do what Dash wanted to but she felt that stepping off the edge of Cloudsdale was the most appropriate due to it being where she was born. That and feeling the wind rushing past her would make her a little happy before the end.
I was born here, and I shall end it here. I have come full circle...or some such crap like that the Pegasus thought, looking back down at the ground one last time.
Applejack, Twilight, Spike, I'm sorry Dash thought before she closed her eyes and leaned forward, letting gravity take control.
Wind.
Wind was what Rainbow Dash was feeling as she fell towards her end with alarming speed, wind was rushing all around her as she descended, wind was the only thing that could remind her of all the time she spent flying.
Wind would be the last thing Rainbow Dash felt.
I've forgotten how it felt to fly…this is nice the former Pegasus thought as she neared her destination, anticipation building as she waited for the end to hit her.
I'm coming, Fluttershy.
The wind ceased rushing past her and everything went still, her world turning pitch black as the end of her time on the planet came to her, bringing with it the future that would be spent with all the friends she lost during the war.
The rain stopped falling a few minutes later.
Author's Note: Depressing, I know. It's what I wanted.
Fuck! I hate doing this: Thar 'Saramee, Commander Michael Preston, and all related characters belong to me. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and all related characters belong to Hasbro. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro. Halo belongs to 343 Industries.
