//------------------------------// // Close Encounters: Fuzzy Kind // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "Well, if you ask me..." Ariel guided a somewhat dizzy Rainbow to her tent. "It's well enough that we've got Seraphimus' promise that she'll no longer try to rip your throat out from under your chin." "She... never exactly said it in those words," Rainbow Dash stammered. She teetered slightly in mid-trot, still recovering from the effect of the spider venom. With Ariel's assistance, she made it to a pile of blankets inside the tent and plopped down on folded legs. "Mrmmmff... but it's close enough, I s-suppose." "I wish you'd reconsider," Ariel said. Her eyes were briefly firm. "If you ask me—we're better off without her angst and... and... grimdark bullcrap." Rainbow merely sighed. She sat in place, rubbing her head. "Uh huh... ... ..." "I mean, things here on the Dark Side are shitty enough without her having to make us feel even more intimidated," Ariel muttered. She stood in the entrance to the tent, frowning out towards the gray urbanity, as if looking for a pale griffin to stab with her angry gaze. "Abaddon and Merula have made it clear to us. We have to grab these Shards of Endrax if we wanna get inside the Midnight Armory." "Right..." "And if we can actually convince one of the factions to work with us—then why not put everything towards making that happen?! I mean... that friggin' Talon Commander's gotta realize that not every living soul in this world has gotta be as miserable and friendless as her!" "I don't want to accept the fact that she's 'friendless,' Ariel." "Pffft!" Ariel scoffed. "What are you looking for, volunteers?!" Rainbow looked up at her, briefly glaring. Ariel cleared her throat. "I-I mean she's tried to kill us before, Rainbow Dash. Multiple times." "Wouldn't be the worst soul I've won over." "I fail to see how Seraphimus is any close to being 'won over," Ariel huffed. "She really should have more faith in you. She should have faith in things period!" "Or maybe..." Rainbow brushed her bangs back, sighing. "...having a stark, pessimistic perspective like hers could actually be helpful." She gulped. "Life-saving." "Rainbow, if you think there's a chance we can appeal to the Bloodwings, then we should give it a chance! It's as simple as that!" "You... Wildcard... even Kepler and the rest..." "Huh?" Ariel blinked. "What about us?" Rainbow looked squarely at her. "You treat me too nicely. You know that, right?" Ariel squirmed where she stood. The mare avoided Rainbow's gaze as she murmured, "How... else are we supposed to treat you, Rainbow?" She swallowed. "I-I mean... you're the Austraeoh. You're the hope of this world... of worlds beyond." "And when Mortuana prepared you in your long, long wait... was she all sunshine and roses?" "I... I don't get it, Rainbow." Ariel exhaled. "What are you trying to say?" "I'm saying... I'm thinking..." Rainbow slumped even further on her haunches, ears folding back. "...that I really need to sleep off this friggin' spider crap in my blood." "Heh..." Ariel nodded with a weak smile. "Fair enough. Do you need anything from me in the meantime? Some food? An extra blanket?" "I need you to live, Ariel." "Huh?" Rainbow waved a fetlock. "I'm good, girl. Go on and hang with the rest of the gang. Just..." She rubbed her dizzied head, wincing slightly. "...don't let me snooze for too long." "You got it, Rainbow." Ariel trotted off, slapping the tent flap shut with a flick of her tail. "Ni-ni!" Rainbow Dash hung her head. Once the Heraldite was gone, she became acutely aware of her ghostly companions drawing tighter around her. "That Ariel..." Fluttershy smiled calmly. "She can really be adorable when she wants to be." "You mean all the time?" Rarity asked, rolling her eyes with a smile. "Mmmmm. Yes." "Well, somepony's gotta be cheery among this crazy somber bunch!" Pinkie Pie blurted. "Logan's only ever grumpy or sassy! Wildcard's quiet as a glacier! Flynn can't stop complaining about stuff!" "They've got a lot of stress on 'em, Pinkie," Applejack said. "More stress than any of us can imagine." "Pfffft!" Pinkie frowned. "You mean we're not allowed to be stressed?! There's nothing we can do about where we are or where we're headed!" "Right. But they've always got something they can or can't do. That's what makes it all the more stressful. Havin' agency but still feelin' hopeless." Applejack sighed. "Believe me. After so many years of workin' on the farm, I still couldn't quite live with myself when I knew that the harvest was fallin' behind. Even when there was nothin' I could do to prevent it!" "I wouldn't call this situation hopeless," Fluttershy said. "Just... mmmm... really really really really scary." "Three armies, Fluttershy, darling," Rarity emphasized. "Rainbow's friends have to contend with three whole armies that stand between her and the Midnight Armory. If you ask me, the situation would have been greatly less stressful if these blasted Shards weren't a factor. But now we can no longer make a path straight for the Harmonic Prism, can we?" "I'm with Fluttershy on this," Twilight Sparkle spoke up. "It's not a hopeless situation—or an impossible one! Just... a very dangerous one." She motioned towards their anchor. "And our best friend here has dealt with dangerous situations before, hasn't she?" "Yeah!" Pinkie Pie nodded. "Long before we tagged along!" "Gotta admit, though, Twilight." Applejack squirmed. "This one's a real whizz-banger of a situation. One group of ponies? Against three whole armies?" "Ponies, griffins, and a wyverrrrrrrrrn!" Pinkie said, tongue dangling. "Right." Applejack rolled her eyes. "Even still—when was the last time Equestria ever had to contend with an entire army... much less three of them?" "Long before any of us were foaled," Fluttershy exhaled. "That's for certain." "It begs the question, though." Rarity looked at Twilight. "What would Princess Celestia do in a situation like this?" "You're asking me?" "Well, of course, darling! You were her most faithful student, after all." "Uh... she still is, Rarity?" Pinkie glared. "She's only half-dead, y'know! All of us are!" Rarity sighed, then threw Twilight an apologetic glance. "A thousand pardons, Twilight. I trust you knew what I meant." "Well..." Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Ever since Seraphimus opened her beak, I've been dwelling on the situation nonstop. And... I-I can't deny it..." She looked at the others. "Princess Celestia absolutely would seek a diplomatic solution to this entire Trinary War crisis. Without a doubt! She'd seek a way to make everypony happy and cause as few casualties as possible!" "And it makes me very happy to hear that," Fluttershy said with an earnest expression. "Let's not let Seraphimus' words sour the harmony in our hearts." "Yeah..." Applejack nodded, her muzzle scrunching. "Until our hearts get plum ripped out!" "Guh!" Rarity twitched. "Applejack!" "Toastyyyyy!" Pinkie Pie sing-songed. "The Princess Celestia yer talkin' about is the same alicorn who had to banish her sister to the moon for a thousand years to stave off a war with the very same 'Bloodwings'!" Applejack exclaimed. "She and Luna once had to give Discord the zap! Not to mention a buncha other nasty varmints who are now livin' out their days in Tartarus even as we speak!" She gestured. "I hate to be the depressin' pony in the room, but there are some thangs that Celestia herself simply wouldn't fix with a heartfelt speech. Otherwise... there'd be no Equestria back home for Rainbow to save!" "I'll agree with most of that, true..." Rarity nodded. "But that doesn't mean she wouldn't at least try to bridge some sort of communication gap." "Except that Luna herself said that these here Bloodwings may be beyond reasonin' with," Applejack added. "And Celestia sure didn't make any attempt to correct her." Fluttershy looked at Twilight. "If Celestia was here and she wanted to approach this situation peacefully... how do you think she would go about doing it?" "Well... here's the more important question," Twilight said. "Why do wars even happen to begin with?" "Because countries need more oil!" Pinkie suggested. "Because everypony refuses to compromise," Twilight finished. "I knew that!" "Yes, there's only one Harmonic Prism inside the Armory," Twilight said. "But that's not the important factor." She raised a hoof. "What matters is what each faction wants from the Harmonic Prism." "You mean how they reckon it'll benefit them?" Applejack asked. "I figured they all just want power and control over the entire plane," Rarity stated. "Both Dark Side and Light Side." "All we know so far is what the Bloodwings want," Twilight said. "On account of their ardent desire to restore Equestria to eternal night under the rule of Nightmare Moon. The Prism—supposedly—could grant them this ability." "But Nightmare Moon no longer exists," Fluttershy stated. "And Princess Luna has disavowed everything to do with the Lunar Rebellion." "So... if we could somehow convince the Bloodwings that Nightmare Moon is no longer their de defacto leader..." Rarity thought out loud. "...it would eliminate their need for the Harmonic Prism... and thus end their need to be in the Trinary War." "Somehow, I dun think it could be that easy," Applejack said. "No. But it's still a feasible course of action," Twilight said. "I know that the Dark Vigil isn't the same sarosians as those whom we encountered at Bleak's Plummet. But—still—we just can't ignore what went down with Xarchellus' flock when Rainbow presented herself with Luna's enchantment." "But... even if we do get close enough to scratch the Bloodwings' leafy ears..." Pinkie Pie rubbed her head, muzzle scrunching. "What about the changelings and the Deadly Nightlight Gang? Can we actually convince three whole groups of bad guys to stop doing the bad guy thing?" "Rainbow's experience with Queen Chrysalis has taught us quite a bit about the changelings and what they want out of the Harmonic Prism," Twilight Sparkle declared. "Maybe the fact that Chrysalis has turned herself in to the Val Roan government and freed her hive could... could have an effect on Tchern's aspirations here on the Dark Side. But that's kind of a stretch." Twilight squirmed. "As for the Night Shard... I-I still can't figure them out." "I'm not s-sure I want to," Fluttershy said, trembling. "What do you think, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight looked at their anchor. "You experienced Abaddon's vision the deepest out of anypony here. Did you learn anything—even an inkling—about the Night Shard? Anything to suggest what they're after the Harmonic Prism for?" Silence. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Rainbow...?" The other ghostly mares crowded around. "Rainbow, darling?" Rarity cocked her head. "What in heaven's name are you doing?" While the others were talking, their anchor was fiddling with the fabric of the bed. Using two petite hooves, Rainbow had caused a rough, random pattern to form. Folds materialized in random curves and half-circles beneath her, and Rainbow seemed very-very intent on manifesting the next one— "Rainbow? You okay, sugarcube?" Upon hearing Applejack's voice, Rainbow snapped out of it. She looked up. "Hmmm?" Her friends gaped at her. "... ... ...I'm... really tired..." Rainbow teetered as she said this. "Just... gotta..." Her eyelids hung heavy. "...think about nothing for a bit." "That's easy!" Pinkie Pie grinned. "I think about nothing all the time!" She winked at the others. "I think that makes me 'funnihilist!'" "No," Rarity exhaled. "Just rest yer head, sugarcube," Applejack said, glancing at the others. "Leave the stressin' to us for a bit." "Easier said than done," Rainbow curled up into a fuzzy little ball, and soon she was disproving herself.