"I am certain, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said, fighting the urge to yawn. "There are no more changelings hidden inside Darkreach." A tired blink. "At least, I think I'm sure of it."
"Well are you or aren't you?" Pinkie asked.
"I... uhm... I-I believe that I got a feel for the creature about halfway through hunting it down," Fluttershy said. "Now that I know..."
"We get it, Fluttershy," Twilight said, rubbing her eyes. "You'll be able to sense them from now on."
"I... wouldn't count on that so quickly," Applejack said. She waved a hoof at Fluttershy, smiling. "No offense, sugarcube. But them creatures are hatched for the sole purpose of outsmartin' other ponyfolk. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more to them that we have yet to witness."
"Good heavens!" Rarity dramatically remarked. "Something more to them than taking on the entire Herald single-hoofedly and then exploding?! I shudder to think!"
"Don't freak out, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said. She sat in a stairwell beneath a flickering light. The mare was alone with her phantom friends. "The last thing I want to do is take us and the Herald purposefully into any lands or nests owned by Tchern." She fiddled with her saddlebag, eventually disrobing the regal violet material. Some of the straps were starting to fray. She made a mental note of getting Kepler's assistance in stitching the trusty old pack whole again. "The key to this journey is getting to the Midnight Armory in one piece. That won't be doable if we pick fights with creatures we can't handle. Trust me... we're already better prepared now thanks to what we went through."
"A run-in with Tchern is inevitable, Rainbow," Twilight said. "Don't you think? I mean... after all... we're far from the only group of ponies trying to get into the Midnight Armory."
"What gets me is that after all this time..." Pinkie Pie gazed about, her muzzle scrunched. "...how come nopony's gotten inside and grabbed the Harmonic Prism already?"
"Because they're all fighting for it, Pinkie," Twilight said. "The three factions of the Trinary War, remember?"
"Soooooooooooo literally not a single one of those big bad armies have been able to control the point where the Armory's located?" Pinkie remarked. "I've had pillow fights before but—no matter how many slumber party ponies are involved—there's always a queen of the hill!"
"That..." Twilight blinked, teetering blearily. "I have no explanation for that."
"Maybe an army has control of the Armory, but they haven't been able to get inside?" Fluttershy said. "You remember Celestia's and Luna's warning about the 'trial' left by the alicorns to even lay eyes on the Harmonic Prism within."
"In any case, it's still the one and only target we need to be concerned with," Rainbow said. "And one thing's for certain..." She narrowed her eyes. "You guys need to get some rest."
"But Rainbow..." Twilight fumbled through a yawn. "...Discord..."
"It's okay so long as one of you girls sticks with me—"
"ME!" Pinkie Pie jumped up, hovering in place with a grin and a hoof raised. "I'll be on Dashie Watch first!"
"Whelp..." Applejack smiled. "Reckon you've got yer first volunteer."
"Way to bring your A-Game, Pinkie." Rainbow shuddered. "I can't promise it'll be very exciting. I'll likely be spending the next few hours—"
"Resting?" Rarity asked.
"... ... ...scavenging through Darkreach for clues about the Emeraldinians and then resting," Rainbow Dash said. "I owe the Herald that much after all they've gone through."
"Darling, you owe the Herald a centeredness of being," Rarity said. "Get some rest. Let Pinkie watch over you. By the time we're all done in the Vanilla Zone, Pinkie can take her turn and sooner than we know it—we'll all be fully recharged and synched with each other."
"Heeheeeeee!" Pinkie twirled in midair. "'Synch' rhymes with 'pink!'"
"Uh huh..." Fluttershy blinked... blinked again... then gazed at Rainbow with a liquid smile. "You're certain you will be okay with only one of us guarding you?"
"I can definitely count on Pinkie," Rainbow said, winking back. "You get some rest."
"I just... can't get over how sad that poor changeling's final moments were," Fluttershy said. "In fact, its whole life in general! Abandoned by its own mother—the Queen—to thirst for love and then commit nothing but atrocities."
"The faster you go to sleep the more you'll be able to forget about it," Rainbow said.
"That might work for you, Rainbow, but not for me." Fluttershy winced instantly. "Oh... I-I'm sorry..." She rubbed her eyes. "That wasn't a nice thing to say."
"It's okay, Fluttershy," Rainbow said. "If it helps you to know, there were tons of changeling sob stories just like this one's back on the Light Side... but I was ultimately able to help out most of them. Chrysalis too."
"Do you think there's such a hope for Tchern and her hive?"
Rainbow had no response.
"Come on, darlin'..." Applejack gave Fluttershy a gentle push. "Time to count sheep hoppin' over the edge of the world."
"Mmmmmmm... sheep..." Fluttershy happily drifted into a ruby portal and vanished. "Nini..."
"I would love to say something sweet, charismatic, and inspiring, but..." Rarity yawned. "I haven't any."
"Jee, thanks Rarity," Rainbow droned with a smug grin.
"You're welcome, darling." And she vanished. Twilight hovered after her.
"If you find anything out about Darkreach while we're away, you'll tell us first thing we wake..." The lavender unicorn raised an eyebrow. "Right?"
"You betcha, egghead. Now don't get cracked."
"Hmmm... I won't." Twilight drifted backwards into ruby oblivion. "Take care, Rainbow... Pinkie..."
Applejack drifted after her. "Funny..."
"Hmmm?" Rainbow craned her neck.
"... ... ...that the changeling would choose to attack you as me at one point."
Rainbow froze in place. Her muzzle paled slightly.
Applejack tilted her hat back. "Reckon them bug-horses have many different ways of messin' with ya."
"Yeah." Rainbow gulped. "They do."
"Heh... yer somethin' else, Rainbow." Applejack tipped her hat one last time and vanished. "Keep up the good work."
"You bet, AJ." Rainbow exhaled with relief. "So..." Her ears perked as she looked at Pinkie. "Just you and me for a while, Pinks. Like old times."
"Soooooooooo who's Miss Clunk-a-Junk?" Pinkie asked, eyebrows wagging.
"Buh?"
"Y'knowwwwwwwww..." Pinkie giggle-snorted. "The pony with the metal eyes and red braids that the changeling turned into?"
Rainbow's ears drooped. "Buh."