//------------------------------// // Not Quite So Foolish // Story: Ofolrodi // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// The first of many Dihmers reached the top of a hill. His dull gray eyes peered towards Omega... then Alpha. At last—shifting the weight of the bloody meat sacks wrapped to his flank—he trotted briskly over the stone ridge and headed for a flat swath of land leading Curveside. "It is empty." "It is empty," repeated the second in line. "It returns." "It is empty," said the third in line. "It returns." "It returns." As the line of locals continued their mantra... ...the Herald struggled to catch up. They moved as briskly as they could, although their bodies were carrying three times the weight of any single Dihmer. "Do you... suppose..." Ariel panted and wheezed, her surly eyes locked on the featureless figures of the equines hiking ahead of them. "...that one of them thinks for the rest of them? Like... a hive mind or some sh-shit...?" "You mean like changelings?" Logan grunted. "Considering who brought them over here, seems to make sense." "No no no, good frriend," Kepler breathed, pacing himself and sweating through his fur. "One simply cannot inherrit telepathic abilities! Evolution may indeed be converrgent, but it is not contagious!" "Well I wish they'd evolve some manners," Ariel grunted, fumbling and struggling over the rocky shoals blocking the passage uphill. "Mrmffff... would it k-kill them to stop every once in a while and strike up conversation?" Seraphimus strolled along without breaking a sweat. "Considering whom they're used to interacting with, I'd say yes. It would." Ariel rolled her eyes. "Speaking of those you don't want to have conversations with..." "We would do well to learn all we can from them," Seraphimus said. "If we wish to survive—it is best to emulate those who have survived here for Goddess-knows how long." "That's just the thing that bothers me," Flynn huffed, catching up with Logan from behind. He used his telekinesis to carry twice as much as the others. "I mean... sure... kudos to them for surviving this long. But if that is what comes out the other end of all their legacy... th-then I'm not certain it's worth it!" Wildcard nodded, taking up the flank of the caravan. "Do not put too much unnecessary thought into it," Seraphimus said. "Considering the trials that are ahead of you and your leader, I doubt survivability is something most of us can expect." She shrugged in mid-hike. "I sure don't." Ariel laughed cynically. Flynn squinted his one good eye at her. "If your view of the future is do damned hopeless, why not join the Dihmers?" "Who knows." Seraphimus breathed. "Perhaps that is what I shall do." Wildcard glanced her way. "I'm not sure you'd gel with them, Sera," Logan said with a sweaty smirk. "Unless your angry ass enjoys being surrounded by a bunch of butt-naked horses hissing 'It fails! It fails!' on repeat!" "Bra-HA!" Kepler laughed while Ariel giggled. Seraphimus sighed. "... ... is it not enought that I've made a conscious effort to stop being adversarial? Is it not enough that I have endeavored to accompany you as long as I have? To have not simply... retired to the shadows of the spiders' forsaken city? Succumbed to utter despair with no plan to transcend myself?" Logan smirked. "There's the real reason you can't live with them freakazoids, Sera. Stubborn bitch or not... deep down inside you is something worth recognizing. A self. Looks like you recognize that now." "Soooooo..." Flynn's lips formed a crooked curve. "Looks like you're stuck with us." Wildcard brandished a knowing smile. Seraphimus' headcrest drooped as she quickened towards the front of the caravan so that the rest were behind her. "As least—around Dihmers—I would not get sick of their banal prattle." "Awwwwwww..." Ariel broke a smile in spite of her sweat. "She loves us!" "Most amorrous indeed..." Kepler added. Behind all of this, Rainbow trotted with her packs full of supplies. She wasn't feeling particularly labored, and Wildcard constantly glanced back to check on her. But, for what it was worth, Rainbow simply wanted to be in a position where she could spot the entirety of her group at any time. In the meantime, her anchored companions were talking: "I wonder..." Applejack tapped her chin in thought. "...was them Noble Jury friends of Rainbow quite so... keen on complainin' like the Herald are?" Twilight looked over. "Rainbow used to tell Rarity and me stories while we sailed the Seven Seas. I think the one who looked like me was famous for whining and moaning at times." Twilight squinted at their anchor. "What was his name again? Ebon Eye?" "Applejack, darling, don't be so hard on Rainbow's bosom buddies!" Rarity chided. "After all, we've all been ghosts for a dreadfully long time. Just how would we manage if we suddenly had to experience heavy labor for the first time in years?!" Applejack glared back at the fashionista. "I know for a fact that you've never done any hard labor in your life!" "And I don't intend to do any in the after-life! But that's not the point!" Rarity fanned herself as she looked at the sweaty bodies. "Day in and day out they have to exert themselves so!" "Day?" Pinkie's muzzle scrunched. "What day?!" Fluttershy giggled. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Notwithstanding..." She looked back at the others. "...it's easy for us to make snide comments about complaining when ponies like Rainbow and her friends have endured so many terrible hardships after all this time. I'd say we should go easy on them." "Well... reckon so..." Applejack adjusted her hat. "...but Rainbow seems to do a decent job swallowin' it up! Why can't they learn from her?" "Not everypony can be awesome like Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said with a wink. Cheeks rosy, she looked at their anchor. "Right, Rainbow?" Rainbow shrugged in mid-step. When she spoke, her voice cracked with the strain: "I'm just glad." "Glad for what?" Rarity fidgeted. "The awfully heavy load you're having to carry? The loss of that most esteemed wagon? The fact that the Bloodwings and their violent warriors could be pouncing on us at any second?" Fluttershy whimpered slightly. Pinkie patted her on the shoulder. "No. No. And Luna Poop, no!" Rainbow whispered. She managed a smile as she gazed at her friends from a distance. "I'm just glad they're all finding ways to keep going. What happened back there sucked super hard... and yet they're still goin' at it. They're a bunch of troopers... and I'm friggin' proud of them." "Even if half of their strength comes from sassin' the murder-chicken?!" Pinkie asked. Rainbow shrugged. "Most of the Jury got along by sassing Josho... or Zaid..." She sighed melodically. "...even Roarke." Fluttershy nodded quietly. Applejack looked at Rainbow with a sympathetic smile. "It's a cryin' shame we never did get to meet them Jury partners of yers. Seems like a swell bunch of ponyfolk." "Yeah, well..." Rainbow shifted the weight of her things and trotted evenly uphill. "Most of you got to meet Nick... Sinrar... Theanim Mane..." She gulped. "...Bard." A firm breath. "Neither Belle nor Pilate nor Kera nor any of the others got to meet them... or Mortuana or the Herald for that matter." She smiled at her old friends. "But you did. And after we get the Harmonic Prism... and we make our way back to Equestria... you can carry the memories along with me." Applejack nodded. "Guess that makes it a mite less heavy." "Yeah," Rainbow breathed. "It does." Applejack smiled. "Now that I think about it..." Twilight Sparkle examined her lavender forelimbs. "...I wonder if we should be worried?" "Worried?" Fluttershy looked at her. "What about?" "Well... it's taken Rainbow over two years to get this far. It stands to reason it'll take just as long if not longer to get back home. So... by the time we've all gotten our bodies back... what kind of sheer atrophy might we have to deal with?" "Oh please, Twilight..." Rarity rolled her eyes. "Why don't you tell us all about that." "Glad you asked, Rarity! Here's my hypothesis..." Rarity groaned while Pinkie Pie giggled.