Utaan

by Imploding Colon

Birds of a Feather, Flail...

"Y'mnym lys s'hryssym w'lynwyn yln s'ylppa!" Enix hollered above the thunder. She pivoted from facing her hovering companions and nodded in the direction of the Stardust. "We are ready, Blood of Luna."

"That's yer cue, darlin'," Bard said, perched on the edge of Flynn's ship along with Wildcard and Ariel. "It's now or never."

"Right." Rainbow took a deep breath. Her ruby eyes locked on the golden tower as lightning flashed in the background. "Girls?"

"Yes, Rainbow?" Twilight spoke.

"You are my first and foremost wingponies," their anchor said. "Keep your eyes peeled."

"For wh-what?" Fluttershy stammered.

"Anything. This is always the hairy part." Rainbow spread her wings wide. "Here goes nothing." She took off. "Zoop—"

Immediately, her petite body was pelted by a merciless gust of cyclonic wind.

"!!!" Rainbow Dash flailed, toppling skyward in multiple mid-air somersaults. "Luna Poop!" her voice cracked.

"Rainbow Dash, what is wrong?!" A regal voice spun silvery loops around her. "And what—pray tell—does it have to do with my excrement—?!"

"Just wait a second!" Rainbow gnashed her teeth, twirling. "Your Majesty!" She flung a look to her right as the horizon did flips. "Bard—"

"We're right b-behind ya, Rainbow!" Rainbow heard the stallion's voice sputter. She sensed a trio of floundering figures in the wind. "B-barely!"

"Just keep your wings outstretched!" Ariel shouted melodically. "You'll even out! Trust me—"

"Hresssssh!" Enix's voice hissed from somewhere. "You are nearing the water—!"

"Pull up, darling!" Rarity insisted.

"Grnnngh... t-too much wind!" Rainbow snarled, flapping desperately. "Worse... th-than Stratopolis! Where—"

"Guhhhh!" Pinkie Pie's ears flopped while her tail swished in circles. Rainbow watched as her blue eyes streaked by amidst the tempest. "Sw-swing to the left, Dashie! There's an incoming p-pocket of air!"

"You've gotta be kidding—"

"Do what she says, Rainbow!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "Trust Pinkie sense!"

"Grnnngh!" Rainbow Dash barrel-rolled to the left. Miraculously, she ended up gliding upright, sailing counter-clockwise about ten frothing feet above the churning ocean's surface. "Whew... must be a wind current or something..."

"Uhhhh... yeah!" Pinkie Pie wheezed, twirling around a few times. "My ears and tail are flopping less! Just stay in this area—"

"The others!" Fluttershy yelped.

Rainbow threw a look over her shoulder. She saw Bard and Wildcard struggling to fly straight. The Heraldites atop the Stardust watched in horror as the Desperadoes plunged. "Guys!" Rainbow shouted. "To me!"

"They will not last long in that descent—" Enix said, her voice echoing from somewhere above.

"Bard—!"

"I hear ya, Rainbow!" Bard sputtered, flapping his wings harder and harder. "But... grnnngh... these winds are taken my feathers to the woodshed—"

"Brrrrrrr!" Pinkie's eyes crossed as her hairs stood on end. "Tell h-him to b-backflip!"

"Bard!" Rainbow hollered. "Do a backflip!"

"What in the hay—?!"

"Do it!" Rainbow snarled.

"Httt!" Bard threw his weight backwards. He nearly skimmed the turbulent waters below when—

Sw-Swissssh! His feathers caught a gust of air, lifting him up until he was level with Rainbow. Soon both pegasi were circling counter-clockwise, closing in gradually on the golden summit of the machine world's tower. Enix and her squadron glided in, joining the pair with expert precision.

"Well, I'll be," Bard wheezed and calmed down with a sweaty smile. "Which of yer colorful ghost girl friends do I gotta thank for that one?"

"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow blurted. "But let's not talk about that now. Where's...?" Just then, her ruby eyes shrank.

"Huh?" Bard followed the path of her gaze. He paled. "Aw Hell..."

Wildcard was a quivering mess of panicked feathers. The otherwise nimble Desperado plummeted faster and faster, twirling towards the bubbling waters below.

"He ain't havin' a good time!" Applejack stammered, wincing. "Nothin' but panic and puke!"

"Dubya!" Bard shouted. "Do a backfli—"

"No!" Rainbow hollered. "Just because it worked for you doesn't mean it'll work for him!" She turned her head as she twirled around, shouting through the hurricane winds. "Wildcard! Try to head back to the Stardust!"

"That's rright, featherred frriend!" Kepler's voice rolled through the thunder. "Follow my voice!"

"Calm yer friggin' breaths and glide right, mofo!" Bard winced. He glanced aside at Rainbow. "He ain't gonna m-make it at this rate."

"Enix..." Rainbow gulped. "If he hits the water—"

"Then he is finished," the Nightblooded sarosian said.

"Wildcard!" Rainbow grimaced. She glanced nervously at Twilight and the others, then threw a nervous look seaward once again. "Dude, if you don't catch some air right now—"

"Don't worry," Fluttershy said calmly.

"Huh?" Rainbow blinked.

And in that blink, a dark streak zoomed towards Wildcard—ramming into him. Whap! Using her momentum, Ariel knocked both herself and the griffon upwards by a dozen meters. Using her forelimbs, Ariel steadied the Desperado and hovered in place—however precariously.

Enix, Rainbow, and Bard performed one full circle, coming back around over the two.

Th-Thwikkk! Bard extended his bo-staff and held it straight down. "I'm gonna need some extra oomph for this one!"

Rainbow and two of Enix's wingmates reached in, grabbing Bard and adding their wingpower to his.

"Up high!" Bard grunted, stretching the pole towards the two figures below. "This is yer chance!"

With Ariel steadying him, Wildcard calmed his breath and stretched a metal talon upward. The air vibrated with magnetic energy and—

Clutch! Wildcard grabbed the end of the staff. Bard yanked hard, lifting both Ariel and the griffon to their level.

The crews of the Stardust and the Bleakweed vessels cheered at a distance. All of the fliers were together, sharing the same pocket of cyclonic air.

"Hmmmm..." Fluttershy smiled. "See? What did I tell you?"

"Whew..." Bard collapsed his staff, flying steadily as he glanced aside at his breathless partner. "Almost lost ya there, mofo."

Wildcard shuddered. He steadied his goggles with a nervous smirk, then hand-signed in Ariel's direction.

"Don't..." Ariel wheezed, waving a hoof as she flapped her wings briskly. "Don't m-mention it... phweeeeeee..."

"Not bad, girl." Rainbow smirked at her. "That was awfully risky of you."

"Yeah, well..." Ariel cleared her throat. "Figured it was high time I did my part."

"We're closing in," Enix said, pointing forward. The golden tower loomed closer and closer, drenched with moisture and glistening from the lightning above. "We haven't much time left. If we pass by it—"

"Got the picture." Rainbow looked aside. "Pinkie? Think you can give us a window?"

"Wait for it..." Pinkie bit her lip, squinting at the tower's surface gliding past them. "Wait for itttttttt..." Winds whipped. Moisture splashed. Thunder. "Now! Go go go go go—"

"This is it!" Rainbow jerked to the left, flinging herself straight into the glow of Yaerfaerda.

Her wingmates followed suit, wings slicing the tempestuous winds.

Th-Th-Thwisssh!

"Grnnngh..." Rainbow grimaced. "So bright—"

"Brace yourself, darling!" Rarity shouted.

"!!!" Rainbow stretched all four limbs straight in front of her.

Cl-Clankkk! She made contact with immaculately polished metal. The tell-tale thumps of her companions rattled beside her. She looked to her left to see Ariel and Bard gripping the side. She looked to her right to see Wildcard, Enix, and the sarosians perching as well. One midnighter slipped with a gasp—Thap!—but Wildcard caught him with a metal talon. Enix reached in and steadied the pony, and soon everyone was successfully situated against the exterior of the tower.

"Smashing!" Rarity pumped a white hoof while Applejack and Pinkie Pie cheered.

"Sh-shit...!" Ariel stammered. "Let's n-not make a passtime out of this, 'kay?"

Rainbow had to close her eyes from the sheer glow of Yaerfaerda. "Agreed."

"Rainbow Dash," Princess Luna's voice murmured.

Princess Celestia joined in. "Are you okay?"

"Did you make it?" Spike's voice broke.

"Gosh..." Twilight's ears drooped. "I absolutely hate it when he sounds worried."

"We made it just fine, yer Highnesses!" Bard exclaimed. "Erm..." He blushed slightly, tipping his hat in the cold moisture. "If ya dun mind me answerin' for ya, darlin'." He winced, nearly slipping from the tower's surface. "Whoah dayum!"

"Gotta... f-find the entrance to this thing, Luna!" Rainbow sputtered, squirming against the gold surface. "So just give us a sec..."

"To your left, Blood of Luna," Enix said. "Past your pegasus companions."

"You hear that, Bard?" Rainbow remarked.

"Loud and clear." Bard nudged Ariel. "Let's mosey—dosey-do like."

"Uh huh..." Ariel shuffled to the left, shimmying along the circumference of the tower. Bard followed, then Rainbow and Wildcard and the sarosians.

"Can you even see past Yaerfaerda, Rainbow?" Spike's voice asked.

"Nice dragon intuition, dude," Rainbow groaned, eyes squinted. Hard. "It's like I'm staring into a friggin' furnace."

"We're just looking for a door, r-right?" Ariel asked.

"More than that," Rainbow wheezed. "Look for a squiggly line threaded through a bunch of etched circles."

"You mean like beneath Starkiss?"

"Exactly."

"You sensing anything, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Huh?"

"I mean..." The ghostly fashionista squirmed in mid-air. "...in the manner of magic, draconian traps?"

"I sense a lot of magic, but..." Twilight Sparkle exhaled. "...curious."

"What's curious, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

Twilight gulped. "It's hard to say. This part of the machine world feels different from all the others."

Rainbow's jaws clenched in mid-shimmy. "Gonna have to be a bit more specific than that, egghead."

"I wish I could be, Rainbow! But—remember—I've only been fully conscious for four of the entrances you've encountered."

"And all of them had been affected by Verlax... r-right?" Fluttershy remarked.

"Right." Twilight nodded, flinching as thunder boomed above them. "But this? This isn't the same as the others... somehow..."

"Well, that's a warm, fuzzy thing... r-right?" Pinkie Pie remarked.

"Look," Rainbow sighed, still wincing from the proximity of the burning flame. "Let's just face things as we get to them—"

"Found it!" Ariel's voice chirped.

Rainbow smiled blindly. "You go, girl! How's it look?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"... ... ...?" Rainbow crawled towards a gaping open frame set within the outer surface of the tower. She sensed the bodies of Ariel and Bard perched beside her. "What's the matter?"

"This... doesn't look right."

Rainbow's brow furrowed. "How do you mean?" Bravely, she opened one eye after the other. Despite the agonizing sensation—but she was able to make out etched shapes in the golden surface. Her ears drooped slowly.

"Rainbow Dash?" Spike's voice inquired.

Silence.

"Dear child," Princess Luna could be heard murmuring. "What is it that you see?"

"Uhmmmm..." Rainbow gulped as her ghostly friend looked on. "...this isn't Ynanhluutr..."

Comments

[Nealend86]

uh oh.

[The 24th Pegasus]

UTAAN TIME?

[RoboRed]

I think it may finally be Utaan time...

[Nevlamas]

Well, the Elements of Harmony are already together. It would make sense for the Ynanhluutr to have become obsolete, now that all circles are lit.

[IceKitsune]

And things just get even more interesting

[Cynderfall]

Oh nuu!

[Tim the Planes-pony]

Utaan?

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Uh oh....

[Revan]

Query: When did Bard become a Pegasus? Princess Stardust actually caught that before I did.

[Merula]

Whoa wat o_O

Not Ynanhluutr.... Utaan maybe?

[Super Trampoline]

Clutch!

haha such a skirtsian onomatopoeia!

[MercySewerPyro]

Oh boy. Oh boy.

[Metal Aura]

Just a pesky off-by-one error. I get those all the time.

[Hazard]

Sounds like you need to update your GPS, Rainbow Dash.

7524328 he has been since his introduction in Rust. Rainbow fought him & Wildcard in the air.

[Hap]

Huh. In the worst possible sense of the word.

[General Lemarc]

Well fudge

[JustAnotherTimeLord]

Well, it shouldn't make a difference, Rainbow, so go, go, go!

[arancaytar]

"Rainbow Dash, what is wrong?! " A regal voice spun silvery loops around her. "And what—pray tell—does it have to do with my excrement—?!"

I've been waiting eight books for this moment.

Or, now that I finally started catching up with Season 7:

"Hm. I was not aware that I was an expression. "

[arancaytar]

"Yeah, well..." Ariel cleared her throat. "Figured it was high time I did my part."

Aww yeah!

I was worried she'd turn into the Useless Love Interest for a while there.

"Uhmmmm..." Rainbow gulped as her ghostly friend looked on. "...this isn't Ynanhluutr..."

Well duh, it's Utaan.

[BleedingRaindrops]

"Rainbow Dash, what is wrong?!" A regal voice spun silvery loops around her."And what—pray tell—does it have to do with my excrement—?!"

Oh my gosh, it finally happened.

[Cold Bolt]

"Uhmmmm..." Rainbow gulped as her ghostly friend looked on. "...this isn't Ynanhluutr..."

This doesn't seem like a reason to worry, though? It's still where Yaerfaerda led them, so it's still her next objective. It just sounds like this one will do something a little different.

[M M]

Utaan (maybe, possibly, eh)???

[Zecoro]

8830121
Funny as hell!!

[Merallakos]

I feel dumb because I noticed this a while back while making that urohringr infographic, but for anyone who was not already aware; the symbol is on the cover of the book.
cdn-img.fimfiction.net/story/xw4c-1475481789-290208-full
I dunno if it's always been like this (as in the symbol is on the cover of the book when the cover is first published), or if gets added after the fact but, now you know.

Also I've been listening to this and this on loop, and I have to admit I really like this track with the current environment.

Also also, I guess this machine spire could be a giant elevator thingy? That would be rather convenient. Would not be the first time we saw machine world elevator.

[Level Dasher]

"Rainbow Dash, what is wrong?!" A regal voice spun silvery loops around her. "And what—pray tell—does it have to do with my excrement—?!"

I was wondering when Rainbow would finally say it within her earshot.

"Smashing!" Rarity pumped a white hoof while Applejack and Pinkie Pie cheered.

I swear to God, every time Rarity says "Smashing" I can't not hear Nigel Thornberry...

[hypervelocity]

"Uhmmmm..." Rainbow gulped as her ghostly friend looked on. "...this isn't Ynanhluutr..."

Uh, I'm sorry?