//------------------------------// // Dark Reach and Chill // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash lay on her side in the dark. A cramped chamber enveloped her—a bunk built for an ancient pony. The place was still filled with ancient junk... junk left behind hastily by ancient hooves. And yet—in each dim-lit blink that the restless mare made—she could have sworn it looked like somepony had lived in there just one month ago. Rainbow only chose that particular chamber to rest in because the cushions were angled in such a way that they mimicked a curved hammock. It still wasn't enough to put her to sleep. The mare's nostrils flared. She stared at the ceiling... at the random nick-nacks, tools, and patchwork pieces of paper lingering from an expedition long gone. Rainbow Dash wasn't alone. One of her friends was "keeping watch" during her rest. She knew this because— "Rainbow, darling?" Rainbow's nostrils flared yet again. "What is it, Rarity?" A little fashion horse ghost phased through the wall flanking her bed. "Are you asleep?" Rainbow's ears twitched. "I dunno. You tell me." "Oh! Uhm... terribly sorry." Rarity smiled nervously. "I won't bother you." And she sank slowly like a marshmallow in rusted tar. Rainbow clenched her eyes shut. With a droning voice, she said, "Go ahead, Rarity." That squishy, pale phase emerged just beyond the wall. "No. It's not important. Return to your slumbers." "Rarity, there are no slumbers." "But...!" Rarity half-emerged once again, muzzle agape. "You've been lying still all this lengthy time!" "Believe me. I know." "But you really should get some—" "Rarity, I'm awake. Just talk to me, already." Rainbow gulped. "And thanks—y'know—for k-keeping watch all this time." "Don't mention it, darling." Rarity floated above the mare. She waved a dainty fetlock. "I'm more than happy to." "So..." Rainbow breathed. "What's on your mind?" "Does mane conditioner extend permanently beyond the afterlife?" the unicorn melodically squeaked, fluffing her mane as she muttered aloud. "If only I had this gift back when I was not a weightless eidolon." "Mrnnnnghhh..." Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Is that really what you wanted to talk about?" "Hmm?" Rarity's eyelashes fluttered. "What?! No! Of course not!" She cleared her throat and "sank" down until she was floating parallel to Rainbow. "Much rather, I was wondering about the fate of the Darkreach Expedition." "Uh huh..." "You don't suppose that they..." Rarity bit her bottom lip. "That they what, Rarity?" "That... that they returned to the Light Side?" Rarity gulped. "All of them?" At that, Rainbow sat up halfway. She arched an eyebrow. "You mean you think they gave up?" "Well, think about it, darling," Rarity said. "They came over here—all mortals—and they found themselves tasked with having to fill this dreadful place with cumbersome equipment. Then they had to map the landscape, deal with the local wildlife, find horrid ways to subsist on the unforgiving, arid earth..." "They were tasked by royal authority, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said. "Alicorn Royal Authority. Emeraldine and Equestria aren't all that different from one another. Ponies are super-duper dedicated to the ones in charge. Do you think that Twilight's brother and sister-in-law are gonna turn tail and head back to Equestria along with their whole expedition just 'cuz they've been waiting in Ward for so friggin' long?" "I certainly wouldn't blame them!" "Rrnnngh..." Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead. "Rarity..." "Alright, maybe not Shining Armor and Princess Cadance," Rarity said. "No doubt Sturke is treating them with absolute respect and an abundance of luxuries." "Uh huh..." "But who would fault the Emeraldinians? Especially since we don't know precisely how long they struggled here inside this mesa?" "We know bits and pieces," Rainbow quietly said. "Kepler estimates from the recorded entries that they were holding out for at least seven recorded years." "Seven years, Rainbow Dash?!" Rarity blanched. "For a mission of such importance, that's an awfully short time for them to commit!" Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe something drove them out. We had a changeling hatch here, remember?" "Wouldn't you think this place would be in greater disarray?" Rarity remarked. "And all of the equipment that Flynn and Logan found! I mean... why did they leave so many useful tools behind?" Rainbow tiredly rubbed her head again. "You've got me there, Rares..." "So..." Rarity folded her fetlocks as she thought out loud: "I would venture to guess that dread and bitter spirits overwhelmed them... and they simply retreated." "Just like that..." "Well, m-maybe there was a coup!" "There's no evidence of that kind of unrest in Ranort's logs." "But Kepler hasn't listened to every single entry yet!" "Well, true..." Rainbow nodded. "But that makes it just as stupid to assume anything, then." "I personally believe a spontaneous retreat makes sense." "Uh huh..." "Because..." Rarity gestured with her fetlocks. "...the guilt and shame of doing so would likely explain why they left all of their materials and notes behind. If they abandoned Darkreach, they would have done so completely! Both in reality as well as in concept!" "I have a hard time imagining that Commander Gwen would have let them just... up and leave," Rainbow said. "She and Warhol sounded awfully committed." "No doubt a few hung back," Rarity said. "They likely would have made the journey to the Midnight Armory alone... with less-than-stellar results." "Well, that's grim," Rainbow droned. "One cannot help but think that way, darling," Rarity said. "I don't think that way." "Well..." Rarity fluffed her mane with a slight smile. "Perhaps there's hope for you yet. I don't know whether to feel saddened or envious." "But what of Rohbredden?" Rainbow Dash remarked. "Onyxxus was preparing to give up the ghost right when Darkreach was founded," she said. "Those who ditched this place wouldn't have had alicorn assistance in sneaking past Verlax, much less getting back through the Grand Choke." "Do you really think they'd live with themselves if they made it all the way back to Emeraldine?" "... ... ..." Rainbow Dash laid back with a sigh. She gazed lethargically at the ceiling. "No, I suppose they wouldn't." "I'd venture to say they landed in the Twilight Lands east of Frostknife... found a quiet patch of farmland and... disappeared into the populace." "What of the Gondola?" "Isn't it obvious? They sent it back to the Dark Side... and then they sunk the Light Side's end of it—just as you and the Herald first found it after you gained your sights from Utaan." "Mmmmm..." Rainbow blinked. "It's certainly a theory, alright." "Not one that I enjoy coming up with, I assure you." "Have you run it by Twilight?" "Why should I?" "Because... she's smart?" Rarity floated over to look her anchor squarely in the face. "I'm bringing it by you, Rainbow Dash." "Why?" "Isn't it obvious?" Rarity swallowed. "You're our leader, darling." Rainbow looked at her. "You're the leader of the whole pack. Fluttershy... Applejack... Pinkie Pie... all of us. We answer to you and we go where you go. We believe in you." Rainbow muttered, "Only because you have no choice." "Rainbow..." Rarity floated closer, her expression stern and unwavering. "Do you honestly... truly believe that we are all with you on this journey because there simply is no other option?" "Rarity..." "Do you not remember the stubborn lengths we went to avoid you back in... mmmm... b-back in Red Barge?" "... ... ..." "It certainly hasn't been a perfect adventure... or entirely pleasant by any means... but you inspire us, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. She floated proud and upright. "In your courage and your tenacity and your learned experience—you've given us all something to hope for. There's more to just acquiring the Harmonic Prism and bringing it back to Ponyville. There's retribution for you, darling. For all of us." "I... don't know about all of that..." "Well, I do." Rarity nodded. "And way back when—in the innocent days of Equestrian sunsets—Twilight may have been calling most of the shots. But she wasn't the one who taught us bravery... or the simple, redeeming qualities of action." Rainbow said nothing. With a smug smile, Rarity leaned in and whispered in Rainbow's ear. "Need I also remind you whose sonic rainboom united usssssss?" She leaned back, eyelashes fluttering. "It's destiny, darling!" "Destiny could stand to be less of a dick," Rainbow said. "Unh! Rainbow, darling!" Rarity fanned herself, laughing airily. "Ohhhhh how I wish I could just slap you at times!" "Mrmmmff..." Rainbow exhaled. "Save it for a time when you'll be less proud of me." "How do you figure?" "We're not the Darkreach Expedition," Rainbow said firmly. "We're not the past or the future... we're now." Rainbow's eyes darted towards her. "Like somepony very awesome once said, 'There's no stopping this train we're on.'" "I very much appreciate the sentiment, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "But I am... currently suffering any attempts to make out your specific meaning." "Namely this." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "We are not returning to Equestria without the Harmonic Prism." Rarity nodded in gentle silence. "I mean it. Either we get what's inside the Midnight Armory..." Rainbow gulped. "Or we don't come back at all. It's do or die. Literally. It's... always been." Silence. "Do you understand that, Rarity?" Rainbow asked. "That is where the courage's at. Not in me—it's in the journey." "Oh Rainbow, darling..." Rarity reached a hoof over in an affection gesture. Although it phased through Rainbow's shoulder, the fashionista's expression was solid enough for the two of them. "It's so very insulting to assume that I haven't known that. Always."