Xarchellus waved a wrinkly hoof, beckoning Enix over. As the Nightblood warrior joined her side, the Maria Matriarch spoke in hushed whispers. All the while, her good eye was trained on Rainbow, Echo, and the rest.
Nicole and Bard glanced about nervously.
"It would appear..." Remna thought out loud. "...that we have caught their attention."
"And how." Rainbow nodded. She leaned aside to her ghostly companions. "Twilight... uhhhh... care to explain what just happened?"
"Well, Rainbow, the way I see it..." Twilight Sparkle gestured. "Sarosians are quite literally the foals of Princess Luna."
"For real? I thought that was just a turn of phrase."
"No, there's a great deal of legitimate truth to it." Twilight gulped. "You see—as the legend goes—Princess Luna was the first equine being on this plane to experience dreaming, and she made it her gift to all mortalkind in addition to the moon. Something in the essence of dreams was discovered. A consciousness... perhaps belonging to the lost spirits of mortals who couldn't make it to the Harmonic Plains."
"Oh jeez. Not that again."
"Shhhh!" Twilight insisted. "This is serious, Rainbow! Basically... Luna communicated with these spirits and found a common kinship. They helped her sculpt the first dreams that were shared with mortal kind. However, these spirits were lacking in harmonic balance or a moral center, and Luna figured that if they were left in their nebulous state then they would become living nightmares—the likes of which the frail mortal minds of early Equestria couldn't handle. So—to help everypony in existence—Princess Luna conjured a physical vessel for these spirits, and that produced the first generation of sarosians."
"And they've been dedicated to Princess Luna ever since."
"Exactly."
Rainbow nodded. "That's pretty badflank."
"What's pretty badflank?" Echo droned aside. "Me? You're welcome very much."
Rainbow gestured aside. "Twilight was just telling me how you and every other sarosian originated from one of Princess Luna's primordial dreams."
"Oh really?" Echo's fangs flashed. "Was it a wet one? Cuz it might explain why we're all so dead sexy."
"... ... ..." Rainbow stared. "Is there even a stallion beneath all that fur? Or is it all slime?"
"Anyways, Rainbow," Twilight interrupted, "Each and every sarosian to this day shares a common bond with Princess Luna. They're of the same essence."
"Since she used her magic to conjure them into the physical realm..."
"Exactly! So... then..." Twilight pointed excitedly at Rainbow's pendant. "If the Element of Loyalty is super-charged with Princess Luna's harmonic energies in order to facilitate her communication..."
"Then it must have a resounding impact on any sarosian who comes into contact with it!" Rarity added. "Why, that's proper brilliant, don't you think?!"
"Yes!" Twilight grinned wide. "Any sarosian not harmonically attuned to the enchantment would be naturally repelled! So when Echo violently struck the pendant, it created feedback that—no doubt—every sarosian here in Bleak's Plummet felt within the core of their being!"
"Including the Maria Matriarch," Fluttershy said.
"Uh huh!"
"Wow, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash smiled. "That's pretty snazzy."
Twilight folded her forelimbs with a proud smile. "Just stating what I've objectively observed!"
"No, I mean the fact that you just used the term 'super-charged.'" Rainbow giggled raspily. "I'm proud, Twi."
Twilight sighed. "Yes, well..."
"Seems like I'm rubbing off on you quite a bit."
"Uhm..." Bard leaned in. "As much as I hate to interrupt what must be a rollickin' good conversation... but we're still tarheel deep in underwater batland here..."
"Does anypony hear what they're talking about?" Remna asked, eyes locked on Enix and Xarchellus.
"I bet AJ does!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing.
Rainbow squinted.
A familiar orange figure hovered at the end of her anchorage. After listening in on the two, Applejack floated back towards Rainbow. "Seems like you've got them mighty convinced, Sugarcube," the ghostly farm mare said. "That old pony—the Matriarch—she done seen the light, if ya catch my drift."
"Uhhhhh..." Rainbow murmured aside. "Applejack's telling me that we've made an impact on the sarosian leader here."
"You mean I blew their minds just now," Echo murmured.
"Shhhh!" Rainbow glanced aside. "AJ?"
"One thang's for sure," Applejack remarked. "Their wrinkly leader ain't fixin' to have us skinned alive no more. She may not yet be quite as on board as that 'Enix' lady, but somethin' tells me that that's about to change."
"I think we may have just won Xarchellus' trust," Rainbow whispered aside. "Or at least we're about to."
"So, in other words, I was right," Echo grunted. "I blew their minds."
"Echo..." Rainbow sighed.
"Shhh!" Nicole squeaked, pointing. "They're about to say something, guys!"
Enix drifted aside. Hobbling with the cane, Xarchellus approached the edge of the stage. She gazed down at Rainbow Dash, her one good eye narrowing. "If you are indeed the Blood of Luna... then why have you abandoned her?"
Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Abandoned her?"
"What brings you so far from the throne of the Mother of Nightmares?"
"Okay... let's make one thing clear..." Rainbow gestured with her feathertips. "She's not the 'Mother of Nightmares' anymore. Yes, Nightmare Moon was freed from her lunar imprisonment... but then Princess Luna was freed from the Nightmare as well." She squirmed, glanced aside at Twilight, then back at the elder. "Just like the first sarosians were so many eons ago."
A breathy murmur rolled through the leafy-eared crowd.
Xarchellus took a deep breath. "And the Solar Betrayal."
"Who... Princess Celestia?" Rainbow Dash's jaw tightened. "Y'know, she never liked what she had to do to keep Equestria safe from Nightmare Moon. I bet it's hard to believe any of this—especially since you and all of your ancestors have known nothing but protecting the interests of the Lunar Army. But... you've gotta believe me. The Regal Sisters have made up." Rainbow slowly shook her head. "Luna and Celestia have no more gripes with one another. The war... your war ended years ago." She gulped. "The Vigil is over."
More murmurs—some of them angry.
Nicole winced, staying closed to Bard.
Remna watched with steely eyes.
"If the Vigil is no longer required..." Xarchellus leaned on her cane. "...then who controls the heavens?"
"Get this." Rainbow smirked. "Because of a bunch of crazy circumstances, Princess Celestia had to give up her control of the Sun in order to contain a chaotic rift in the heart of Equestria. And guess who was hoofed the task of looking over both the night and the day? Your very own Matriarch—Princess Luna! She's in control of both the sun and moon... and she's taken on that task with great humility and strength and wisdom and—"
"You mean to say that the Mother of Nightmares finally has control of the sun?" Xarchellus' muzzle hung open. "And she has chosen not to create eternal night?"
"Well... yeah..." Rainbow blinked. "That's just it. Luna desires peace. And to maintain peace, you gotta maintain equilibrium." She swallowed. "She's the steward of her sister's throne—nothing more. And when the time comes that Celestia can take control of the sun again, Luna will happily give it back to her. They are the regal sisters of Equestria, after all."
"She speaks the truth, Maria Matriarch," Enix spoke up. "I, myself, have spoken with the Maiden of the Moon. I have felt her voice resonating through me—just as you felt her presence a few moments ago." She waved a scarred hoof. "All of the righteous hatred is gone... instead replaced by a noble strength. It... resembles the Matriarch written of in the Book of Saros. I... I cannot remember a time in my life when I was more certain of something."
"Hmmmm..." Xarchellus nodded, nevertheless sighing. "I am nevertheless burdened by my task as Matriarch. I cannot afford certainty." Her good eye rested on Rainbow again. "I still do not feel as though my question has been answered. Why would the Blood of Luna be so far removed from the source of her blessing?"
Rainbow stood up straight. "Because I'm on a journey, ma'am."
"A journey?"
"A mission... and one that's far more important than even the ancient wars between the Solar and Lunar forces." Her eyes darted up. Through the ceiling, she spotted the flicker of Yaerfaerda somewhere far above the waves. "One that involves the fate of this whole world... and perhaps even other worlds just like it. Princess Luna is—and has been—my guide in all of this. Because of her blessing—and this pendant—I am still alive to perform this journey... although barely." Her ears drooped slightly. "I am here solely because I need your guys' help in getting to the edge of the world. From then on, my friends and I are on our own. But to get there, I need the blessing of not just Luna—but of the humble creatures she foaled into being."
Xarchellus glanced at Enix, then back at Rainbow. "And just how would we go about assisting you on this... 'journey?'"
"I'd be more than happy to talk your ear off about it. Or..." Rainbow smirked. "...you can take a brave leap yourself—you and your cane—and come with me to the surface... into the moonlight..." Her eyes narrowed. "And you can ask the Matriarch herself."
Enix looked pointedly at Xarchellus.
Every fanged pony, warrior, and servant in the room stood—holding their breaths.
Pinkie Pie glanced back and forth. She gritted her teeth. "Mrmmmmmfff... for Pete's sake... I can just hear all of the ellipses bouncing off the walls of this place!"
Please.
For the love of god.
Don't let anything bad happen to Xarchellus while she's on the surface.
7498658 ...great. You just jinxed it.
7498689
I'm already getting the heebie-jeebies like nothin' else right now.
Well now... this is starting to ring similar to the Durandanan's.
The question on my mind now is, will this lead to a more intense and yet similar situation?
This doesn't give me hope that there won't be some sort of civil war here.
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
7498697
I'm getting a Durandana vibe here as well.
Also inb4 IC writes a Sarosian civil war
Yeah, about 44 of them. Give or take.
Happy two-year anniversary of Rainboarke, everyone! ...In four days. What a fine time to catch up.
Finally, Rainbow Dash is about to convince a whole underwater city to her side.
Hope the central guard is ready for the one way trip Chandler and Seraphimus put them on. I don't think they understand what's about to be unleashed just like what happened at the Starkiss. It would be kinda cool if the Talon ended up following along to the dark side with the Herald but, I'm pretty sure they will be needed to go back and tell the citizens at Frost Knife to stop chasing after the Rainbow Rogue.
7498658 Fool of a Took!
7498740 Welcome aboard the Noble Jury, please, take the time visit the stores of Bleaks Plummet and restock on feels cures and dis-rages as we will likely not encounter any stops before we pass over to the Dark Side.
Thank you, and enjoy the rest of the flight.
7498658
I really think that the Herald and likely her guards could protect her from just about anything at least long enough to get her back down. Though now that you bring that up I really have a feeling Chandler and his army is just about to show up because that would just be Rainbow kind of luck.
And Chandler & Co. will probably show up any minute. I mean, we all know it's going to happen at the worst possible time.
Things are certainly looking to get spiced up. I'm thinking that the fabled confrontation with Chandler and Seraphimus is fast approaching, especially since Dash has her own veritable army that might end up helping her out. Oooohboy, I'm getting chills just thinking about it. I can't wait for more!
~SolidFire
If only everyone was as easy to convince as the bat ponies...
7498658 I still can't help but feel that sixth seed shenanigans are gonna force Rainbow to betray them in a big way. Which might involve her leaving Xarchellus and the batpones to die. Here's hoping that doesn't happen.
Someone remember how much full moon they still had? It would be a shame that they go to the surface again to discover that rhey can't talk with luna anymore
And then Rarity was British.
7499111
They have 24 hours. It'll be plenty.
7499111
They have infinite full moon where they are.
.
.
.
Pinkie, ellipses are a are a type of punctuation and are not tangible objects... ||
...nevermind, I guess with 48 ellipses in a single chapter where Pinkie Pie is present physics kinda takes a back seat.
Man, it's a good thing Rhobredden guards don't rock the gold color scheme. That would've been really awkward. At least I'm pretty sure they don't.
And then everything fell to ruin when the
Fire nationRhobredden Army attacked.We haven't heard from Seraph and co. for a while. They are probably right around the corner.
Pinkies not exactly The Cooler King.
Oooh, Echo better take a swim to cool off that burn.
We're on a mission from Gad
This is the rhythm of the night, so lower your eyelids to die with the sun.
Fuck I'm edgy where's my medal?
7499567
Y'ALL NEED THA' SUN IN YAH LIEF
7499814
25.media.tumblr.com/f57c9e8abcc06c823679c0e0af6030a2/tumblr_mzh0hqMANs1qfaa86o1_400.gif
7499275 Actually, they kinda do. Cht.195:
I wonder if Verlax did that deliberately.
This Austraeoh stuff is great and all, and the story is certainly important. But, who, by the glorious grace of Celestia's ample flanks, is 'Pete!'
I must know!
Now this was the eloquent Rainbow Dash I expected to see a few chapters ago. Saying the right things and being confident about herself.
Oh I'm really glad she worded it like this, if the sarosians agree, then they'll be around for a good while offering their protection. This also means they should be around to help counter Chandler when the time comes. I was worried she'd sell herself short by asking for only help to get to the next seed, through the waters, or something equally short term.
7498658
Whelp, she's doomed.
7499140
Someone's gotta fill in for a lack of Octavia in this story, Rarity's a good choice
7499900
Oh right! Totally mixed the silver of The Talon and the gold of the normal guards. Thanks!
7498740 Welcome aboard, comrade! And thank you for giving us a real reason to celebrate!!!
#rainboarke #horselesbians #affectionthroughsuplexes #thoseplugsmustbecold #im34 #howisthismylife
7499275 That's a chilling point right there.
Sun war. Sun war never changes.
7499900 And there it is. Verlax is officially the worst.
Get instantly attacked by an overly religious army of vengeful ponies, thirsty for the blood of the evil monster who murdered their goddess?
7500201 No problemo!
7498761 Long live the Jury!
7500219 #whoop
7499800 You don't get a medal if you don't roll your R's.
7500726 I wish I could upvote this comment more than once.
7500143 "Pete" comes from PT, short for Princess Tanystropheus, an ancient alicorn princess with a long neck and long name, that needed to be shortened (the name, not the neck) in conversation. Linguists are not sure when exaclty the prhase "For Pete's sake" was used first, but until her last days, Princess Tanystropheus made it so she was mentioned a lot in conversation by mortals.
That's a really cool backstory and all, but how does this fit in with Whitemane being the dedicated alicorn of dreams in this alternate universe?
We can't underwater stop here.
7502343 It is known.
I love the title of this chapter.
And cue the assault while the Matriarch and Luna are conversing.
i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff305/rock_leonine/timing.gif
And we have a verdict!
7502343 wat.
So Sarosians are basically living nightmares? Neat.
That was some nice, poetic backstory for the Sarosians. I wonder if the Tantabus is gonna come up.
7502812
Was she actually said to be that? I guess Luna could have passed some of her dreamwalking skills to Onyxxus's family. Although I think Whitemane didn't exactly enter dreams, it was more like an unintended effect of the combination of her magic with Ledo's sequencing tech that allowed her to communicate with Belle.
Moonwhinny still ridiculous.
A talk with Luna, huh? It seems we're going to be blowing the minds of every Sarosian in the place.
Why is Rarity suddenly British?
There is no fourth wall.
9:33 p.m. MST 12/7/2017
Ironic, a thousand years of trying to obtain the control she has now just to fail, and in only a few months of cooperation she gets that control of the heavens, when she doesn't want it anymore. Fate is a funny thing.
09/07/2017
15:55 UTC
This is quite possibly my favorite thing about Pinkie's lines in this story. She doesn't just see the story, she sees it as just another part of everyday life.