//------------------------------//
// Nauseated Pegasi Shouldn't Ride 
// Story: Ofolrodi 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

For the last two days, Rainbow Dash had only known the upper platforms of the abandoned city.  Courtesy of the orb weavers, she and her two griffin companions had cleared every level of that visible urbanscape in less than two minutes.

The three continued to descend, dropping like tethered anvils through the metallic forest of spires and bridges and more spires.  The most haunting thing was how soundless the plunge was.  Not even the slightest hint of a tremor or vibration could be heard emitting from the silken strings between the arachnids' spinnerets and an unseen ceiling above.  To Rainbow's surprise, the city became even denser:  more and more skycrapers emerged from the lower depths like metal cattails jutting out of an impossibly deep pond.  While it was an eerily smooth descent, it was also incredibly smooth.  The orb weavers practiced immaculate counterbalance, and if it weren't for the spindly legs looming in Rainbow's peripheral, she would have imagined she was floating towards the core of the plane on her own volition.

With a tinge of nervousness, Rainbow gripped the edges of the "gondola" that she was in.  Craning her neck, she could spot the other two seats with her companions in them.  Rainbow saw Seraphimus; the former Commander was stirring noticeably, no doubt just as curious about the situation as she was.  Wildcard—naturally—sat nearly motionless, taking the entire situation in stride.  As the three continued to drop, the twilight up above vanished almost completely.  The only light Rainbow could spot was the sheen of stars against the midsection of skyscrapers rippling up past her vantage point.

She breathed heavier, her wings tightening behind her back.  It was around this point—as the deepening shadows blinded her to the legs of her invertebrate hosts—that she became more aware of her ghostly companions huddled along with her.

"Gotta hoof it to ya, sugarcube," Applejack rambled.  "You've got a mighty strong spine for stuff like this."

Rarity gulped.  "What she said, darling..."

"Heck, the closest I ever came to a spooky trip like this was this one time I had to clean out the old well that Ma and Pa dug up years ago in the north field."  Her freckled muzzle scrunched.  "That nasty thang was filled to the brim with vampire fruit bats.  I had shimmied halfway down the shaft via rope, and the moment I shone a light they all flew into my face.  Whew... ain't ashamed to admit that I couldn't sleep for a whole week after that!"

"Thanks, AJ," Rainbow Dash droned.  "That's... uh..."  Her ears flicked as she tried to make sense of the environment teetering darkly around her.  "...that's pretty encouraging."

"Well, Dashie doesn't have to be too freaked out about this visit!" Pinkie Pie chirped.  "These spider-roos don't mean no harm to her!  Ain't that right, Applejack?"

Before Applejack could respond—

"There was something that changed about them, though, right?"  Twilight Sparkle peered across the silken gondola.  "A shift in perspective, perhaps?  Opinion?"

Applejack groaned breathily.  "I ain't sure exactly what I sensed.  But there's definitely been a change to our resident spokespony... er ... spokesbug?"

"Rather late in the game to bother speculating about it now, isn't it?" Rarity remarked.

"Shoot, Rares..."  Applejack shrugged.  "Reckon it wouldn't hurt to simply ask Merula what's up."

"I should have thought about that earlier while I was still in the twilight," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"It's not too late, Rainbow," Fluttershy said, shaking her head.

Rainbow turned to look at her.  "Can you even sense Merula?"

"I... think...?"

"You think?"

Fluttershy pointed out into the thickening shadows.  "We're not alone..."

Pinkie and Twilight exchanged nervous glances.

Eyes thinning, Rainbow Dash reached a hoof blindly up to her neck and rubbed the lightning bolt of her pendant.  A ruby beam of light shot out from where she was seated in the descending vehicle of silk.  It shone off the bent, spindly legs holding her—revealing patches of yellow and black coloration to the spidery limbs.  The beam then caught the gloss in the gondolas seating Seraphimus and Wildcard.  Rainbow spotted a glint to Wildcard's goggles.  Then—the spotlight shifted—and Rainbow's light reflected off eight dark spots looming parallel to her, equipped with fangs, twitching pedipalps, and a scarlet-dappled cephalothorax.

"Guhh—!"  Rainbow Dash flinched heavily.  For the first time since her descent began, her shifting weight caused the gondola to sway.  She swung towards the target that had startled her: a massive tunnel-weaver that was descending evenly with her gondola from a thick spinneret.  Somehow, the creatures gripping her vehicle compensated for the swaying motion, and Rainbow was steadied again.  Her descent slowed slightly in the grip of the spiders, and she calmed down in time for her pendant to illuminate the fuzzy speaker riding the body of the descending tunnel-weaver across from her.

"We did nottttt mean to starttttle you, Austraeoh," spoke the familiar tonal voice of Merula.  Hatchlings perched on her body and the silk construct positioned before her.  The rapid descent required most of the tunnel-weaver's concentration, and its shifting body parts caused the makeshift voice-box of its rider to distort ever so slightly.  "We forgotttt that you are not as accustttttomed to the darkness as the Queen's Children."

Rainbow gulped.  "That's quite alright.  I... uh... I'll manage."

"The Austraeoh is resourceful," Merula said, her voice box stabilizing as she swayed less and less.  Rainbow's ruby spotlight illuminated a sphere of blurring buildingsides behind her.  "Nevertheless, it is the duty of the Songstress' Hatchlings to escort her safely to the Ever Lyricist's lair."

"And that's very nice of..."  Rainbow Dash stumbled in mid-speech.  Her eyes narrowed.  "...you?"

At first, Rainbow's ghostly friends were confused as to why Rainbow was slurring her words.  They craned their necks as they looked at their arachnid escort, and soon they understood why.  Merula's glossy exoskeleton was a vibrant green color.  An emerald shine coated her fangs and pedipalps.

"You are not Merula," Rainbow declared.

The jumping spider replied with alarming swiftness... and confidence.  "We All-Singers are all Merula," she declared.  "Translation of the Queen's Song is our supreme purpose."

Rainbow gritted her teeth.  "The Merula I know is a shiny blue."

"Indeed," the jumping spider replied, green abdomen shaking.  "The color upon hatching is random.  It is the hue of the lyrics that remain the same."

"I... I don't understand..."  Rainbow muttered.

Twilight Sparkle spoke up.  "It's like a hive mind, Rainbow," she explained.  "They're all attuned to giving you the same message."

Rainbow blinked.  "... ... ...what happened to the Merula I was speaking to previously?"

The Merula seated atop the descending tunnel-weaver before her answered casually:  "She committed her soul to song, as she had so committed her body.  The chorus continues uninterrupted, by the Queen's Glory."

Applejack spoke quietly:  "She's tellin' the truth, RD."

Fluttershy let loose a tiny, melancholic squeak.  Rarity gently squeezed her shoulders.

Rainbow Dash eyed the miniscule hatchlings perched all along the jumping spider's limbs.  "I guess 'Winter Children' is as literal as it gets."  She gulped.  "Just how long do all of you live, anyways?"

"All is Eternal in the Song," Merula said with confidence.  "We do not dwell on the finite, for even in a brief glimpse we are given a portion of the infinite."  Her abdomen shook.  "In the unfathomable days of Spring, Summer, and Autumn—we knew longevity.  But the darkness has encompassed everything outside the lair, and ourselves in turn.  The Austraeoh's Spark comes to change that... and to fix the Break in the Circles."

"No wonder they're helpless against the Hunt of the Bloodwings," Rarity stated in a pitying tone.  "And the Keepers and the Night Shard!"  Her ears folded back.  "They barely live long enough to put up a fight beyond the limits of this city..."

"They can only sing the Queen's Song," Fluttershy said, sniffling.  "All these millennia... they've been holding out for a chance to share their tune..."

"Rainbow..."  Applejack looked towards their anchor.  "...there's still somethin' unspoken."

Pinkie bit her lip.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow looked at Merula once again.  "Merula, there's something you haven't told me."

Twilight winced at Rainbow's straightforwardness.

Merula's forelimbs shifted ever so slightly, pulling at the strings.  "We do not understand."

"No, perhaps you don't."  Rainbow leaned forward in her descending gondola.  "I don't think you mean to lie to me, but there's something that's shaken the translation of the song."  Her brow furrowed.  "It's something you... must think I'm not capable of handling..."

Merula was silent.

"I am a mortal after all," Rainbow Dash said.  "I'm awesome... but also fragile... at least by your standards.  All the more reason for you to share absolutely everything with me."  She shrugged visibly.  "Because if somehow you blow this, then that's all she wrote on Austraeoh."  She shook her head.  "Your precious Queen of Strings won't get another chance at kindling the Spark.  Imagine all of those ageless promises made to the likes of Ilrifa and Gardez... completely wasted."

Twilight nervously glanced between Rainbow and Merula.

At last, the jumping spider responded through the silken construct:  "It has been many movements of the Symphony since the Ever Poet attempted communicating directly with a mortal being.  It is one thing for the Song to be heard.  It is another thing altogether for it to be understood."

"I..."  Rainbow blinked rapidly.  "...I don't understand."

"The Song carries itself through the blood of the Winter Children," Merula explained.  "For that which wasn't hatched by the Songstress' glory, they must partake in the blood to be a proper audience."

"Partake... in the blood...?"  Rainbow Dash's voice cracked.

Merula's fangs shifted.  "So as to connect the mind with the Chorus.  For a short duration, the Austraeoh will be like a Winter Child herself—in spirit but not in body.  There will be no loss of one's expected years, but the experience may in fact be unpleasant... for a mortal such as yourself."

"Rainbow..."  Twilight Sparkle leaned in.  "...I think she's speaking about an injection."

"An injection?!"  Pinkie practically squealed.  "An injection of what?"

"What else...?"  Rarity shuddered.  "Look at those dreadful fangs!"

"Wait..."  Pinkie Pie grimaced.  "So they gotta bite Dashie for her to take a bite out of their song?"

"It makes sense to me," Fluttershy said.  "Whatever chemistry allows the Winter Children to abide by a hive mind would be passed on to Rainbow Dash... albeit temporarily."

"How do we know it's safe?!"  Rarity exclaimed.

Rainbow took a deep breath.  "You said that Abaddon has tried this on a mortal before?"

"Indeed," Merula replied calmly.  "Several revolutions ago, she had arrived from Paradise with a pack of mortal companions to greet us in the upper city—much like you have.  And although the strings did not vibrate with the tonality of Ilrifa's promise, she agreed to become an audience to the Immortal Poet.  She lent her Penumbral blood and listened to the song."

"Did... she have a name?"

"Gwen," Merula declared.  "So the Winter Lyrics maintain."

Twilight gasped.  "Commander Gwen!"  She beamed at Rainbow and the others.  "The leader of the Emeraldinians!  She must have arrived here along with Ranort and Warhol after abandoning Darkreach!"

Rainbow looked warily at the jumping spider.  "This Commander Gwen..."  A gulp.  "...did she survive... sh-sharing the blood of the Winter Children?"

"Yes."

Rainbow flashed Applejack a look.

Applejack waved her forelimb back and forth.

Rainbow frowned at Merula.  "But...?"

The jumping spider's abdomen shook.  "She was indisposed for a considerably lengthy period of time afterwards.  Eventually, she regained her senses completely and left with her companions, venturing deep into the Dihmer lands.  The Song maintains that she lived a full and healthy life—for a mortal."

"Well..."  Pinkie Pie shrugged.  "I guess that's peachy keen to know!"

"That's smashing for the Commander, I suppose," Rarity remarked.  She then shivered.  "But not exactly promising for Rainbow Dash..."

There was a slight growl to Rainbow's voice.  "Is there a reason you chose not to tell me about this 'blood-sharing' stuff earlier?"

Merula responded simply:  "The Ever Poet's Song speaks nothing but praise and admiration for the qualities of the Austraeoh.  It did not occurr to us—the Winter Children—that Ilrifa's gift might hesitate to partake in the Song.  However, when she requested to be accompanied by members of Eljunbyro, we realized that the Song had not completely prepared us for the decisions that the Austraeoh might make.  The Winter Children are not used to that which cannot be predicted.  The Penumbral blood in the Austraeoh is brighter than expected—which can only be natural for such a Spark, admittedly."

Rainbow looked at Applejack again.

Applejack gave a calm nod.

"Yeah, well..."  Rainbow looked at Merula once more.  "It's not quite as 'bright' as you might think."  A gulp.  "A few run-ins with Gardez's runt of the litter sorta cast a shade or two.  Let's just say not everything's gone as I expected either."

From across the urbanscape, Rainbow heard Seraphimus' voice echoing:  "Is something amiss?"

"Awwwwwww..."  Fluttershy smiled.  "She almost sounds concerned!"

"Not with that tone," Pinkie Pie gluttered.  "She's the same ol' General Meat-a-Grind!"

"Pinkie..."  Applejack smirked.  "Anypony ever tell you that yer positively radiant when yer full of it?"

"Say what?"

Rainbow cleared her throat and peered across the pitch-black descent.  "Everything's fine, Sera!"  Her voice echoed across unseen strings.  "Just wrapping up a few things with our tourist guide here!"

Rainbow's spotlight caught the glint of two separate catbird headcrests.  The three continued to drop into the silken chambers below.

Taking a calm breath, Rainbow looked squarely at Merula again.  "Whatever happens... I don't want you doing or saying anything to alarm my friends," she said.  "I'm trusting you here."  She glared.  "Got it?  The Austraeoh is relying on this not to royally screw me over.  Wouldn't want to re-break the Circles, now, would we?"

"Affirmative."

"... ... ...sooooo..."  Rainbow fidgeted.  "Does that mean—?"

"By the Song of the Queen of Strings, the Austraeoh shall emerge unharmed," Merula declared.  "The Winter Children have pledged their legacy to this moment."

Rainbow nodded, looking in Applejack's direction.  "That's a pretty honest pledge."

"We assure you that the nausea will be unnoticeable next to the glory of the Chorus."

"Uh... huh..."  Rainbow gulped.  "...just how much did this Gwen... like... throw up or whatcrap after 'sharing the blood?'"

"We do not have that encapsulated in song."

"Oh!  Well... good!"  Rainbow smiled.  "That must mean it wasn't much to talk about—"

"We simply do not have the breadth of lyrics to properly describe the sheer volume of regurgitation that transpired."

Rainbow's pupils shrank.  "Oh..."

Fluttershy and Pinkie winced.

"Whelp..."  Rainbow peered straight down as her ears tickled with a rapidly increasing symphony of violin strings, growing closer and closer.  "...party hard, I guess..."