Days had passed, the airship floating around as the Al Bhed engineers made sure this ancient machina was running perfectly, and unfortunately for the ponies and dragon, they were still thinking of some way to stop Sin, with no results. In Rainbow's room, the pegasus grumbled as she nibbled on the pencil in her mouth, scribbling some kind of plan, but all she kept getting were a bunch of imaginative ideas that would get them killed. Growling, she grabbed the paper she was currently writing on, crumbled it into a ball, and threw it away in a corner in an overfilled trash bin.

"Darn it! I can't think of anything!" She banged her head on the desk, groaning in irritation. "This is tougher than I thought. Way to go, me! You just HAD to be too optimistic, and everypony's going to die!" Rainbow looked up, staring at a poorly drawn picture she made while her brain couldn't think. It was of her and Fluttershy, though the quality looked like that of a five-year-old crafting something this terrible, and a five-year-old could do much better. Sighing in defeat, she got up from her seat and plopped on the bed. "What am I gonna do?...Dad, is there something you know that you can't tell me? What plan did you have in mind bringing me here?"

Her door opened up, Fluttershy letting herself inside. "Rainbow Dash, I think I have an idea."

"Really?" the pegasus asked.

"Yes...Though, it's actually from somepony else we know. Maester Star Swirl." At the mention of the unsent unicorn stallion, Rainbow growled in disdain.

"Him? Why do you want to talk to that backstabber?" Rainbow questioned, thinking Fluttershy lost her mind while she thought.

"Maybe he knows something about Sin that he's been hiding from us, just like everything else in Bevelle." Though it seemed like a dumb idea to waltz back into Bevelle and confront the stallion, but there was nothing else she could think of.

"Might as well tell the others," Rainbow sighed, already given up with thinking for the day.

The two pegasi headed to the bridge where the others were waiting for them, Applejack walking up to them with an excited grin on her face. "Ok, Ah think Ah got an idea how we can finally beat Sin!"

"No!" Pinkie shoved Applejack out of the way. "It was my idea! I'll tell it!"

Applejack shoved Pinkie back, but the two mares began pushing each other back. "It was mah idea, Pinkie!"

"No, mine!" The earth ponies began wrestling each other to voice out their idea.

"We think the Hymn of the Fayth might be the key we need to defeat Sin." Applejack and Pinkie ceased their fighting, groaning in sadness as Twilight spoke for them. "Back in Macalania, Sin was actually docile when it heard the Hymn. Your father likes the song, right?"

"...Yeah. And when it stopped, he moved..." Rainbow's gears were beginning to grind as she was back to thinking. "If we're able to play the Hymn, maybe we can get the jump on him!"

"How odd Sin can be," Rarity said. "A dangerous, cruel beast that creates havoc in its wake, yet it is a peaceful giant at the sound of music."

"We may have a better chance at defeating Sin if he's docile, but how are we supposed to actually deal the finishing blow?" Twilight asked, which no one seemed to have an answer for.

"Told you it was my idea," Pinkie whispered to Applejack, receiving a hard jab in the side from the orange mare.

"Well, while we think about that, Fluttershy's suggesting we see Star Swirl. She thinks he might know something we don't, since he's dead." The summoner nodded her head as Rainbow spoke for her.

"Even if we're wanted, it won't matter when we finally reveal the terrible truth to that unsent traitor," Rarity said. "We'll see how he likes it when something he doesn't know about gets shoved in his face."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Cid exclaimed as he popped up between Rainbow and Fluttershy, spreading the two apart the minimum distance from his overprotective nature. "Let's raid a city!"

"First, Cid, we're going in. Not you," Rainbow said. "And second, QUIT SPLITTING US APART!"

"Not until you learn to keep your dirty hooves and wings off my niece!" Cid argued as the two ponies butted heads.

The others watched as the Al Bhed leader and rainbow-maned pegasus fought, again. Pinkie approached Maud, who was boringly watching their father fighting with her friend.

"Uhh, Maud, just take us to Bevelle," she said.

"Got it. Everypony hold on." The monotone Al Bhed mare steered the airship in Bevelle's direction, overhearing her father berating Rainbow Dash on her cousin's perfect romantic partner that the pegasus wasn't.

Setting foot at the entrance to Bevelle, the party walked down the road to the city. Before they could reach the front gates to the palace, a couple warrior monks blocking the doors spotted them, holding out their machina rifles at them.

"Hold it, traitors! You're not allowed here!" one of them said.

"We will kill you here in Faust's name!" the other said, both soldiers aiming at the group.

"Blah, blah, blah. You guys are a bunch of idiots," Rainbow said, provoking them to try and shoot them.

"You're asking for it!" They were about to shoot, but from the palace doors, Coco ran up and turned their weapons down.

"Stop this instant!" she ordered. "Lady Fluttershy is not to be harmed! Her being a traitor to Faust is nothing but a rumor spread by the Al Bhed!"

Pinkie was about to protest, but Twilight quickly shoved a hoof in the mare's mouth before Coco's bluff was ruined. "B-But captain-"

"That is Maester Star Swirl's order! Stand down now!" The two soldiers obeyed and stood down, heading back inside the palace.

"Since when was a nun like you appointed to a captain for the monks?" Rarity asked in curiosity.

Pinkie spat out Twilight's hoof, leering intensely at the acolyte. "And what was that about us spreading rumors!? RACIST!"

"Sorry...I really have no idea what's going on," Coco said. "Everything's gone to chaos in Spira. I mean, just a couple days ago, Bevelle had asked of me to be captain of the warrior monks, and I have no history of combat in my entire life!"

"Well, you sure did have the attitude of one," Rainbow commented, amazed to see how much Coco had changed from when they first met.

"I think it is because of Lady Fluttershy giving me the confidence to inspire me to become a better believer. I don't believe any of you are traitors, but I still have no clue why all this is happening." Coco scratched her head, trying to ponder what was going on.

"We need to speak to Maester Star Swirl," Fluttershy said. "Can you take us to him?"

"Yes. I'll retrieve him while you all wait in the courtroom." Coco allowed them inside the palace, making their way to the courtrooms to wait for Star Swirl to meet them.

Pinkie was all grumpy as, yet again, more lies were spread about the Al Bhed when they have been trying to help Spira in their own way. Everyone waited in the courtroom, recalling the terrible trial held against them by the corrupted maesters. Now, instead of being the guilty party being prosecuted, it was their turn to backstab the unsent stallion. He finally arrived, surprised to see them before him.

"Why are you all here?" Star Swirl asked. "You have received the Final Summoning from Celestia, have you not? Go and defeat Sin!"

"Yeah. Bad news for you, you dead liar!" Rainbow flew up and got in the maester's face. "We met her. We fought her. And we killed her, WITHOUT the Final Aeon in our possession." Star Swirl gasped in horror, the pegasus smirking as the horseshoe was on the other hoof. "Sucks to hear something so shocking, doesn't it?"

"W-What!? You idiots!" He tried to flee, only to bump into Spike, the dragon growling as he held his halberd tightly in his grip. The others began to surround him, keeping him from running away. "Do you have any idea what you've just done!? You destroyed a millennium long tradition and killed our only means of stopping Sin!"

"Don't you dare run away from us, Star Swirl," Rarity glowered, bringing the blade of her katana against the stallion's neck, chipping off some hairs on his long beard. "You had known all this time that summoners and one of their guardians were sacrificed to 'save' Spira, when in reality, all it has ever done was keep causing more pain and suffering. And I LOVED ending that mare's life, her blood stained on my blade."

"We're finding another way, and you know something that you've been hiding for however long you've actually been alive!" Rainbow shouted. "Now talk!"

"Y-You fools...You...You killed Spira's only hope," Star Swirl quivered, now completely terrified, but not by their threats. "Faust's spiral of death will destroy the world...Death is nigh, destruction inevitable...I don't want to die!"

"Celestia also mentioned Faust before her life faded away." Rarity pressed the blade deeper against the stallion's neck, ready to cleave his head off his shoulders. "She mentioned it like the deity was actually a living being. Who is Faust!?"

"...She...She is who crafted the armor from the souls of the dead," Star Swirl mumbled, his voice barely audible, but the others can hear him clearly. "The armor is unholy, Sin being the shell that keeps her invincible as she dons it like a powerful reaper of never-ending destruction..." He looked at the guardians and summoner glaring at them. "You heathens destroyed the weapon that could pierce that armor, and now all of Spira is doomed...Thanks to you, everypony will die...And I will not pass on."

The cowardly maester disappeared into a flurry of spirits, whether he did pass on or not was a mystery, but now they had more questions that needed answered on Faust. "Coward. So high and mighty, yet he can't even take his death like a real stallion!" Applejack growled.

"I can't believe I looked up to him," Twilight muttered.

"I can't believe Faust exists and made Sin," Fluttershy mumbled.

"I can't believe it's not butter!" Pinkie exclaimed, holding a piece of buttered toast. Applejack slapped the toast of of the Al Bhed's hoof for not taking the matter seriously. "Nooo! That was my breakfast for dinner snack!...You owe me two Gil.

"Well, now what do we do?" Spike asked.

While they began to think of what to do next, Bahamut walked up to them, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy the only ones that could see him. "Meet me in my room. I need to talk to you in private."

"Ok." The dragon boy left back to his chamber, though everyone else stared at Fluttershy.

"Who were ya talkin' to, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Nopony," she said. "I need to go and see Bahamut's fayth. Maybe he might help give us some answers."

"I'll go with her," Rainbow said. "Don't want to get ambushed by anymore monks."

The two pegasi made their way up the palace to meet up with Bahamut in his room. It was annoying to have to go through the Cloister of Trials again, but whatever the fayth had to say, it might be important. They entered the chamber, finding the dragon boy hovering over his statue as he waited patiently for them.

"I'm glad you finally arrived. We all knew the Final Aeon has finally been destroyed, feeling its power fade from Celestia's death. Bahamut crossed his arms, a toothy grin appearing on his mouth under the hood. "Now Sin can finally be beaten for good."

"Yeah, but we don't have a clue how to truly stop it," Fluttershy said as they put together what they do know.

"Well, what will stop Sin?" Bahamut asked.

"...My dad is Sin right now...and back in Macalania, he was near the temple listening to the Hymn of the Fayth," Rainbow said. "If Sin heard the Hymn, then maybe it might make it sluggish and open to attack without getting killed...kinda."

"Perhaps, but there's a problem with that. Your father has been Sin for over ten years. It's a possibility that he might not be able to hear it clearly at this point." He poked his head, letting them know they were on the right track. "The Hymn may be able to make Sin docile, but the real problem is not on the outside. When thinking around a box, you have to think both inside AND outside..."

"Inside and outside...?" Rainbow's eyes widened as she discovered the root to stopping Sin. "Faust...We kill Faust!"

"Bingo. Faust is the problem for Sin's constant return and invulnerability," Bahamut praised.

"But...who is Faust?" Fluttershy asked. "Star Swirl said that Faust created Sin, a giant shell that protected it."

"Faust was once a summoner a long time ago. She was strong and had good intentions, but now all she does is live with one purpose in mind: summon, summon, and summon," the fayth explained. "Neither good or evil, awake while also dreaming...This explains why the Final Summoning keeps bringing Sin back after some time. Every time it's defeated by the Final Aeon, Faust still lives. Conjoining itself with the Final Aeon, she creates a new Sin, and the cycle continues, never-ending."

"An eternity of summoning and causing all sorts of chaos," Rainbow uttered.

"And the only way to stop Sin is on the inside..." Fluttershy whispered, a little frightened at what might be inside of Sin if it didn't swallow them whole.

"Right." Bahamut stepped up to the summoner and grabbed her hooves. "Do not be frightened, summoner. There is a way to finally end Faust. When you confront her, call upon all us aeons you have gathered, and we will aid you in the fight. Your weapons and magic will not be enough to stop her. Promise me that you will summon us."

"...I promise, Bahamut." Taking her word, the dragon nodded his head and floated back over his statue.

"It'll all finally be over," he said. "We will finally wake, and our dreaming will be put to rest. Our dream will vanish without a trace."

"Yeah...You've been dreaming for far too long," Rainbow said, confusing Fluttershy as she looked at her.

"I'm terribly sorry for this, Rainbow Dash," Bahamut apologized, bowing his head to her.

"Don't be. I'm glad to do this." The fayth disappeared back in his statue, baffling the summoner with their private conversation.

"What are you talking about, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.

Having forgotten Fluttershy was still with them, Rainbow looked away as she tried to think of an excuse. "Uhh...nothing! Just a stupid gag between us! I mean, I have seen Bahamut a lot of times when I was a filly, and he was like...an old friend?"

"When you came from Zanarkand, where Sin never existed and you never knew about a summoner at all?" the mare questioned, growing suspicious with her marefriend hiding secrets from her. "That makes no sense, Rainbow Dash. What are you hiding?"

"N-Nothing!" Fluttershy stared with such intensity at the cyan pegasus, her glare practically piercing through her soul with her unblinking eyes. "I-I swear, Fluttershy! Stop looking at me like that! Let's go tell the others what we're gonna do to stop Sin!"

Rainbow Dash quickly ran away before the summoner's stare could force the truth out of her. "Rainbow...You're a terrible liar..." Fluttershy sighed as she followed after her, growing worried about what her lover was hiding from her, and it scared her more than facing death.

After regrouping with the others, Rainbow Dash explained what they were going to do, which was a surprise to the other guardians when they were going to take Sin out from the inside. It was worth a shot, along with using the Hymn of the Fayth to soothe the savage beast of a fiend. When Coco Pommel showed up, wondering where Star Swirl was, the group told the mare to alert all of Spira of their plan; when they see a giant airship fly over the land, it will play the Hymn loudly, and when they hear it, everypony in Spira should sing along with it. A little confused why she wanted to deliver this message for the world, Coco reluctantly agreed to do as she was told and went off to spread the word.

On the airship, the Al Bhed were hard at work not only on increasing the volume of the speakers for Spira to hear them, they were also busy fixing up a powerful piece of machina that was more deadly than the missiles they used on Evrae. While the mechanics and technicians were busy preparing everything for the final showdown against Sin, the party rested up for the fight of their lives. Though it was nerve-wracking, Fluttershy was more scared of Rainbow Dash hiding something from everypony else like Rarity had when they reached Zanarkand.

It was late in the night, but the summoner couldn't sleep, tossing and turning in her assigned cabin. What Rainbow and Bahamut were saying to each other confused her. She knew something she didn't, and it bothered her after being held back by secrets kept hidden by Bevelle and the lies of their religion nothing but endless death and despair. Fluttershy needed to know, and did not want to be lied to again, not by the mare she loved.

Getting out of bed, she searched around the airship to find Rainbow Dash. She wasn't in her room, the others were asleep and the Al Bhed were busy making preparations for the battle, none of them having seen her. She knew one place where she might be; outside the airship. She made her way to the upper deck, finding the pegasus standing by herself under the light of the full moon, bouncing a blitzball on her head.

Rainbow didn't hear her rise up the lift to the deck, too busy focused on the ball. "Rainbow Dash..." She heard Fluttershy call out to her, standing behind her. The ball balanced on her nose as she looked up at the sky, breathing out a sad sigh as she dropped it down to the deck. Rainbow turned to face her, seeing the pained look on her face, hating herself for letting her secret out a little. "I need to talk to you..."

"...You should be in bed, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash picked up the ball, spinning it around on the tip of her wing. "We have a big day tomorrow."

"Stop hiding things from me," she sternly said. "What were you and Bahamut talking about? How could you have known him when he didn't exist before you saw Sin a thousand years ago?" Rainbow remained silent, making Fluttershy worry more. "What's going on?"

"...Flutters..." Rainbow lowered the ball, resting it in front of her hooves. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

"No it's not!" the summoner shouted. "Stop lying to me! I'm sick of being lied to! Everything I believed in growing up hurt me when my home was keeping secrets from everything! All of Spira's hope was fake using the Final Aeon, and many ponies have lost their lives because of all of this! My father died, trying to do what was right, and your father is Sin!" Tears rolled down her cheeks as she got more upset. "Please, stop lying to me and tell me why you know Bahamut!? What were you two talking about!?"

Seeing Fluttershy crying made Rainbow's heart break, but she had to stay strong for her. She had no idea that she would disappear from her life forever once this is all over, win or lose. The blitzball player approached the summoner, gently brushing the yellow pegasus's pink mane out of her face.

"...I want to tell you...but I can't." That only upset Fluttershy more, looking away from her as she sniveled. "Fluttershy, please understand," Rainbow said, gently touching her cheek and moving her head to face her again. "This is something I have to hide. It's like with Rarity when she hid the truth about Zanarkand and what happens with the Final Summoning. It's too painful, and you'll end up changing your mind.

"I'm not like Star Swirl, Celestia, and Blueblood. I'm not keeping secrets to keep causing more pain once my plan has been revealed, not caring about others. I'm hiding this because I know this will hurt all of you, especially you, Fluttershy." Rainbow pulled Fluttershy closer and hugged her tightly, the summoner wrapping her hooves tightly around her as she wept on her shoulder. "You'll know the truth when the time is right...I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I'm keeping quiet. I don't want our last night to end with us arguing with each other."

Fluttershy wanted to say that tonight won't be their last, but she was too choked up to talk. They've faced worse in the past and managed to survive from the ordeals with only a few scratches, a feat everypony in all of Spira would be proud to know. They could stop Sin. They were strong enough to take the fiend down now that they know what to do, and they were going to be fine. Nopony would suffer, nopony will die, and peace will finally be permanent in all of Spira.

Rainbow pulled back, drying away Fluttershy's tears. She then gave her a gentle kiss, calming the distraught summoner as she wanted to ease her stress before it got worse when they fight Sin tomorrow. She didn't want any tearful goodbyes if they succeed, knowing it would be the worst possible thing she would do as she would feel guilty when she leaves. How she disappeared still worried the cyan pegasus, but either way, it was going to hurt the both of them.

Rainbow guided Fluttershy back inside the airship, wanting to spend one last, quiet evening together. No more yelling. No more stress. No more worries. So much had happened in the past month, and everyone was nervous about the inevitable, final battle against Sin and the being hiding inside of it. As they walked down the corridor to Fluttershy's cabin, Cid was waiting for them at her door, leering at Rainbow Dash as she was not within the minimum space he wanted them to be.

"What is it, Cid?" Rainbow asked in irritation. "You want to hit me again? Punch me into my room? Tell me I can't be with Fluttershy? After everything we've been through, more than you ever have in your old age, are you just gonna keep ticking me off until I finally snap and buck you off your ship, captain? Because right now, I'm in no mood to scream, shout, and exhaust myself before we face Sin, kill Faust, and save Spira."

The two ponies glared at each other for a moment until Cid sighed, walking past the pegasi. "I'm too tired to care. Just make sure my niece isn't harmed, or I'm really gonna knock your lights out."

Rainbow was surprised to not get involved in a confrontation with the Al Bhed stallion after trying to split her up with his niece. Ignoring the sudden change, skeptical of his exhaustion if he was fast enough to appear out of thin air, she walked inside the room and laid Fluttershy down in bed. Rainbow laid down next to her, wrapping her hooves and wings gently around Fluttershy, nuzzling her nose against hers.

"R-Rainbow..." The yellow pegasus was silenced as Rainbow gently pressed her lips against hers, kissing her softly.

Rainbow gently pulled away, looking in Fluttershy's tear-filled eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. If I do go...just whistle. I'll be by your side in a heartbeat."

Before she could protest, Rainbow kissed her again, slowly easing her fears and felt her kissing her back. Tonight, she wanted one last night with her. One final night of love, of being a living pony, not as a dream fearing to be faded from memory. Tomorrow was going to decide everything: Spira's future, the lives of everypony in the world, the fayth and their never-ending dreaming, bringing true hope for those who wish for salvation and peace. And tomorrow will be the last time Rainbow Dash will fight alongside her friends, the dream who will fulfill everyone's wishes of ending their one thousand years of pain. Next Chapter: Chapter 49: Showdown with Sin Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 31 Minutes