Shortly after waking...
Under the endless twilight...
The Herald trudged uphill. A stone plateau stretched over two lengths of glowing, fungal forests. The Hovercraft ascended with help of the lunar enchantment powering through its lower carriage manastones.
Logan and Ariel scouted ahead while Flynn operated the craft. Kepler was hunched over, examining the leftover remains of the cooked creature. He seemed pleased with his results, and he jotted notes down while smiling through his tusks. Seraphimus sat in the back, squirming visibly. Charcoal brown eyes squinted across the lengths of the wagon to where Wildcard and Rainbow Dash sat.
Wildcard was pointing straight at the sky.
Rainbow watched.
The Desperado placed both palms up and rotated them outward from the center while moving his beak. He repeated this a few times.
"'Sky,'" Twilight Sparkle murmured.
Fumbling, Rainbow attempted adorably to imitate this with her hooves—
Shaking his head, Wildcard placed a metal palm on Rainbow's shoulders to stop her. Next, he held a talon up... then stretched his metal palm out. He caught the glint of the luminescent heavens.
Rainbow looked at it, then at his goggles. "Starlight...?"
Wildcard simply cocked his head to the side.
"... ... ..." Rainbow Dash's ears twitched. "Stars."
Wildcard held a finger up. Then, he raised both hands with the pointing fingers aimed straight up and "stabbed" it a few times in quick succession.
"Well, there ya go," Applejack commented.
Wildcard grabbed Rainbow's attention again. He held one finger up, then repeated the last signal he had taught her. Right after, he counted off all the fingers of his hand, then repeated the signal... this time in a more prolonged manner and moving both hands from the right to left.
Rainbow's brow furrowed.
"I think the first example was singular," Twilight explained. "'Star.' But the last one he just did is plural. 'Stars.'"
"Cooly crispies!" Pinkie stated.
"I get it." Rainbow nodded. Her eyes narrowed. "What's 'moon?'"
Wildcard swiftly hooked his right hand up, formed a crescent with his thumb and pointing finger, and wobbled it just above the right side of his head.
"Nifty," Rainbow said, giggling slightly.
With Rainbow watching, Wildcard then moved the right hand lower while forming a somewhat parallel signal with his metal hand. After this, he returned to performing the original signal, but rotated the hand downward, pivoting, then closing the fingers. At one point, he formed a "C" with his right hand, then brought his left hand up to the other with the same signal in reverse and "wrung" them both shut.
"The hay is he doin' now?" Applejack remarked.
"I believe he's doing the lunar cycle," Twilight murmured.
"Dude... Wildcard..." Rainbow fought the urge to giggle again. She smiled wide. "I know we've got some time on our hooves, but t-take it a bit slow... will ya?"
Sometime that evening...
The Herald roasted two spits worth of meat. Logan had slain four more reptilian creatures—enough to feed the camp. This allowed Rainbow Dash a heartier helping of non-meat rations for the evening. This was a good thing, for she was hungry—not just for mushrooms.
The petite pegasus sat on a rock, munching and munching. Her eyes were locked on Wildcard, seated across from her in the fire-lit camp site.
The Desperado pointed at the morsels in Rainbow's possession. He closed his right talons together and tapped them multiple times to his beak.
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow swallowed. "'Food?'"
Wildcard nodded. He pointed at the reptilian samples being roasted over open flame. He then held his metal hand out in a fan, all fingers pointed out. With his right talon, he clamped two fingers over the spot between his left thumb and left fingers. He shook both appendages slightly while mouthing with his beak.
Rainbow glanced at the cooked flesh... then back at Wildcard. "... ... ...'meat?'"
The Desperado nodded again. His goggles reflected Rainbow's muzzle as it scarfed down food. Holding a finger up, he smiled. Next, he hooked his right hand slightly and lowered it swiftly from his chest-feathers to the top of his gut. He did this with a raised eyecrest.
Rainbow giggled. "Yeah." She gulped. "I guess I am."
Another day...
Another trek...
Wildcard and Rainbow Dash were "scouting." In truth, they were just hovering leasurely above the Hovercraft and the rest of the Herald. Wildcard flew backwards, holding up his right talon in various positions.
"'S'," Rainbow Dash said, squinting at the locations of the griffin's claws. She glided slowly, taking in both the Desperado and the landscape surrounding. "'Q.'" A blink. "J.'" She concentrated. "'F.'"
Wildcard shook his head.
"Grnnngh..." Rainbow gnashed her teeth. "I mean 'B.'"
Wildcard nodded. He then did five symbols in quick succession.
Rainbow leaned forward, her muzzle agape as she concentrated. "'A'... 'R'... 'I'..." With a tiny pony gasp, her ears perked up. "'Ariel!' That's 'Ariel!'"
Wildcard nodded briskly.
"Woohoo!" Rainbow shouted down towards the arid landscape below. "Hey Ariel! I can spell you now!"
"That's great, Rainbow!" a voice hollered up. "Hey Wildcard! How about teaching her transitive verbs next?"
Twilight Sparkle snorted.
Rainbow tossed her a look. "What?"
"Nothing." Twilight shook a hoof, smiling. "Carry on."
Rainbow looked at her teacher. "What else you got?"
Wildcard began sounding off more letters.
"I think he's spelling 'KEPLER'—" Twilight began.
"Let me read it!" Rainbow snarled.
Another evening...
Another campsite...
Rainbow Dash was lying chest-first across a mat. She was attacked by yawns, and her eyelids hung heavy.
Nevertheless...
She watched as Wildcard circled the word "GRIFFIN" in the sand. He then produced a certifiably complex motion with both talons.
"Yowsers..." Rainbow yawned again. "...that's a tough one."
Wildcard shrugged... ultimately nodding.
"How about I just point at you when the time comes?"
Another shrug. Wildcard gestured across the way to where Seraphimus lay asleep.
"Jee... I dunno..." Rainbow smirked slightly. "Am I advanced enough to learn 'psychopath?'"
Wildcard snickered breathily. He slapped his two talons together in what Rainbow could only guess were three separate, swift retorts.
"Careful now, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Remember, they was once friends."
"Ehhh..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, fighting another yawn. "Sorry, dude. I doubt we'll be running into any griffins out here besides the two of you."
Wildcard ultimately nodded.
"... ... ..." Rainbow Dash squirmed where she lay. She tongued the inside of her muzzle. "... ... ...Wildcard?" She looked up, ears drooping slightly. "What's... the word for 'Bard?'"
Fluttershy and Rarity bit their lips.
Wildcard sat still. After a deep breath, he slowly shook his head.
"Awwwww..." Pinkie sulked. "He doesn't want to share."
"Not the case, Pinkie," Applejack corrected.
Rainbow looked at her, then at Wildcard. "Lemme guess... there's no word for it?"
Sadly, Wildcard nodded.
"Well... what did you used to use, anyways?" She smirked. "Aside from the middle finger, of course."
Wildcard smirked. However, after a contemplative breath, he turned deadpan and then held his left hand out, pointing one finger to the left. He held his right hand up in a fist at about head-level, then rotated it down towards the other hand. When both wrists made contact, his right finger stuck out and his thumb stuck up, almost resembling a "pistol."
"Huh..." Rarity tapped her chin in thought.
"Looks almost like a revolver." Twilight looked at the others. "Bard was sort of the gunslinger type, after all."
"Nah..." Applejack shook her head. "Ain't that simple. This one's closer to the heart."
Rainbow's eyes searched the firelight. Her hooves kneaded the sleeping mat as she looked up and breathed: "'Brother.'"
The ghostly mares looked on.
Wildcard slowly... slowly nodded.
Rainbow took a breath. She lay her chin against the mat and murmured. "What's 'sister?'"
Without hesitation, Wildcard spelled out two words.
Rainbow blinked. "Hmmmmm..." She curled up slightly against the mat, afflicted with a rosy smile. "Yeah, okay..."