• Published 13th Oct 2015
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Utaan - Imploding Colon



Rainbow Dash endures many trials to reach the edge of the world.

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The Meeting of the Herds

"Most of the windigoes have flown off, Defense Minister," Seraphimus said in mid-stride. She, Brye Chandler, and half-a-dozen armed soldiers of the Central Guard marched briskly down a narrow stone corridor deep within the heart of the Frosted Shelves. "Scouts along the upper lookouts report that only eight to ten of them remain—circling in the air. However, they appear to be flocking towards the southwest. If they follow prevailing patterns, then the skies above Frostknife should be clear within four hours."

"Good. Then this is our window to depart," Chandler said, glaring straight forward in the torchlight. He took a deep breath. "Is my field armor ready?"

Seraphimus nodded. "The blacksmith put on the finishing touches this morning. It's been altered based on your most recent specifications. You can expect a perfect fit."

"That is most wonderful," Chandler remarked. He and his entourage made a bee-line for a large set of doors flanked by guards. "All we need now is the signal from Hymnos, and then we can begin this most valiant operation."

Seraphimus inhaled sharply. Her claws scuffled against the stone floor.

Chandler glanced aside. "Something on your mind, soldier?"

"I am with you to serve, not speak," Seraphimus droned.

"Nonsense," Chandler remarked. "We're one leap away from engaging the Rainbow Rogue in righteous vengeance. Let us enjoy an opportunity to commune like colleagues. Hmmm?"

Seraphimus sighed. "I am... pleased to have this opportunity," she muttered.

"Just not pleased about who's giving it to you?"

The former Talon Commander was silent.

Chandler nodded. "I can't say I'm too fond of how destiny has arranged our partnership either... but I think we can both agree on the mutual goal."

"I do not expect redemption when the Rainbow Rogue is slaughtered, Defense Minister." She glanced aside at him. "Do we really have the same goal?"

Chandler bit his lip.

Seraphimus' charcoal eyes returned to reflecting cold torchlight.

Chandler exhaled: "Let us just get word in to the Grand Magistrate. Then we shall... put everything else behind us."

"So long as the Rainbow Rogue's death is ahead of us."

"Agreed." And that was all that was said.

The entourage reached their destination. The doors opened... and Hymnos greeted them with a bright grin.

"Defense Minister! What great timing!"

"Grand Magistrate Hymnos." Chandler came to a stop and briefly bowed. "We just spoke with the scouts of the upper lookouts and—"

"I have great news to share with you!" Hymnos exclaimed.

"Hmmm?" Chandler looked up—and froze in place.

Keris stood along with Windburst, Starstorm, and Raptr. The new Commander of the Talon smiled. "I trust that it is nearly time for us to set out?" Keris remarked.

"What?" Brye Chandler blinked. "Us? But... I don't understand—"

"The Right Talon of Verlaxion shall be leading the charge into the Twilight Lands," Hymnos exclaimed. "With superior experience and valor on their side, they will be priceless in helping you hunt down the Rainbow Rogue."

Seraphimus blinked.

Chandler's gaze danced between Keris and Hymnos. "Only..." He stood up straight, his eyes thin. "...the Talon has utterly failed to capture the Rogue before—"

"A consequence of the Goddess Murderer's Blight confounding us," Keris swiftly remarked. "I assure you..." He shook his feathered head. "...that will not happen a second time. Especially with your valiant legions of the Central Guard there to help us overwhelm our prey."

"The Commander has made a very convincing argument, Defense Minister," Hymnos said, pacing across her temporary office. "Nopony knows the Rainbow Rogue and her tactics quite like the Talon. Well... with both the new and former Commanders of the elite squad on your side, then you'll have the absolute best advantage for tracking down Rohbredden's number one target."

"With all due respect, Grand Magistrate..." Chandler tried not to hiss—he failed. "The Right Talon of Verlaxion is needed here... in Frostknife."

"I respect your concern for the capital's well-being, Defense Minister," Hymnos said with a nod. "It is the chief responsibility of the Right Talon to serve and protect the Foals of Verlaxion."

"And as I was just finishing telling the Grand Magistrate," Keris said, "What better a way to protect the interests of Rohbredden than to make sure that justice for our beloved Queen is properly enacted?" He gestured at his fellow sergeants. "We have been clean of the Rainbow Rogue's curse for days now. I assure you... we now possess the strength and capacity to track Rohbredden's prey with full clarity."

"Our Commander is right, Defense Minister," Starstorm spoke up. "Besides, the Rohbreddenites here in Frostknife have proven more than capable of preserving themselves with the resources available in the Frosted Shelves."

"In the meantime," Windburst added, "Professor Theanim Mane is lending his assistance in the recovery process. Having the Talon stationed here is simply a redundancy at this point."

"Yeah!" Raptr gulped, smiling anxiously. "Especially when there's a rainbow butt out there left to kick!"

Windburst cleared his throat.

Raptr squeaked: "But d-don't take my word for it!"

Hymnos chuckled slightly. She turned to smile at Chandler. "The sergeants speak truth. Professor Theanim Mane has proven immeasurably useful in rallying the public. We've already endured two stampedes thanks to his sage advice. At this rate, our beloved Professor and his wise Order will surely be implementing a system by which this generation and those of our grandfoals' can ward off the windigoes."

"Isn't that rather... naive?" Chandler remarked.

Keris' eyes briefly stabbed him. "I think the more appropriate word here is 'optimistic,' Defense Minister." His gaze sliced across Seraphimus. "Can we afford to be anything less in this time of crisis?"

Seraphimus hung her head, avoiding Keris' hawkeyes.

"Grand Magistrate..." Chandler's nostrils flared as his leg muscles tightened. "When I was appointed this position... I was explicitly told that I would be personally leading the military operation in eliminating the Rainbow Rogue."

"And you shall, Minister," Hymnos said, her tone momentarily laced with ice. "Only now you will have the Right Talon working alongside you. Their legacy will undoubtedly serve as positive morale for the troops under your command."

"We will lend our best strategies when and where they are required," Keris said. "We both desire justice for our Queen."

"A lot of weight rests on your shoulders, Defense Minister," Hymnos added. "It would be foolish to carry it all on your lonesome through the Twilight Lands."

"Better to divide the hunting force into separate divisions so that my sergeants and I can properly maintain a thorough chain of command," Keris said. He glanced in Seraphimus' direction. "Is this not the wisest course of action?"

Chandler shook. He looked to his side.

Seraphimus exhaled, tilting her beak up and nodding. "It is... most certainly a solid tactic." She looked at Chandler. "In the event that our forces are split apart, we will need trusted officials to maintain the Central Guard's orders."

"But... that..." Chandler huffed... then frowned at the Grand Magistrate. "This is all so last-second! Incorporating the Talon into my... into our army will involve a vote within the Court of Verlaxion! And our window to launch the attack eastward starts in less than four hours—"

"With the new defense initiative, chief command has been afforded to the Central Guard, Defense Minister. You're quite aware of this." Hymnos paced closer. "If you must know, Keris and I have run this by a few other members of the Court—and every pony and griffon who has heard word of this merger have already agreed whole-heartedly." She came to a stop, raising an eyebrow. "It is my sincere hope that—as Defense Minister—you will do the right thing and choose that which is wisest in the name of Rohbredden security."

Chandler blinked, his muzzle agape. He looked at Keris.

Keris looked back, smiling calmly.

Chandler sighed. He spoke through a tight muzzle: "As Defense Minister... I am bound by my dedication towards protecting the Foals of Verlaxion. And I... c-cannot fathom a reason not to incorporate the Right Talon of Verlaxion into my military pursuit of the Rainbow Rogue."

"Splendid!" Hymnos beamed. She reached out, slapping a hoof behind Chandler's and Keris' shoulders, respectively. "After all, why should you?" She trotted back to her desk. "I shall deliver a message to the whole of Rohbredden, announcing the joint venture. I presume that—with the diminishing herd of windigoes outside—you will be setting out to pursue the Rogue soon?"

"Yes, Defense Minister," Chandler murmured, avoiding Keris' gaze. "We shall."

"Then that should give you plenty of time to compare notes with the Talon and come up with a valid strategy for investigating the Twilight Lands with their accompaniment." Hymnos breathed calmly as she sat down and put quill to paper. "I must admit. Before now... I was a tad bit... concerned over the nature of this operation. But now that we have both of our most dependable forces combined... I almost have a sliver of hope that our beloved Queen will be avenged."

"Thank you, Grand Magistrate," Chandler droned, his teeth grinding. "It is... good to know that your faith in us is ever-stalwart."

"Let us not let her down, then," Keris remarked, pacing across the room. "Or the rest of Rohbredden, for that matter. This will require the whole of us to work together within our proper ranks." He paused before Seraphimus. "Which means that the Chain of Command must be followed thoroughly and without question." His magenta eyes glinted. "Is that understood?"

The three Sergeants stared in silence.

Seraphimus unemotionally saluted. "Understood."

Keris squinted.

Seraphimus cleared her throat and stood even straighter. "Understood, sir."

Keris nodded. "I expect you to be more prompt than that in the future, soldier." He turned to look at Chandler. "But you need not stress, Defense Minister. It will be our task to keep the members of your Central Guard in line." He brushed past Seraphimus. "All of them."

The former Commander closed her eyes... even as the Sergeants followed Keris in their soft, swift exit from the office.

Chandler stood in place, shaking slightly. "Seraphimus," he murmured out the side of his muzzle. "Would you check on the status of the chariot that shall carry me into the Twilight Lands?"

"Yes, Defense Minister," Seraphimus said. "Do you also wish for me to inform the troops of—?"

"Just go!" Chandler barked.

Seraphimus did not flinch. Silently, she pivoted about and exited the office.

Chandler sighed, rubbing his forehead. After a spell of silence, he glanced at the central desk.

Hymnos was staring at him. "...is there a problem, Defense Minister?"

Chandler hesitated... eventually blurting: "No problem, Grand Magistrate."

"Good. Then I think you have some preparations to do." She returned to her letter.

In a huff, Chandler spun and stormed off.


Keris and his Sergeants were perched on an upper balcony overlooking the corridor. Collectively they watched as Chandler and his entourage marched furiously in one direction and Seraphimus down another.

"Okay..." Windburst smoothed back his headcrest. "...on a scale of one to ten, how pissed off do you think that fat cat is?"

"Can we include decimal points?" Starstorm remarked.

"Why the Hell not?"

Starstorm smiled. "I'd venture to guess infinity point three repeating."

"Heh... I rather like that," Windburst said with a smirk.

"And... uhm..." Raptr gulped, his eyes following Seraphimus' silver figure until it disappeared beyond a distant corner. "...the former Commander?"

"Our goal is not to anger her," Keris said. "Nor to confound her."

"Then fill us in, Keris," Windburst said, turning to look at the lead Talon member. "Just what are we going to accomplish with this?"

"Yeah..." Raptr winced. "We sacrificed everything to let Rainbow Dash get away. Now we're going to hunt her again?"

"Or not," Starstorm said. "What better hunters could Rainbow and the Herald desire than those who won't draw blood when they meet?"

"Easier said than done," Windburst droned.

"True." Starstorm nodded. "But we're going to be the one buffer between Chandler's wrath and Rainbow Dash. That's gotta count for something when it gets down to the wire!"

"The reality is that Rainbow Dash knew it would come to this," Keris said. "And—between you and me—I don't think she'll be too surprised if she sees us coming after her."

"Is... she counting on us giving her some slack?" Raptr asked. "Protecting her from the Central Guard at the last second?"

"I think it's the other way around, Sergeant," Keris said.

"Huh?"

Keris sighed, gazing at the last spot Seraphimus was. "Rainbow is shouldering the fate of the entire plane on her shoulders. She may have had the fortune of being merciful to members of the Central Guard before, but when cornered against the Edge of the World... I suspect that she will have to sacrifice such restraint. More than anything... we're doing this so we can protect the soldiers from her... and most especially Seraphimus from herself."

"It really is the only way, isn't it?" Starstorm muttered in a sullen tone.

"But will it be enough?" Windburst remarked. "Can we keep an eye on Seraphimus the entire time?"

Silence.

"You three just concern yourselves with keeping the Central Guard from slaughtering themselves uselessly for Chandler and his maniacal crusade." Keris stood up straight on their perch. "As for Seraphimus? Leave her to me..."


Way off to the east...

...in a part of the world where the sun literally didn't shine...

...the Herald gathered their belongings within the hollow of an open barn. Kepler and Ariel loaded a six-wheeled wagon full of their meager possessions while Logan took the opportunity to sharpen his axe.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to put this place way... way behind us," Logan grunted.

"Easy for you to say," Flynn grunted. "You filled yourself up with a week's worth of farm food."

"Yeah." Logan smirked wryly as he gave his axe blade three more lasting scrapes. "Isn't it a beautiful thing?"

Flynn sighed. His ears drooped on either side of his balding crown as he tossed his half-empty bag of supplies into the cart. "A shame that I didn't get to study their fivelight crystals up close. I'm out of mana batteries, and it would have been nice to get some extra ammo for the trip."

"If you ask me?" Ariel flapped her wings, gazing into the wagon before her. "I'd say we ditch the cart."

"Trruly?" Kepler remarked.

"I mean... I know we yanked it from the side of the road a few days ago. But look at it!" Ariel pointed. "It's huger than huge! And..." A dull groan. "It's not like we're making any use of its storage space. Especially after that delightful 'dinner.'"

"Things really went south, didn't they?" Flynn remarked.

"It's still no rreason to get rrid of such a useful vehicle!" Kepler said.

Ariel smirked. "You just need something to fill your insatiable 'wagon-niche.'"

"Nothing of the sorrt!" Kepler protested. "Besides, therre is no telling whetherr orr not we shall find anotherr sourrce of supplies along the way!"

"Oh yeah?" Logan muttered. "The only way we can get some shit at this point is if we robbed some poor ponies for it."

"You said it, Big Show," Flynn added with a nod.

"Perrish the thought!" Kepler remarked. "Let us not trransforrm the angst of this farrm into unnecessarrry despairr! We may yet have a use forr this carrt that is completely benevolent! Besides... if the Rrainbow one werre to faint again, this will be the best way to trransporrt her!"

Remna walked into the barn. "The Austraeoh's fainting spells have ceased—at least for the time being. I say that we ditch the cart."

"Thank you!" Ariel exclaimed. Suddenly, she blinked. "...did... I just agree with the dragon lady?"

"This farm has done a bigger number on us than I thought," Flynn groaned.

"In all seriousness," Remna continued, "We've wasted enough time here as it is. I understand Rainbow Dash's commitment to her... Desperado compatriots... but this journey has always been hers. Not Bard's."

Ariel sighed. "The least you can do is give the Job Squad the benefit of a doubt."

"What do you think I have been doing?" Remna stared at her. "If it was up to me, we would never have settled at this location to begin with. There is far too much at risk, and I fear that we've compromised our position by bumping elbows with such inhospitable creatures." A pause. She exhaled and said, "But this was important to Bard... and thus it was important to the Austraeoh. So... I relented."

"Wow..." Ariel blinked. "Either you've grown soft or you actually do care for Rainbow Dash and the friends she makes."

Remna's jaw muscles clenched. "Call it what you want. But our self-indulgent respite is officially over." She glanced across the Bard. "Where is the one called Echo?"

"I think he's outside," Flynn said. "Speaking with the one called Nicole."

"Hmmmm..." Remna breathed past that thought. "And the Austraeoh?"

The Job Squad collectively glanced around.

Remna's eyes narrowed. "Is it my imagination... or are you collectively awful at this?"

"Things were a lot easier when her damned wings didn't 'work,'" Logan said.

"Perrhaps you should inquirre of the most vigilant of the grroup," Kepler said, motioning towards the barn doors.

Right at that moment, Wildcard landed. He adjusted his goggles while slowly approaching the group.

"Hey! Wildcard!" Ariel hovered a few feet higher. "Have you seen Rainbow? Or Bard?"

Wildcard gazed emotionlessly towards her. He sliced the air with his flesh and metal talons.

Remna blinked. "What is he saying?"

Ariel gulped. She glanced at Remna. "I know you want us to get a move on and stuff... but... I-I think we should give Bard and Rainbow just a few more minutes."

Remna sighed. "Mortals..." She marched off with an angry breath. "So little time on this earth... and all they want to do is waste it."


Rainbow Dash trotted to a limp stop at the top of a hill. Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and the rest of her friends floated alongside her.

Down below—along the edge of a fertile valley—Bard squatted before a series of stones. Their gloss granite faces glinted in the perpetual starlight.

"Are those... graves?" Twilight Sparkle remarked.

"Looks like a miniature cemetery," Fluttershy added.

"There are hollow spaces within the earth," Rarity explained. "Each situated about six feet below the grassy surface." She turned and nodded at the rest. "Although I can't sense what's inside the spaces, I think it's rather obvious..."

"Maybe, uhhhh..." Pinkie Pie fidgeted. "...we should just leave El Bardo be?"

"We haven't much time left," Twilight Sparkle said. "The moon will be full soon, and it's just a matter of minutes before Blue and the rest of his family kicks us all out. I don't think Bard can afford any more minutes on his lonesome."

"Still..." Rainbow Dash gulped. "Seems like a pretty sucky time to drop in on him."

"Wildcard flew past us just a few seconds ago," Fluttershy said. "If he truly felt a need to stop us from interrupting Bard, he didn't bother to try."

"The mare has a point, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Besides..." She looked straight at Rainbow Dash. "If there was ever a time that ya wanted the truth from 'Johnny,' now is it."

Rainbow turned her head to look at Applejack.

Applejack merely nodded.

With a breath, Rainbow Dash glanced back downhill. Flapping her wings, the mare glided towards where the Desperado was seated.

Bard sat on his lonesome. He was facing an empty plot of land just to the side of the old, old stones. He was halfway through his umpteenth sigh of the day when he heard the soft hooves of a petite pegasus landing behind him.

"I promise that I'll be gettin' a move on," Bard muttered without so much as turning his head. "Just... reckon I might get some lastin' peace here... while I can."

"Is..." Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her neck. "...is it working?"

Bard exhaled, shaking his head. "No."

Silence.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward until she stood by the stallion's side. "You... uh... got friends and family buried here?"

"Ol' Blue does," Bard explained. "And if he caught so much of a whiff that I was here... he'd grab the nearest scythe and lop my head off in a blink."

Fluttershy and Rarity grimaced.

Rainbow Dash breathed. "You're... that unwelcome, huh?"

"Ain't nopony's fault but my own," Bard muttered.

"Pffft..." Rainbow smirked bitterly. "Who has you believing that? Don't tell me this 'Blue' jerk has a grip on you still."

"Nah, it's the truth. I'm not supposed to be here."

"Why's that?"

Bard's nostrils flared. "'Cuz the last time I was at this here spot..." He pointed at a faded stone to the right. "...I desecrated Blue's wife's gravestone."

Pinkie and Twilight flinched.

Rainbow's lips pursed. Before she could say something, she looked aside.

Applejack somberly nodded, her face deadpan.

Rainbow blinked. She turned to face Bard again. "So... uh... just what exactly brings you here?"

"Mmmm..." Bard stroked his bearded chin. "Figured I might... find a grave that wasn't here the last time I showed up. Maybe two..."

"Who... who is he looking for?" Fluttershy whispered.

"Rainbow, darling..."

Rainbow turned to look at Rarity.

With a sad expression, Rarity pointed towards a patch of grass on the left. "There's an unmarked grave just five feet to the left." Her pale ears folded back. "It's... dreadfully small."

Bard noticed how distracted Rainbow looked. "Somethin' the matter?"

Rainbow gulped. "Rarity... uh... senses that there's a super tiny grave just a bit to the left." Rainbow pointed. "Right there. It's... just about foal-sized."

Bard blinked. He swiveled to face the spot that Rainbow had indicated. Removing his hat, Bard shuffled on over. At last, he fell on his knees. The next breath that came out of him was a mix between a whimper and a snarl.

"Damn him... damnable bastard..." A sniffle, and Bard's fetlocks shook. "Didn't even have the decency to give her a stone or nothin'."

Rainbow softly trotted over until she sat at his side.

Bard clenched his eyes shut. With a calming breath, he held a hoof over and rested it against the unshorn grass above the plot. He hummed a harmonious little tune beneath his breath. Gradually, his ears folded back, and he raspily said: "Reckon there's one promise I've always kept." He smirked bitterly. "In a place like this, she can rest forever."

Rainbow stared at him. "...Bard... who were Melody and Amber?"

Bard remained still.

Rainbow's marefriends hovered in tense silence.

"I'm not forcing you to tell me, of course," Rainbow murmured. "But... as a friend... I think you deserve to share the truth with someone..."

Bard sighed. "Dunno what difference it'll make at this point."

"You can live with yourself," Rainbow said. "It took me a long... long time to get to that point, personally. And when I did... it was like the skies opened up."

"Those skies weren't very kind to you, now, were they?"

"And most ponies are kinder?"

Silence.

Bard sighed. "They were my family." Another breath. "My... real family."

Rainbow listened.

"I was Blue's first ever foster foal," Bard said. "His... 'grand experiment,' so to speak. That was back when his wife was still alive... and when they was both happy."

Rainbow shrugged. "From the look of things, it had to have been a lifetime ago."

"Almost was," Bard muttered. "Shoulda been longer."

Rainbow's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Anyways... Blue's always been... rather particular about how the family did thangs. Like... he invented a tradition before there was ever a tradition. I figured he had plans for all of us from the get-go. Who we spoke to... who we made friends with..." His jaw tightened. "...who we married."

"Lemme guess," Rainbow muttered. "You disagreed with him."

"Oh, my mind was on his side for a good long time," Bard said. "But my heart?" A brief chuckle, and he glanced aside at Rainbow Dash. "The heart of a stallion ain't so easily corralled... among other thangs, of course."

"Uh huh..."

"And... I met this lovely lil' darlin'..." Bard's eyes were absorbed into sunlight. "...a sweet angel from the west. The sunrise I always heard of but... never saw until she stood there... smilin' all pretty before me." He gulped. "She held her ground like a fortress... wasn't afraid to talk sense into ya or the trash outta ya. Always... had a stern, rigid voice about her... but damned if it didn't make my insides chime like a chorus of bells."

Rainbow nodded. "Amber."

"Can ya imagine that?" Bard remarked. "Most perfect name, too. A color that never happens around this part of the world. So bright... brilliant. Like gold." He glanced aside with a smile. "She came from Frostknife, y'know. Had the whiff of nobility about her—not that it mattered to me. The mare had a heart for the land, and she was a fast learner. I taught her many thangs about workin' the earth. And she? She gave me the world. Such a poet. She felt the skies with each breath and reflected the stars in each tear."

"Seems like her poetry rubbed off on you."

"Oh, I gobbled it up. Everythang about her. You see... some ponies are born just... dyin' to be creative. Amber? Nah... my Amber had all the prettiest of thangs locked up in her spirit. She just... never cared to put it all to meter. That became my job, and it was a dayum good show. She was my audience, after all. And each fivelight was an encore to the joy of the previous day."

Rainbow exhaled. "Sounds like you gave her purpose, Bard."

Bard nodded. "Turns out she came to the Twilight Lands 'cuz she was sorely disappointed with the state of thangs in Frostknife. I tried askin' her for specifics. All she gave me was feelings... which—for a practical mare like her—felt like a sign of real change. She once told me that she was 'sick and tired of seein' the sunsets' in Frostknife... 'cuz it only meant another day of some terrible cycle startin' anew. Reckon that's why she came to the Twilight Lands. Time could just... slow down forever for her here."

"And then she found you."

Bard smiled gently. "I told her that 'there'd be no more sunsets for us.' And within a year... we were married. And for the next year... I kept to that promise. I built us a cabin... was nearly halfway through raisin' a barn when..." His smile trailed off.

Rainbow stared in silence.

Bard cleared his throat, fiddling with the grass beneath him. "'Ol Blue didn't approve. Of course he didn't. I shoulda seen it comin' from miles away. Hell... I probably did see it, but I didn't care. If I was smart, I woulda moved us to another spot within the Twilight Lands. But I was lazy... and foolish. Too lazy to seek out our own plot of land... and too foolish to think that Blue might actually tolerate what we was becomin'..."

"What was Blue's problem with Amber?"

"What wasn't his problem with Amber?" Bard's nostrils flared. "She was from Frostknife. That in and of itself was enough to set thangs on fire. Dun matter that she saw the same ugliness in the world that he did... only—Amber was sane enough to seek change... instead of holin' herself up in some miserable dark pocket of the world and seekin' to ostracize anythang and everythang."

"You never once thought of leaving the farm?"

"I had... far more elementary concepts of family and devotion back then, Rainbow. Besides... once Melody came into the world..." Bard gazed melancholically at the earth. "...movin' was the last thang on our mind."

Rainbow gazed at the grass, then back at Bard. "Amber... foaled...?"

"Mmmmm..." Bard breathed into the starlight. "Neither of us thought that Amber was the kind to produce music... but then Melody happened. And... and it lit up her whole life. She... just didn't seem to be afraid of nothin' no more. I..." He brushed his bangs back and glanced aside at Rainbow. "I-I know I have a penchant for bein' sentimental, but I ain't mixin' words, Rainbow. Every mare's got a right to feel however they wanna feel after havin' a child... but Amber? It's like she finally found the truth she was seekin' after leavin' Frostknife so many months before. She adored Melody like there was no tomorrow. And here in these Twilight Lands... there never was a tomorrow. Our family was somethin' alive and rich in the moment, and suddenly all of Blue's scowls and all of the bad news from beyond the Seven Seas just didn't hold its venom no more. We was happy... as happy as happy could be. And... and the thang about happiness that it's taken me years as a Desperado to learn... is that it can blind ya... it can blind ya somethin' fierce and the only one you'll ever h-have to bl-blame is..." Bard slurred. "...is yerself..."

Fluttershy held a hoof over her muzzle. Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked on in dreadful silence.

Rainbow gulped. "What happened to them?"

"Mrmmfff..." Bard's face took on a frown. "They died..." He stood up on angry hooves. "...what else do ya think happened?"

"But... Bard..." Rainbow held a hoof out. "Johnny... how did—?"

"I made a mistake," Bard grunted. "And for it... Amber paid with her life. If I had a lick of sense, I'd be just as mad at myself as Blue and Tim are. But... cowards are as cowards do."

Rainbow blinked. She looked at Applejack. When the ghostly farm mare said nothing, Rainbow glanced nervously back at Bard. "And... and Melody?"

Bard grinded his teeth. "That one is on Blue."

"Did... did he murder her?"

"Yes..." Bard winced. "No," he admitted raspily. Then, a defeated sigh. "Dammit..." He sighed, staring lonesomely at the unmarked grave. "She was only four at the time. Blue thought he might get her to learn a few things about mindin' the farm. Didn't matter that she was too young for any of that shiet. But... he had her outside... pickin' weeds along the fence or... somethin'. To tell the truth, I never quite found out the actual chores he had her doin'. Cuz it doesn't matter. She shouldn't have been doin' them. And..." Bard gulped. "...a rainstorm hit. Blue must not have noticed 'cuz... well... he's Blue. Damned stallion is older than sin. And before anypony in the family knew it... poor Melody had collapsed in the field." He fumed. "Died of pnuemonia within a few hours."

Rarity squeaked, immediately tearing up. "Dear Celestia..."

"That's... that's horrible!" Fluttershy cried.

"Bard..." Rainbow stood up, leaning towards him. "From the sound of things, it was all Blue's fault for—"

"Don't ya get it?!" Bard suddenly snapped, swiveling to hiss at the mare. "I was her father! I shoulda been there to stop it! If I was... then Blue wouldn't have taken the opportunity to steal the last good thang to come out of my family!"

Rainbow leaned back, blinking. "...then where were you, Bard?"

Silence.

Applejack glanced at Rainbow, then back at Bard.

Bard panted... panted... then stepped back with a sigh. He hung his head. "It dun matter..."

"Bard—"

"I only stopped here because I thought it might help you and the Herald." The stallion picked up his hat and started trotting off. "Turns out I was wrong about that too. I'm wrong about a lot of thangs. If I had a lick of sense... I'd just clam up like Dubya and call it a life."

"Well, don't, Bard!" Rainbow called after him, frowning. "We've been through so much together, and we've come so far. If you really want to help me, then let me in on your life like I've let you! Tell me the truth!"

"You mean like how you told the truth in Frostknife?" Bard droned.

Pinkie winced.

With a frown, Rainbow said, "This isn't the same thing."

"Ain't it, though?" Bard paused, glancing back over his shoulder. "Years ago... I made a decision much like you did. I chose to let those who knew the truth bear it... so that those who did not wouldn't have everythang collapse underneath them. For years, I suffered doubts... not knowin' whether or not what I did was either cowardly or noble. But then... I witnessed what happened in Starkiss." He placed his hat on, tilting the brow forward. "Reckon I should be thankin' ya, Rainbow. If it works for Rohbredden... then it sure as Hell works for my family."

"But... it's..." Rainbow gulped. "It's different, Bard..." Rainbow winced as she said, "In my situation... I've got Keris and Theanim holding down the fort. They'll make sure that future generations of Verlaxion's most devoted get to live full, healthy lives. But you? Who here knows the truth and will strive for what's good and right in this crooked family?"

"It's only crooked from the outside, Rainbow," Bard said. "You may not sense it... but Blue's family is truly happy. Only pony knockin' it off kilter is me... and it's high time I leave." He trotted off. "I've done it before, and I'll do it again. It's... it's all for the best."

Rainbow reached a hoof out towards him, but he was too far gone. "Rnnngh... dang it. Friggin' musicians." With a sigh, she turned to look at her friends. "We almost got somewhere with—" She froze in mid-sentence.

Applejack looked distracted.

"What?" Rainbow Dash blinked. "Was he lying at all during that last bit?"

"Somepony was lyin' alright," Applejack muttered worriedly. "But it wasn't Bard."

Rainbow Dash bit her lip.

"Maybe..." Pinkie cleared her throat. "...maybe we should round up the Herald and take this 'party' elsewhere..."

Rarity was gently hugging a trembling Fluttershy as she nodded. "I'm not a fan of what Bard has chosen to do... but Pinkie is right. Is there really anything more we can do for the poor stallion here?"

Rainbow sighed. "I just... can't shake the feeling that we came to this place for a reason." She gulped. "And it's fallen short of something awesome."

"If Bard does not wish to sort things out, then who are we to force him?" Rarity said.

Rainbow sighed. "Right. Sure. Whatever." She turned about in a circle. "Where's Echo? He was the only one not in the barn earlier."

"He's..." Fluttershy sniffled, pointing southeast. "...he's with Nicole again. In that direction."

"Right. Let's get this over with. I dunno about you gals, but I think mushrooms will be growing in my skull if I stay on this cruddy farm another second." She flapped her wings and glided southeast. "Twilight? Any words on what we just heard?"

Silence.

Rainbow looked past her flank. "Twili—?" Her eyes twitched.

Twilight Sparkle was wincing. She rubbed her aching horn... which was glowing with a persistent lavender pulse.

"Whoah!" Pinkie remarked. "Somepony tripped off the Twilight alarm!"

"Twilight?" Rarity stammered. "What's going on, darling?"

"Mrmmmff... something... something's coming..." Twilight winced.

"What?" Applejack floated closer, wrapping a foreleg around the unicorn. "Tell us, sugarcube."

"From the north... gliding in f-fast..." Twilight shuddered, glancing at Rainbow. "I... I don't think we have much time..."


"Listen, we all heard it!" Echo exclaimed, pacing along the fence line. "Everyone at that friggin' table heard it! Blue treats you like shit! Tim isn't any better either!"

Nicole sighed, brushing her bangs back as she gazed out at the horn-glowing livestock. "All he did was disparage midnighters..."

"Disparage midnighters my velvety asscheeks!" Echo frowned. "He grossly and negligently insulted you! Just... h-how can ponies treat their own family like that? Is nothing sacred?" A beat, and he rolled his slitted eyes. "Okay... spunk alive... sure. Nothing's sacred. But... but with all the pretense that Blue rolls on and on about—"

"He's old as sin, Echo," Nicole muttered. "He's bound to have a few eccentricities here and there."

"No... he is sin, Nicole." Echo's fangs showed. "For crying out loud! How long have you had to deal with that?"

Nicole shrugged. "I can manage."

"Didn't sound like you could 'manage' earlier when you left the dinner table... bawling your eyes out!"

"Look... we do well together." Nicole hissed, "We're fine. We're family. That's something that you're not. So I don't see how you could possibly understand!"

Echo gaped at her. "... ... ...then how come I feel like I'm the only pony who actually gives a shit about you?"

Nicole closed her eyes.

"Is this 'family' all it's wrapped up to be?"

Nicole gulped. Her next breath was a wavering one: "Echo... you've lived your life on the run... an exile from everyone and everything." She sniffled. "It's okay to be used to the feeling of being hated. But it doesn't have to be the same with every midnighter you meet."

"And is it okay to feel like an outcast in your own home?" Echo leaned in. "I've lived in a prison before, Nicole. This... cesspool you call a family? It's no different. Believe me."

She bit her lip. Her eyes opened, brimming with tears. "Most of them... are s-so nice..." She shuddered, her leafy ears drooping. "Ray... Kelly... James..." A gulp. "They love me. They really do."

"And do they lift a hoof to defend you when Blue, Tim, or Marie call you garbage?"

Nicole winced, gazing aside and shivering.

Echo leaned back, folding his forelimbs. "And what about Bard?"

"He... he always stood up for me," Nicole murmured. "But... th-then... he left..."

"Maybe because he had to stand up for himself too."

Nicole's eyes darted towards Echo. She stared at him in silence. "I... I just don't know what to do."

"Yeah you do," Echo said, nodding. "And I think you've known for a long while now."

She gulped. Rubbing her cheeks dry, she sported a brief frown. "It's a nice thought. But... let's face it. You just want an excuse to get me to tag along with you..."

"To be honest?" Echo smiled awkwardly. "I'm kinda hoping you wouldn't."

She blinked in surprise at that. "Huh?"

"The safest place to be right now?" Echo pointed west. "It's in Frostknife."

"Where... you were imprisoned?"

"That's right."

"But... if that's the case... then why aren't you headed back there now?"

Echo sighed. "Because I've got important things to take care of at the moment."

Her brow furrowed. "Rainbow Dash..."

"She needs all the help she can get. And so do you." Echo gestured. "Which is why I suggest you high-tail it out of this place and head for Frostknife. There's shelter at the capital that will protect you from the windigoes."

"And... what of the ponies there?" Nicole slowly shook her head. "I seriously doubt they'll give a midnighter a warm welcome."

"Hell... who knows?" He shrugged with a smirk. "After the speech that they were given, I'm pretty dayum sure they'll have forgiven wyverns. My gut tells me that they'll give the Seventh Tribe a clean bill of health too. They kinda sorta have to. There's no more 'Frost Bitch' to lean on."

Nicole giggled slightly. After a sniffling breath, she pursed her lips. "And what about you?"

"Eh..." Echo brushed his mane back. "I've had my fill of Frostknife. If Theams and I meet again, it'll be in a much warmer place... I hope."

"No, I mean..." Nicole fidgeted. "The midnight tribes never subscribed to Verlaxion. What makes you think that they'll be so accepting of you once you've returned to Bleak's Plummet?"

"I'll deal with that on my own time."

Nicole glanced at his flightless wings, then at his face. "Or... maybe if you had another midnighter to lean on." She arched an eyebrow. "As backup?"

He blinked at her.

"Do you think they'd be more keen to listen to your words then—?"

Before Echo could reply—

FWOOOOOSH!

—Rainbow Dash landed from a swift glide.

"Gaah!" Nicole jumped, forcing some of the nearby oxen to herd off with a start. "Egads! She's almost quieter than Johnny's griffon buddy—"

"Echo! We have to go!" Rainbow hissed. "Now!"

"Why?" Echo stood up straight. "What's the problem?"

Panting, Rainbow looked over her shoulder. "Twilight?"

Twilight leaned against Applejack for support. Her eyes sickly peered out from beneath a pulsating horn. "Uhm..." She gulped. "They're headed straight this way. Flying low." She gulped. "I'm counting over two dozen."

"Uhm... hello?" Echo waved in Rainbow's face. "While we're still young and sexy here..."

Rainbow spun towards him. "Windigoes! Coming in fast!"

"What?!" Nicole gasped, jittery. "Here?!"

"Yes." Rainbow nodded. "A whole butt-ton of them."

"A butt-ton?!" Echo winced. "That's only one tier below an ass-ton! What the Hell are we gonna do?"

"First thing's first, we gotta meet up with the Herald!" Rainbow flashed Nicole a look. "Can you fly?"

"What?!" Nicole blanched. "Of course I can fly! Why wouldn't I be able to—?"

"Good! Then follow me!" Rainbow yanked Echo off his hooves and flew southwest. "Don't worry! I've got your coltfriend!"

"Gaaah!" Echo flailed.

Nicole glided after them. "He's not my coltfriend—!"

"Move now, deny later!" Rainbow hollered. "Now fly!"

As the three collectively soared southwest, a foggy overcast thickened over the northern sky. The nearby livestock groaned and fumbled about with sudden anxiety.


Bard trudged his way limply across the farm. His head was bowed... his eyes tracing the fertile grass below.

At last, he reached the barn where the Herald were staying. A silent griffon stood at the entrance like a sentry... blocking Bard's way.

"... ... ...?" Bard looked up. "What's gotten yer beak in such a twist?"

Wildcard merely gazed at him, chewing on a toothpick.

"Hrmmff..." Bard snorted. "Dun give me that look. You knew enough about me." He made to trot around Wildcard.

The griffon held a talon out. Stealing Bard's attention, he proceeded to hand-sign in the air.

Bard blinked. "Really?" A breathy groan. "I just got done tellin' Rainbow the same thang." He frowned. "It's totally different. It always was."

Wildcard merely raised an eyecrest.

"Look... I never needed you to ascertain the truth," he said. "I just needed you to be... y'know... the chattier Desperado." He shrugged and tried to trot past Wildcard's other side.

But the griffon blocked him again. He gestured in the air.

"What? No!" Bard huffed. "Of course I ain't cross with you bein' a former Talon badflank'n'all!"

Wildcard folded his forelimbs and cocked his head to the side.

Bard blinked. With a sigh, he rubbed his head underneath his hat. "She ain't a Desperado, Dubya. And besides... she understands a thang or two about the relativity of truth. So why should it be any different for me?"

The griffon's talons sliced the air.

"You should know better than anyone," Bard grumbled. "I only got one family now. And it sure as Hell ain't—" His words came to a stop as soon as he heard several heavy wingflaps in the air. With a vexxed expression, he twirled around. "What in tarnation...?"

The Desperadoes watched as Rainbow Dash flew in with Echo and Nicole in tow.

"Dudes!" Rainbow wheezed. "Bad news! Super friggin' smelly potty bad news!"

"The hell's gotten into you?" Bard wheezed.

Remna marched out, followed by other members of the Herald. "Austraeoh. Is something the matter?"

"You can say that again," Rainbow said, pointing over Twilight's ghostly figure. "We've got windigoes."

"Windigoes?!" Ariel exclaimed.

"Uhhhhhh..." Logan grimaced. "As in... windigo windigoes, right?"

"I mean the unsexiest of windigoes imaginable! Real ones!" Rainbow grunted. "Twilight's sensing the same thing she did at Starkiss! There's a whole herd of them up north! At first, they were stampeding in a random zig-zagging pattern, but now they're headed this way!"

"Rrainbow one..." Kepler nervously adjusted his spectacles. "Arre you surre of this?"

"Uhhhhh..." Rainbow turned to see Twilight reeling in Applejack's grasp. "Yeah. Pretty friggin' certain."

"If that's true, then we're in for a bad time," Flynn said. He looked at the others. "There's no way to outfly them!"

"Perhaps a distraction is in order," Remna remarked. "Wildcard, Bard and Ariel can lead them off to the west while the rest of us make a gallop for the eastern shore—"

"No!" Rainbow Dash pointed with a frown. "Either the entire Herald is following me to Bleak's Plummet or you're not tagging along at all!"

Remna frowned. "I fail to see what other options there are."

"We... we could hide from them until they pass us over!" Nicole exclaimed.

"Babe, you don't get it," Echo stammered. "These ghostly frost farts will turn a farmhouse to splinters—"

"No, you don't get it! We've got shelter here at the farm!" Nicole turned breathlessly towards Bard. "Johnny! The cellars!"

Blinking, Bard faced her and grasped the sarosian's shoulders. "The supply shelters! Are they still where Tim and I dug them?!"

"You b-bet!" Nicole nodded with a gulp. "There should be more than enough room for the entire Herald... and then some."

"Do any of the others on the farm know about this?" Ariel asked.

Bard glanced around, chewing on his lip.

"No," Rainbow said. "But they will soon." She took wing. "Ariel! Wildcard! Bard! Let's rally together all the ponies we can!"

"Right!" Ariel lifted off.

Wildcard nodded and briskly took wing.

"What about the rest of us?!" Logan exclaimed.

"Head towards the shelter!" Rainbow shouted.

Logan squinted. "Which is..."

"Uhm... d'uhm..." Rainbow fidgeted in midair.

"Thirty meters due south," Rarity said. "There's a wooden shed that forms an entrance, right next to a forty-foot tall windmill."

"Head straight south!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Look for a tall windmill! Next to it is a wooden shed! The entrance is inside!"

"Look underneath the third granite stone by the door!" Nicole exclaimed, also taking wing. "The key to the doorlock is hidden beneath it!"

"Got it!" Flynn shouted, gesturing the others along. "Let's go, Job Squad!"

"Grreat bumbling boulderrs..." Kepler winced as he scrambled alongside Flynn, Echo and Logan. "...will today everr stop to give birrth to tomorrrow?"

"Less poetry and more panic, wyvern," Remna said. She turned to look at Rainbow Dash. "You will get to the shelter on time, yes?"

"Don't freak your scales back on. I'll be there," Rainbow said, flying after Ariel and Wildcard. "Eyes to the sky, girls!"

"Easier... s-said than done..." Twilight wheezed.

"Dun worry, darlin'," Applejack patted Twilight's shoulder in mid-glide. "We've got it covered. Right, Fluttershy?"

"Oh my goodness... oh my goodness!" Fluttershy squeaked. "Uhm... there's a bunch of farmers to the west! Let's go warn them!"

"On it!" Rainbow glided west.

"And make it fast!" Pinkie chirped, her limbs vibrating as a cold, cold wind picked up. "Things are about to get super chilly!"

Meanwhile, Bard and Nicole flew in the opposite direction.

"So... uhm... who are we warning first?" Nicole asked.

"Who the Hell else?" Bard mumbled.

"Ah jeez..." Nicole winced hard. "This ought to be a riot..."


Dozens of meters away, Tim and Blue stood side by side, sweating over a half-finished plot of plowed land. Their eyes remained glued to the increasingly cloudy northern horizon.

"I... I dunno, Blue..." Tim gulped. "Dun seem like yer average stormfront to me." His nostrils flared. "Ain't a single drop of moisture in the air. Besides... don't most cloudfronts move northeast around these parts?"

"Could be a cyclone," Blue said.

"Blue, there hasn't been a cyclone in over three decades..."

"Yeah, so? Them thangs roll in from the east whenever they feel like it!" Blue shrugged, raking the soft earth once again with a hoe. "For all we know, them dirty midnighters are the ones conjurin' them."

Fw-Fwoosh! Nicole landed with a groan. "Really?! Even now?!"

"Now now... dun get yer ponytail in a tizzy," Blue grumbled. "We weren't talkin' about you—"

"Look, just forget it," Nicole grunted. "Blue. Tim. We have to get into the shelter."

"Huh?" Blue blinked. "What for?"

Fwooosh! Bard landed. "No arguin', old stallion. We better get and we better get now!"

"Hold on a sec..." Tim frowned. "Nicole? What's the big idea? Didn't we say that he ain't gettin' no supplies?"

"I thought I done told ya to pick up yer miserable friends and skedaddle, boy—!" Blue began.

"For once in yer stubborn life will you please just kindly shove it?!" Bard snarled.

Blue lurched back as if struck with a bullet.

"Johnny..." Tim abandoned the plow and stomped towards Bard. "...I've had about all I can take of you disrespectin' our—"

"Believe me. If I had no respect, I'd leave ya both here to turn into assholesicles." Bard groaned. "But, against my better judgment, here I am actin' like a carin' son and brother."

"What are ya gettin' at...?" Blue asked. Just then, he shivered—for the temperature of the air dropped savagely. "What the dickens...?"

"It's the windigoes, Blue!" Nicole exclaimed. "A whole herd of them are sweeping over the Twilight Lands! Now they're headed straight for us!"

"Windigoes?!" Tim gasped, gazing north at the thickening clouds. "How... h-how do you know this?"

"Rainbow Dash sensed them," Bard said.

"Oh, did she?!" Blue huffed. "So we're all just... gonna take stock in her witchcraft now?"

"Look, bottom line is that they're comin' for us and we gotta take shelter!" Bard pointed at the horizon. "T'ain't no sense in outrunnin' them! And if we're above ground, we're good as dead!"

"But the supply shelters!" Nicole panted. "They... they could just be enough to shield us from their stampede!"

"And what's to become of our farm if they do fly on over?" Tim exclaimed.

"A lot worse will happen to us if we dun move our flanks!" Bard motioned as he galloped southwest. "Come on! We barely have enough time as it is!"

"Tim... if you care about this family... I mean if you truly do..." Nicole backtrotted, gradually joining Bard's charge. "Then you will do what Johnny says and follow us underground!"

Tim squinted.

"Pfft! Whole buncha paranoid dumbasses," Blue grunted. He returned to his hoe. "I swear... if I go downstairs tomorrow and even a single bag of flour is gone—"

"Time to move, old stallion," Tim muttered.

"Huh?" Blue flailed, suddenly finding himself thrown over Tim's muscular backside. "Ooomf! Hey! Boy! What do ya think yer—"

"Shhh! Put a sock in it!" Tim galloped south. "Johnny may be a varmint through and through, but he ain't fibbin' about this!"

"Guhhhh!" Blue winced, his bony figure rattling as he was carried across the farm. "Go gently at it... will ya?! Land's sakes!"

His protests were drowned out by an increasingly howling wind. The clouds above grew thicker and thicker. Almost magically... thick icicles formed along the fences and farm equipment, pointing south and away from the advancing stormfront.


White frost formed along the windows and weathervanes of random farmhouses as the Herald reached the wooden shed next to the windmill.

"This is it!" Logan stumbled to a stop, panting for breath. "Isn't this it?" He held a hoof over his chest. "Goddess have mercy, the casserole's biting back now..."

"Don't worry!" Flynn exclaimed, turning a large stone over. "I found the key Nicole mentioned!"

"I trrust that it fits the lock," Kepler remarked, looking nervously at the stars being blotted out by cloud cover.

"Only one way to find out." Remna took the key from Flynn and fitted it into place along the shed's door. With an audible blick, the entrance to an earthen stairwell opened.

"Hah-hah!" Kepler smiled through his tusks. "Neverr a doubt in my mind!"

"Hrmmm..." Remna squinted at the entrance. "It only has one door."

"I doubt they built this with windigoes in mind," Logan shouted beneath the swirling winds. "You think it will hold?"

"It's a Hell of a lot safer than staying up here!" Flynn descended. "Here! I'll light it up!" His horn glowed as promised. "Looks like lots of space down below!"

"Glorrious!" Kepler exclaimed.

"Just wait one moment." Remna spun around. "Where is the Austraeoh—?"

"She's coming!" Ariel shouted, flying in with several galloping ponies behind her. "Pleeeeeease tell me that the cellar isn't spontaneously full of honey badgers or something."

"What...?" Logan's muzzle scrunched. "Honey badgers?! Girl, where do you get these—"

"Windigoes make me nervous, okay?!?" Ariel shrieked. She spun and motioned at the ponies following her. "Right this way! It's open now!"

"Is it true?" Kelly stammered, followed swiftly by James and two other farmers. "Are the windigoes attacking?"

"Let us not give them a reason to stay around and feed," Remna said, pointing down into the stairwell. "Now... before they're upon us—"

"But... b-but what will happen to our farm?" James sputtered. "Our livestock?!"

"You mortals cherish your tiny lives, yes? Now descend," Remna snarled. "I will not ask a second time."

"What...?" Kelly blinked. "...is she going on about—"

Fwooosh! Rainbow flew in with Wildcard, followed by Ray and Mike and Marie. "Just get your fungal butts down there already! Windigoes are serious business! Like... on a scale of one to ten, they're sitting right atop gazillion."

"R-right!" Ray stumbled down along with Mike. "You won't get any argument from me!"

"Wait a minute..." Marie lingered at the top step, squinting. "This whole thing is a ploy, isn't it? Just so your precious Herald can get at our rations and—"

"Oh, sweet Celestia on a bike..." Rainbow spun around and—WHAM!—bucked Marie's flank with both hooves.

"Gaaaah!" Marie flew down, caught in the awkward forelimbs of Logan.

"And stay safe!" Rainbow spat. She turned about, gazing into the cold winds. "Friggin' melon fudge..."

Remna nodded. "I approve. A welcome change."

"Don't friggin' rub it in." Rainbow's teeth chattered as she and Wildcard scanned the rural horizon. "Now where the hay is Bard already...?"

"Nicole!" Echo stuck his head out of the stairwell, panting. "Has anypony seen Nicole?"

Wildcard wordlessly shoved Echo's head back down. His beak clattered as he pointed towards the northeast.

"Here they come, Rainbow!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Looks like Bard and Nicole convinced Blue and Tim to join us!"

"Yes... but is that everypony?" Rainbow had to shout to be heard above the winds.

Fluttershy bit her lip.

Rainbow blinked at her. "Fluttershy...?"

"They're... th-they're too far away, I fear..." Fluttershy murmured.

"Who is, darling?" Rarity asked.

Before the conversation could continue, Bard and Nicole arrived, panting for breaths. Tim wasn't that far behind with Blue.

"Somethang ain't right..." Tim shook all over. "It's like the dayum sky is fallin' and all it's been holdin' back all these years is a whole shitton of ice!"

"What do ya think I was tryin' to tell ya?" Bard sputtered.

"Either we move or we don't, boy!" Blue swatted Tim as the two lingered at the entrance to the cellar. "Where's the family?"

"We gathered them all up!" Rainbow exclaimed. "At least..." She squinted at the horizon. "I... I-I think—"

Shrieks lit the air.

Pinkie Pie paled. "Not good."

"Where's that coming from?" Bard asked.

Nicole's eyes twitched. Her ears drooped. "Oh no..."

"What?" Bard followed her gaze until he saw two bodies in the far distance, scrambling towards their location. "Who...?"

"Todd and Marlene," Nicole said. "Sharecroppers from a northern settlement."

"Hey!" Tim shouted. "Over here!"

"They can't hear ya, Tim," Bard exclaimed. "Not in all that—" His words trailed off.

The clouds overhead bubbled... then burst. A pale throng of equine shapes dove low, sweeping the land with a layer of deathly frost. Beneath them, a herd of cattle ran in opposite directions. As soon as the windigoes swept over, they fell to the ground—their horns turning dim before being covered in thick layers of ice.

The air filled with banshee shrieks. It masked the panicked howls of the two farmers. At the last second, they clung to each other. In the next blink, their frozen remains scattered across the farmland like seedlings. Through it all, the windigoes charged, their wings ripping rooftops and silos off of their foundations.

"Down... down!" Bard shouted, shoving Nicole and Rainbow along. Wildcard and Tim followed up the rear, carrying Blue. At last, Wildcard and Bard flung the doors to the shed shut and leapt down the stairwell—

FWOOOOOSH!

Frost pierced the wooden surfaces of the shed from the outside in. Snow bled through the grooves in the door, slithering its way down the stairwell. It stopped just a few inches of the cellar floor. Though the temperature of the room dropped rapidly, the frost stopped spreading.

Several dozen ponies and griffons huddled underground, suffocated by the echoes of their own panicked breaths. Flynn, Kelly, and a few other unicorns illuminated the interior to the best of their ability. Kepler and Logan lit torches, casting light across the pale, frightened faces of the locals.

Every set of eyes was glued to the door. Ponies leaned against earthen walls and metal shelves lined to the brim with canned goods and bags of feed.

Bard and Wildcard stood closest to the door, watching in tense silence as the framework of the shed above rattled in cadence with each banshee shriek outside.

Nicole was a mess of trembles. She reached blindly aside for someone... anyone. Echo trotted over, giving her a warm shoulder to lean on.

Twilight calmed slightly, her horn taking on a steady glow instead of a painful pulse. "Mrmmff... they..." She gulped, her breath dry. "They're circling above us now..."

"And they're staying low, too," Pinkie Pie murmured, her tail undulating in eerie motions. "I bet they know we're here!"

"If that's the case... then they could scoop us out at any m-moment," Fluttershy trembled.

"Let's not all panic, y'all," Applejack said. "Rainbow here needs to be strong for her friends... as well as Bard's family." She looked aside. "So we need to be strong for her."

"You say that with such confidence, darling," Rarity murmured. "But there honestly isn't much separating this cellar from what's going on outside." She winced suddenly. "Oh goodness..."

"What?" Fluttershy looked at her.

"The... the farm house that we dined in last night?" She fanned herself, trembling. "It's already shattered in pieces."

Twilight gulped.

With deep breaths, Rainbow looked at the rest of the Herald.

Remna glanced over.

Before either of them could say anything, Kelly's nervous voice lit the air: "How... how long are they going to stay out there?"

"From the sound of it..." Ray trembled. "...they're here to stay."

"No... not to stay..." Kepler shook his head. "But they will definitely rremain forr a while until they've had theirr fill..."

"Fill?" James glanced over. "Fill of what?"

"Chaos... carrnage... discorrd..." Kepler shrugged. "All of the things that they mindlessly feed off of."

"How..." Marie squinted. "...how do you know all this?"

Tim and Blue looked over from where the two rested, trying to recollect their breaths.

"Erm... ahem..." Kepler adjusted his spectacles. "We arre surrvivorrs of a lucky sorrt..." He glanced at the rest of the Herald. "Let us simply be glad that we made it herre in time."

"We... uh... we should be fine if we just stay put and keep our cool," Rainbow said. Twilight hissed at her, and she winced. "I-I mean... eheh... poor choice of words... phweee..."

"Even I couldn't pull a me as hard as you pulled a me, Dashie," Pinkie said.

"Oh hush." Rainbow looked at Flynn. "How are we on light?"

"Well... so long as my horn is attached to my head," Flynn droned, shrugging.

"They've got enough here to keep torches lit for a while," Logan said. "Almost too much." He frowned into the corner of the cellar where a great deal of fertilizer resided. "With the way shiet here is set up, I'm surprised this place hasn't blown up on its own already."

"Yeah, well, Blue was never much for thinking the finer thangs through," Bard muttered.

"Alright... the less we talk about flammable stuff, the better," Rainbow insisted. "In my experience, it's hard enough to get by without inviting explosions." She looked at Flynn again. "Is there anything... y'know... magical we can do to help this situation any?"

"I... I-I'm afraid I left my supplies back in the barn," Flynn said sheepishly.

"Ugh..." Logan nearly dropped his torch in face-hoofing. "Seriously, shit mop?"

"It's not like I had anything left of importance in my pack anyways!" Flynn hissed, his horn flickering. "The flight out of Frostknife robbed me of my remaining ingredients!"

"So... no chance of... like... building a forcefield or something?" Rainbow said.

"I'm afraid not," Flynn said, shaking his head. "Again... I wish I had gotten a closer look at the crystals these ponies use to mark the fivelights."

"Fivelights?" Nicole remarked.

"Yeah. Those shards that you stick atop those erect poles?" Flynn remarked. "I bet they would have served as great leyline distributors." He sighed. "But... they're outside. With the windigoes."

"Uhm..." Nicole fidgeted in place. "Actually..."

Echo glanced at her. "What?"

"Let's deal with a more pressing concern," Remna droned. Her eyes narrowed. "With all of those wraiths circling above us... can we really expect them to let off?"

"We're hidden, Axan," Rainbow said. "So long as they can't see us, we should be fine—"

"But surely they can sense us," Remna remarked. "Isn't that enough to keep them affixed to this position?"

Blue craned his wrinkly neck, eyebrows arched curiously.

"Even if that's the case, Rainbow's got a quick fix, doesn't she?" Ariel glanced across the cellar. "Just like she did west of Starkiss!"

"Yes! When she saved my sorry-ass!" Bard remarked. "Remna's too!"

Rainbow sighed. "You mean that song trick that worked for only a minute or two?"

"Still, it's gotta count for somethin'—"

"It wasn't enough to hold back a tiny herd of these freakazoids, Bard," Rainbow insisted. "Not permanently, at least."

"Well, it worked for yer ancestors, didn't it—?"

"Don't you get it by now?!" Rainbow barked. "That was a different situation with different windigoes! Way the heck less of them, in fact!"

"Yes..." Twilight Sparkle rubbed her head. "Written records from Clover the Clever only document the presence of three windigoes and—"

"Not now, egghead," Rainbow muttered, then turned to face Bard again. "These monsters are Verlax's windigoes... always have been." She gulped. "They don't work the same. And even if they did—"

"But... now that she's dead..." Ariel fidgeted. "...maybe they'll function a bit more like your ancient windigoes?"

"They do seem a bit more brainless now," Logan remarked.

"If there was a difference, I think we'd know by now," Rainbow said. "Besides... Verlax's last words didn't mention a single thing about a way to beat them."

Applejack leaned in, whispering. "Uhm... sugarcube? You might not want to—"

Rainbow continued: "That's why I made the friggin' decision that I did! There's no fighting these freaks... there's only waiting them out... which is precisely what Theanim, Keris, and the rest of Rohbredden are having to do back in Frostknife—"

Scowling, Blue stumbled towards the group, pointing a bony hoof. "Ah-HAH! I knew it!"

The Herald turned towards him, blinking.

"I knew it all along!" Blue snarled. His eyes darted towards the huddled farmers. "Didn't I say it from the start?! Up to no-good! The whole lotta them!"

Nicole blinked.

Applejack face-hoofed with a sigh.

"Uhhhhhh..." Rainbow's eyes remained frozen on the old stallion. "Bard?" she murmured aside. "What is your not-dad not-talking about?"

"Blue, the buck is yer deal?" Bard remarked. Wildcard nodded.

"I heard it! Y'all heard it! These so called 'Herald folk' were there when Verlax sputtered her last words!"

"Yeah, so?" Logan belched. "Sorry to disappoint you, old timer, but she doesn't remember the honeymoon." Flynn swatted him. "Ow!"

"Sass me all you want, murderers." Blue spat, staring daggers at Bard. "You killed her! Didn't you? You killed the Queen... and now you done brought yer filthy criminal hides to my land... not to mention the whole wrath of the ancient windigoes upon us!"

Rainbow looked at him with her mouth agape.

The foster siblings gazed at one another in shock.

"That tears it..." Blue shook, his teeth grinding together. "I want y'all out of here!" He pointed at the frost-covered shed above the stairwell. "March on out and face what ya brought to destroy us or I'll have Tim here toss y'all out in pieces!"

Fuming, Tim marched angrily towards the group.

Rainbow clenched her jaw shut.

Pinkie's body deflated like a ghostly balloon. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww shoot."

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