Kail and Roo in the Tower

[Becka]

As night wrapped Whinnyopolis in its chill shroud Kail stood on the balcony of her room in the tower and stared in the direction of Ponyville. She knew that after a thousand years Ponyville wouldn’t be the same – she probably wouldn’t recognize it at all – but it was still home, and it was just out of sight to the south. She wondered if the Nursery had survived the years. Or the newly re-built castle. Or the Curiosity Shop. She swallowed down the tears that threatened to spill over and reminded herself that she would make it home. So long as Roo didn’t disappear she knew she’d make it home.

She turned at hooffalls on the next balcony over and found the lavender unicorn who claimed to be her descendant. He smiled. He seemed to constantly be smiling - like Razz - but his smile was calm and patient, not the unbound joy that made up Razz’s smiles. She imagined Roo’s smile looked more like her own, from the days before the Pirates and the Rift, when she’d had reason to smile.

All she could do was believe Roo, and hope he never faded. The sight of Roo meant the promise that Razz was alive and Kail would make it back home.

“You look unwell,” Roo’s soft voice travelled the small space on the breeze.

She was sure she looked worse than “unwell”. Beaten by pirates, nearly-drowned after the shipwreck, and then the otherworldly torment of Eclipse’s darkness had taken its toll on the green peg. Even the Healing Stone was no match for what she’d been through, and how little she’d slept. Especially without the green stripe of the Rainbow. She shivered at the absence of that warmth.

“Tired and concerned, is all. I’ll be fine.”

Roo smiled and studied a hoof. “Yes, I suppose so.” When he looked up there was laughter in his eyes. “Would you care for tea?”

Tea reminded her of Sister Swirl, which reminded her of the Nursery, which reminded her of Sherbet Explosion and SkyFeathers and Gumdrop, and all the other little ones she’d left behind. It reminded her of quiet mornings with her parents reading before school, and the garbled noise of Comet’s television coming through the walls.

She swallowed hard. “Tea would be nice.”

He nodded his head in the direction of his balcony door, and Kail hopped the space with ease. His room looked like her parent’s house in Dream Valley, with books covering every available surface. She scanned their titles as she followed him through the book-lined path that led to the kitchenette and small table. They were histories. Histories and histories and histories of every place and time in Ponyland. There were books on the Darklands, on Butterfly Island, on Course, and on a place called Xanadia she’d never heard of. There were books of history that wouldn’t take place until hundreds of years in her future. All of the knowledge of the time she’d missed sat in piles on the floor and tables and chairs, and all Kail had to do was pick one up and start reading, and she’d know the future.

Roo’s horn glowed a soft green and stacks of books moved from the two chairs and the table to settle on the piles surrounding them. “Forgive me,” he said as he cleared more books from the kitchenette counter, “I didn’t know you’d arrive so soon. I just moved in myself and haven’t had time to shelve them all.”

“Shelve them all where?” She asked as she continued to scan the titles, looking for something familiar. Here was one on the war in Course and she picked it up and opened the cover. The pages were yellowed and brittle, so she closed it gently and placed it back on its pile. She knew enough of that war already.

The corners of Roo’s eyes crinkled with laughter and his horn glowed again, opening two large doors to the side of his room. Inside was a library of ancient texts and Kail gasped, tea forgotten. She entered the room with soft hooffalls, afraid to touch anything too hard, lest she ruin it. “Great Rainbows,” she breathed.

“The section on the Great Rainbows is just to the right,” Roo called from the kitchenette.

Kail turned to the right, and sure enough, rows and rows of books lined the shelves, the multicolored lettering gleaming in the lamplight. There were books on the Rainbow of Light, on the Dark Rainbow, on the Moon Rainbows and every other type of rainbow one could imagine. She’d never known there were so many rainbows, nor so many books on them.

THE WAR OF THE RAINBOWS, by Canto Hoofspen

She reached out and caressed the spine of that book before taking it from the shelf. When she opened it the pages were also yellowed, but not brittle, and her name stared back at her from the chapter index.

Kailani Pone Hoofspen, Green Champion of the Rainbow of Light. The Healer.

And just below it:

Razzaroo, Violet Champion of the Rainbow of Light. The Telepath.

“I have the hoof-written copy as well,” Roo said, and Kail jumped, slamming the book closed. “That’s a reprint. Still very rare in Equestria, but not as rare as the original.”

“I…” she didn’t know what to say. When the Rift had found her, her father hadn’t finished writing his history of the War of the Rainbows. Now to see it old and yellowed felt like trespassing in his life somehow, although it was about her life and the battles she’d fought as the Rainbow of Light’s Champion.

“Tea?” Roo held it out and she put the book away before accepting it. He trotted to the other side of the library. “I have something you might be more interested in than old history books.” His horn glowed and a chest set against the wall opened. A packet of books tied with string levitated, and she recognized them right away.

“Those are my father’s journals.” Tea forgotten, she reached for them. Roo may technically be family, but it was like finding her father’s most personal thoughts in the hooves of a stranger. She didn’t like it.

“Indeed they are.” Roo didn’t complain as she snatched them from the air. Instead he trotted back towards the table, her cup of tea floating along beside him. “They’ve been passed down through our family and given to me, because I am supposed to give them to you. The next few days will be full of such things – things you asked your children to save and pass to me or the princesses, so that we may in return give them back to you. And when you return you’ll ask your children and the princesses to pass them on again, and the circle of time will go on forever in that way.”

Kail hugged the journals to her chest before following her great, great grandson back into the main room. She sunk into the chair where her tea sat on the table. “What else have I asked you to give back to me?” Then she shook her head at the absurdity of the statement.

Roo’s smile never left his face. “One thing at a time, perhaps. I have some of your weapons, and the princesses have some artifacts you won’t recognize but will need, regardless.”

Kail studied him for a moment. “So you know everything that’s going to happen to me in the future?”

“Well, technically it’s now in the past.” Roo took a sip of tea. “And I don’t know everything. You wouldn’t tell everything. So I know much of what will happen to you when you return home, but I’m not allowed to say. And you didn’t tell anyone everything that happened while you were here, so all I know is that we’ll win.”

“I’ll defeat Eclipse?” Kail relished the thought of making the Queen hurt. Of watching her writhe in pain as the green peg looked coldly on, just as Eclipse did to her. “But I can’t get close to Eclipse without nearly dying.”

“I did say ‘we’ll win’ did I not?”

Kail’s ears sank. Of course she wouldn’t be the one to defeat Eclipse. She’d be the one to heal those who tried. The Healer, the Green Champion, but not part of the fight. She finally took a sip of tea. The taste of flowers covered her tongue and eased some of her anxiety. “What is your part in all this? Other than giving me books and weapons?”

“As far as I know that is my part in all this.” Roo’s gaze was steady, without a hint of disappointment. “I’m no hero, Kailani. I’m a historian. Like your father.”

She looked at the journals in her lap. Her father had no talent for fighting – he’d only recorded the wars that his wife and daughters won. “Are you a healer then?”

Only of myself, came the answer in her mind. She looked up, startled, as he grinned. “It’s the one trait I picked up from the original Razzaroo. I can’t read your thoughts unless you project them to me, but I can project my thoughts into anypony’s head. And all of your descendants have a bit of the Healing Stone in them. My mother lived fifteen hundred years, and I’ve already lived a third of that.”

Kail stared at him slack-jawed. She knew she’d always looked young for her age, but Roo only looked to be in his mid-twenties, and he was saying he was near five hundred? “But…” She thought of her image in the mirror that afternoon, of the filly that stared back though her eyes were older. “How long do I live?”

Roo’s smile grew soft. “I’m sorry, great, great grandmother. I’m not allowed to tell you that.”

The history books around her suddenly felt hugely menacing. They knew her story – how long she would live, what ills she would suffer, what joys were yet to come. They told Razz’s story too, and perhaps that was worse.

“Longer than Razz?” She whispered.

The smile finally abandoned Roo’s face. “Much longer.”

She would make it back to Razzaroo, only to lose him again in the end.

[Kiernan]

[Would this be the same location as we left Twilight in, earlier? If so, I might have her do something...]

[Becka]

[It is. I figured it was so late at this point she'd be gone, but if you want her to show up that's fine. Just know Kail might punch her if she mentions she's the one that opened the Rift ;P]

[Kiernan]

[She's the type to lose track of the time during research. I don't think she'd even notice you were gone.]

Twilight yawned. To most ponies, a yawn would be glossed over and forgotten in an instant, but for this particular unicorn, a yawn meant it was time to head back to her room, as she didn't want to overstay her welcome in a private collection.

Navigating back to the entrance, she could swear she was hearing voices. Instinct would have her find the source and shush the offenders, but this situation urged her to hold back. As it would turn out, her host did indeed have a guest, a young mare. She couldn't quite hear them, but she decided that was for the best, as dropping eaves would be rude. Instead, she would try to claim their attention by clearing her throat.

*Ahem*

[Becka]

Roo looked up at the throat-clearing and stood quickly. "Oh Rainbows, I'm so sorry, I forgot you were in my library." It was understandable, what with finding his great great grandmother on the street and then ending up at a party, but he still felt like a stupid colt. Not to mention, if Twilight overheard their conversation, trying to explain everything could get a little...weird. Weirder than it already was.

"Twilight Sparkle, please let me introduce you to Kailani Pone Hoofspen. She's family."

Kail left the journals on the table and stood, hoof out to the unicorn. "Please, call me Kail." Twilight looked as tired as Kail felt.

Then she had the weird thought that if Twilight had been reading Roo's books, she might have heard of the peg. How would she explain that? 'Oh, you know, some idiot pony opened a rift in time and I was pulled through. As long as Roo doesn't disappear it means I'll make it home just fine.'

She shook her head at herself.

[Kiernan]

Relatives, eh? She supposed that was believable. They had the same smile. She gladly took Kail's hoof. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kail. I take it you're Roo's sister? Or cousin, perhaps?" It wasn't an uneducated guess, they both looked about her age.

[Edit: With certain information ccoming to my attention, the following paragraph has been omitted. I will be leaving it here, however, as it's still useful, I just have nowhere to put it right now.

However, the happiness in her faded with the mention of the rift. "Actually, the rift was a mistake. We intended to trap Eclipse with it, but we kinda... failed." Her head hung low, and she was slowly shrinking down to the floor.

End omission.]

[Becka]

"Cousin," Roo said with a nod. "Here from...Course." He'd almost said Ponyville, and while he was sure Twilight didn't know everpony in Ponyville, it would seem a little suspicious that she'd never seen this particular pony. And Kail was, kind of, from Course - her father was Coursian, her mother had lived there for a time, and Kail had helped save the southern continent from Glasya and the Dark Rainbow.

Kail nodded along with him while shaking Twilight's hoof. It was probably best to let Roo do most of the talking, since she had no idea what Course-of-the-future was like.

"So," She said. "How do the two of you know each other?"

Roo smiled brightly. "Oh, we don't. We just met in the pathetic-excuse-for-a-town-library this afternoon."

[Kiernan]

"Yeah, the library was kinda small... Roo was kind enough to offer to share his private collection with me." Twilight smiled. "I was able to find a lot of information. Even information I wasn't looking for. Actually, I wanted to ask, May I borrow some of these?" She gestured to the books that were in her saddlebag. There were only four, but she wasn't sure whether or not she was out of line.

[Becka]

Roo peeked in the bag and read the spines of the books. "Of course you may borrow them. In fact, tomorrow, after we've all had a good bit of sleep, I'll have another resource for you. I think you'll find it quite enlightening."

So far, the only ponies that had encountered Eclipse since she was first banished to the Opaque, were Kail and Whisp. They would be an invaluable resource for discovering what Eclipse was all about, but they needed rest first, and a chance to decompress from their adventures.

To that end, Kail stifled a yawn, and Roo clapped his hooves together. "Right then. Sleep first, research later. Do try not to stay up all night reading, Twilight."

[Kiernan]

Twilight gave a small smirk. That had indeed been her intention, but since she had more materials to look at tomorrow, as well as the belated Summer Sun Celebration to attend, it was probably best she slept for a few hours.

"I'll try not to. I'll be back tomorrow." As she reached the door, she turned around and looked back at Roo and his cousin, Kail. "Oh, one more thing," she said, a genuine smile spreading across her face. "Thank you very, very much." And with that, she departed for her room.

[Twilight out.]

[Becka]

(I originally wrote this before Kail and Whisp found each other at Kai's, so if it's a little clunky, that's why)

Kail drank the rest of her tea in silence, listening to the hum of insects far below them in the dark courtyard. Roo seemed content in the silence, for he waited until she tipped back the last of the cup to speak.

“You should rest. There’s plenty to do in the coming days, and if you’ll forgive me for saying so you look like you need the sleep.”

The green peg nodded. She was full of questions, but she couldn’t argue that she needed to sleep, badly. “Do you know…” she paused for a moment – he already said he knew next to nothing about the future. “Do you know what happens to Whisp?”

Roo’s smile finally returned. “She returns home and helps you defeat the PAARS.”

“PAARS?”

“Read the journals. It’s all in there.”

She stared at the package on her lap. “Won’t they tell me too much about the future?”

The teacup levitated to the sink, wrapped in a green light that caused a sharp pang of loss for her stripe to lodge in her gut. As the cup was washed by invisible hooves Roo spoke.

“I was only allowed to give you the parts from your time away. I still have the others, as well as the pages that I had to rip out of the last book so you couldn’t read ahead.”

Four journals. She was gone for four journals worth of time. The books seemed heavier in her lap than they had a moment before. Four journals worth of missed time with Razzaroo, with her family, with the Nursery children and Sister Swirl and Triple Treat and all the others. Kail stared at the old books until Roo’s lavender hoof tapped them.

“Your father was long-winded.”

A breath she didn’t know she was holding whooshed out of her in relief. “How long was I gone?”

“Read the journals.” The laughter was back in Roo’s eyes. “But sleep first.”

She nodded, but didn’t stand. The last tendrils of Eclipse’s darkness were still coiled tight in her stomach, and not even the tea could wash them out. She wondered if they’d be there forever, poisoning her from the inside, or if they’d disappear when Eclipse was destroyed.

“One last question?”

Roo nodded, and she stared into his purple eyes, so like Razzaroo’s.

“The green stripe didn’t come through the Rift with me. When I return home will it return to me?”

The stallion’s soft smile brightened. “Kailani Hoofspen, you are a Champion of the Rainbow of Light. You’ll be reunited sooner than you can imagine.”

Kail hoped so. The Rainbow of Light was the only thing that could drive away Eclipse’s darkness.

[Becka]

The large, four-post bed in Kail’s tower room was plush and covered with a sunshine yellow down comforter and soft sheets. The whole room was light and airy and nothing like the dark tower room in Eclipse’s castle, but still Kail couldn’t force herself to lay down in that bed. It reminded her too much of Whisper Wind, and despite Roo’s reassurance that the young unicorn would make it home Kail still worried over her.

Just hold me, the filly had whispered after the Queen’s attack. Just hold me. Kail couldn’t believe that was just over twenty-four hours ago. Less than twenty four hours ago the peg had been lying on the floor, watching helpless as Eclipse’s hooves came crashing down at Whisp’s head, and the young unicorn winked away to safety. But Kail couldn’t wink, and she writhed in pain as the Queen stepped closer, preparing to kill the healer.

Kail shook her head to relieve herself of the images gathering there. She didn’t want to remember the pain, or the look in Eclipse’s dark eyes as she said "Good bye, Champion of the Light Rainbow". She didn’t want to remember tucking her sea green feather into Knight Shade’s mane as he lay unconscious after throwing himself on the Queen’s horn to save Kail.

In fact, Kail would rather not think of anything after the moment she found out the Rainbow of Light’s locket had been stolen from the Dream Valley vaults. The Pirates, Razz’s strange behavior, the shipwreck, the Rift – she wanted to forget it all. Go to sleep and wake up in the Nursery, with Sherbet Explosion jumping on the bed demanding pancakes and Sky Feathers trying to fly down the stairs although her wings weren’t big enough yet. And Razzaroo shaking his flank as he sang the sea pony song and danced around the kitchen making breakfast for the foals. He’d sung the sea pony song the morning after the War of the Rainbows, when they were both feeling empty and cold from the loss of their stripes. It was the first time he’d called her beautiful.

Kail wiped at the tears that had gathered in her eyes and settled into an armchair near the balcony, the first of her father’s journals in her lap. She opened it and a sheet of paper fell out, the hoofwriting familiar and jarring. It was her own.

Hello Kail. Surprised you, didn’t I? I put a ribbon where you should start reading – it’s the night the Rift finds you. Give Roo my love - I miss him. Kail.

Setting the note to herself aside, Kail tugged the ribbon and opened the old, yellowed pages. Her father’s neat hoofwriting covered the page, and a new entry started near the bottom.

Bella had another vision – one that left her cold and sweating, shaking in fear. She saw a shipwreck off the coast of Course. For a moment I hoped it was a dream of the shipwreck she survived herself, but no. It was the ship the Champions took to go after the locket. She said Kail was trapped in the hull with Razz, and they were swept out to see. We don’t know if they survived because the vision ended as abruptly as the others.

Well, no. We know Kail survived. Kailani can survive anything. Except perhaps the loss of Razzaroo.

Kail dropped the journal on the seat of the armchair and stood. She didn’t want to think of the shipwreck. Of the fear that Razz would slip from her hooves in the turmoil of the ocean and be lost to her forever. She knew they made it to shore, but she didn’t want to relive that night.

A long drink of water calmed her shaking hooves and Kail sat down once more, skipping the rest of that entry for the next – the one written after the Rift took her from the Coursian shore.

The dolphins told a strange tale today. They say the Champions made it to shore – all of them – but in the night Kail went missing. There are no hoofprints in the sand. There is no clue as to where she went. And stranger yet, the Green Stripe of the Rainbow was curled up on the sand next to Razz, as if Kail had somehow left without it. How does one leave without the Light that lives inside them? There is curious magic ahoof.

Curious magic indeed. When Kail finally met the little pony that caused the Rift she was going to hit the stupid filly. Magic that could rip a hole in space and time was not to be played with. She skimmed the rest of that entry, mostly her father fussing about where Kail might have gone, and why. The next entry started at the bottom of the page. There was only one line, but her father couldn’t possibly waste a space of page.

The Green has chosen its new Champion…

Kail’s stomach twisted in a knot as she turned the page. Who had the Rainbow chosen? Her mother, who could use the Dolphin’s Song to heal? Or her sister, Karma, whose healing talents were in aura manipulation?

Of all the unlikely ponies in the world, it chose Sherbet Explosion.

The green peg dropped the journal. Sherbet Explosion was chosen as the Green Champion in her place? Sherbet, who couldn’t flip a pancake without burning her chin on the pan? Kail’s little Explosion, who couldn’t walk into a room like a normal filly but slid across the hardwood until she slammed into a wall giggling?

Then again, if anypony needed the healing power of the Green Stripe it was the seven year old filly who couldn’t walk a straight line without tripping over her own hooves.

Oh Great Rainbows, how was Sherbet going to react the first time Razz’s voice boomed into her head unannounced, calling the Champions to meet? Unless Razz was still unconscious. Kail scanned the page, looking for any mention of the stallion.

Razz still hasn’t woken up. We hear he’s been taken to the Coursian Palace for the royal healers to inspect.

The page before Kail blurred and a tear dropped from her chin, smearing the ancient ink.

~~~~~

Roo sat in his own armchair near the balcony, staring into the dark, moonless sky. A single sheet of old, yellowed paper fluttered in the cold breeze, held on his lap by one lavender hoof. He didn’t have to look at it to know what it said.

I am relieved Kailani is home, but she no longer smiles the way she used to. The joy that was inside her has been replaced by something else, something dark, and while her lips pull up in a smile her eyes remain troubled by something in the future the rest of us cannot fathom.