The Iron Wing stood vigil, and Rainbow Dash smiled up at her. The statue was a good likeness, hewn from a single stone that had been half the size of Princess Celestia's throne room when Maud started on it. Now, it was only as big as the average small house, and most of that was taken up by the plinth with all the names on it. Rainbow couldn't think of a better war memorial.

Well, she could, but asking ponies to build statues of every single casualty of the war had been shot down early on as a nice idea, but not economically feasible. And most of the ponies who had fought on the front lines were very adamant that, alive or not, she truly had been the face of the war effort. So the statue had been made of her, and her alone. But the names carved beneath her stone double's hooves were not merely names.

Every single name carved into the stone had been carefully enchanted. When Rainbow's eyes passed over a  name, it would pop out to her, allowing her to read it from any distance of up to twenty feet away. If she was looking for a specific name, the plinth would recognize that, and every name would seem to slip under her eye until she finally saw the one she was looking for, so that she didn't actually need to take the time to read and process every single name. The enchantment also meant that she didn't need to take time physically walking around the plinth to read every name.

When it had first been proposed, Rainbow had thought it disrespectful. But now, as she read through the names without having to squint or tilt her head for the hundredth time, she couldn't help but agree. She'd have to ask the princess to give the plinth's enchanter a raise.

Rainbow felt the touch of a familiar hoof on her left shoulder, then turned and smiled at Maud. Maud Pie was always there to pull her back, and to help her take off. Even when she didn't actually need any help, and was just a little bit lost in thought, Maud was still there, just in case she had drifted too far. Maud was her rock, and if there was one thing that Rainbow could not un-learn about rocks (among the several billion things she could not un-learn about rocks) it was that rocks were constant, even when they didn't technically serve a purpose. And that was Maud Pie, through and through.

There was an empty space on the earth pony's far side, but she did not resent that. Pinkamena was honoring the dead just as they were, only instead of keeping a lonely vigil over a statue, she was off putting smiles on ponies' faces, telling stories of her exploits as though it wasn't the most horrifying time of her life. In that way, she was all the stronger for not needing to be here.

"Pardon me, miss. Are you Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow's ear flicked at the unexpected voice, and her curiosity was piqued by the use of her real name. She turned to face the newcomer, and felt a world-weary smile tug at her lips as she met the gaze of a light purple unicorn. "It's been a long time since I heard that name, stranger. Almost surprised there's still somepony who remembers it."

The stranger smiled, and took a tentative step closer. "It's what they call you in the history books. Of course, if you'd prefer I use the nickname..."

Rainbow shook her head, and beckoned with her wing. "No, no. To be honest, it's kind of nice to hear it again. Come closer. Sit and talk with us for a while."

The stranger seemed to freeze up for a few seconds. "Um, are you sure? I'd hate to intrude." Her eyes flitted to Maud, and Rainbow just let her grin grow wider.

"It's not as if we were doing anything, kid. Besides, there's only so long you can stand to sit and stare without talking. Now come on, sit yourself down."

The stranger gave off a sigh of contentment, and settled on Rainbow's right side. Rainbow noticed that she was deliberately sitting out of wing's reach, but she decided not to mention it. Using her name or not, the stranger was clearly one of those many ponies so in awe with what Rainbow had done that they had trouble seeing her as mortal.

There were other details about the stranger that stood out. Her mane was long, flowing, and clearly arranged for style rather than substance. The faint scents of shampoo and conditioner still clung to her locks, and there was a certain shine to her that even Princess Celestia very rarely showed off these days.

"What's your name, stranger?" Rainbow did her best not to sound suspicious, but if she did, the stranger gave no indication that she had noticed.

"My name is Starlight Glimmer." There was a weight to the way she said that, as though convinced that hers was a name that had seen empires fall and stars collapse. To Rainbow Dash's ears, it wasn't a name that meant anything.

"Nice to meet you, Starlight Glimmer." As she said that, Rainbow's gaze drifted back to the plinth. The names blurred in front of her mind's eye, then came to a stop. She stared, and the hair on the back of her neck rose as she read the name. Then she turned to face Starlight, and everything seemed to click together in her mind. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but... you're dead."

Starlight's eyes bugged out when she heard that. "What? No I'm not! I'm just as alive as you!"

A chill ran up Rainbow's spine, and she couldn't stop herself from checking the plinth. The names blurred and blurred, but she didn't see her own name. "Look, Starlight, you're dead. Your name is on the stone."

Starlight turned and examined the plinth, and her skin paled. "Oh. I suppose it is. You know, I always suspected it would be, but I never had the nerve to look."

There was no more suspicion left in Rainbow's heart. Instead, she only had sympathy, and a little touch o Next Chapter: The abandoned part of A Nightmare for Snowfall Frost Estimated time remaining: 4 Minutes