I’ll Bring You Home
Chapter Two; Across the Divide
A week wasn’t a long time. It felt as though no time had passed at all to Rainbow Dash as she forcefully busied herself about her house, ensuring her bags were properly packed. Of course, they were; they had been since yesterday. But if she’d learned anything at all in her years spent as Twilight’s friend, it was that double checking was usually a good idea.
At least, that’s what she told herself as double checking turned to triple and quadruple checking. It was better than doing nothing, at least.
There was a flash and a pop and once more the ruler of Equestria stood in her home.
“It’s time,” Celestia said simply, as another flash brought Luna into existence next to her.
“There is still time to turn back,” the younger alicorn spoke slowly, deliberately. “You’re about to risk much more than just your life.”
Rainbow threw her saddlebags over her wings. “I’m going,” she said simply, and all pretense of talking her out of it was dropped.
Luna bowed her head slightly. “Then I wish you luck. However, that may not be enough.”
“It’s all I got,” Rainbow muttered, glancing around her house one final time, once again catching sight of that infernal picture she didn’t have the heart to move. She was glad she was leaving.
“Not anymore,” Celestia said, lighting her horn and bringing a small charm from somewhere. It was a purple six pointed star. “Take this with you. If- when you find her, she’ll know what to do with it,” she explained somewhat cryptically, threading a silver chain through a loop at the top and placing it around Rainbow’s neck. “Do not lose it.”
Rainbow pressed it against her chest with her hoof, feeling the gem push into her coat and nodding. She’d be lying if she said she had the foggiest idea what it was for, but at the very least it served as a reminder of why she was doing this.
“I also have a gift for you,” Luna said, summoning from within her ethereal main a small black box. When she flipped it open and lowered it Rainbow saw what looked to be an ordinary compass; a needle suspended in a small dome of glass. The only quirks were the lack of markings and the fact that the needle rotated in circles at a steady pace. Just as she opened her mouth to ask, Luna answered; “It’s no ordinary compass. It’s had many names over the centuries; the Lover’s Guide, the Dead Man’s Regret, Greed’s Curse, The Dragon King's Compass. It doesn’t point to any one thing, rather it points to that which the holder’s heart desires most.
“It’s not as simple as it seems; for it to work there can be no doubt in your mind, no turmoil in your heart over what it is you want. However… I don’t think that will be a problem for you,” Luna explained, passing the compass into Rainbow’s hooves and watching as the spinning quickly slowed and stopped, the arrow pointing east, towards the badlands.
Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah, I think I’ll do just fine.” She looked up, nodding to each of the alicorns. “Thank you. I’ll bring Twilight home safe.”
“We know you will,” Celestia smiled, hesitating only a moment before reaching down and grabbing the pegasus in a short hug. “May the sun protect you.”
“May the stars guide you,” Luna continued, adding a hug of her own after Celestia stepped back.
“May the winds carry you, through calm and storm alike,” Rainbow finished, smiling fondly at the old pegasus saying. “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that. Not since flight camp.”
Luna and Celestia traded a look. “We thought it was appropriate,” Celestia said, her smile fading as she looked out the window. “It’s time you left. We would accompany you further, but we have already shirked our duties enough this past week, and ponies are growing suspicious. Though if I may ask, before we go, what have you told your friends?”
Snorting, Rainbow shook her head. “I haven’t talked to them much since I came back. They wouldn’t believe me when I told them I found a way to bring her back, they think I’m going nuts or something.”
“Probably for the best,” Luna admitted in a somber tone. “If they knew the truth of your words they’d likely insist on going with you. One pony slipping into the land of the dead might not be noticed, but five would draw too much unwanted attention.”
“They’ll see soon anyway,” Rainbow said distractedly, checking her bags were secured after slipping the compass inside. “I should go. It’ll take a few hours to make it back out to Harvest’s place.”
Celestia nodded. “Indeed, we-”
“Hey! You forgot about my gift!”
“Discord.” The name was practically growled out as Rainbow searched the room with her eyes. “Where are you?”
The draconequus didn’t appear, but his talon did, holding a weathered scroll. “Busy, and not particularly wanting to get punched again, but I do have something you might find of use.”
Rainbow turned her nose up at the offered paper. “Why should I trust you?”
“You don’t have to,” his voice said, “I know I wouldn’t. But I would be remiss if I didn’t offer; Twilight gave her life for Fluttershy. For that I owe her everything, and I pay my debts. Please, allow me to give back just a little of what she gave to me.” His claw brandished the scroll again, and with a begrudging sigh Rainbow snatched it, unfurling it and squinting quizzically at a near indecipherable mess of lines.
“The hay is this?”
“That, my dear, is a map. The only one of its kind, long thought lost to the ages.”
Celestia gasped. “Discord, you actually found it?”
His all-too-smug face appeared, and Rainbow had to hold her hoof still with every last shred of her will. “I did. You see, Rainbow Dash, within the Underworld is… well, you’ll know it when you see it. For now think of it as a maze. That map is the only chance you have of making it through. Rumour has it it was drawn by a mighty king from Saddle Arabia on his journey back to the mortal realm.”
Against her better judgment, Rainbow rolled the map and shoved it into her bag, pointedly ignoring the face hovering in front of her as she made her way to the door. “Thank you, Celestia, Luna,” she nodded to each in turn, “I’ll have Twilight back before you know it.”
Celestia cleared her throat. “One last thing, before you go. I must ask you keep our involvement in your quest an absolute secret. To explain why would require a story longer than we have time, but suffice to say that our names must not be mentioned to anyone, least of all while you’re on the other side.”
Raising an eyebrow curiously, Rainbow nodded slowly. “Sure, I guess. I won’t tell anyone.”
“Farewell, and good luck,” Luna called as the pegasus took to the early morning skies, the sun not rising.
“How in Equestria did you find that?” Celestia asked, watching the fading silhouette in the distance.
Discord’s face gave the distinct impression of a shrug. “She’s not the only one who’s been busy since Twilight died. I wanted to be prepared.”
“Have you spoken to Fluttershy?”
He frowned deeply. “Not since the funeral, no. I can’t bare to face up to her now.”
“She doesn’t blame you, you know?” Luna said, turning away as Rainbow faded from sight entirely. “But then, I don’t think Fluttershy could ever hold any malice in her heart. I doubt the others share in her kindness.”
Taking a breath, Discord materialized fully, visibly droopy. “I don’t deserve her forgiveness or anyone else’s. Until I’ve righted my wrongs I don’t deserve her as a friend. Maybe I’ll never be able to face her again, but…” he sighed. “I’m okay with that.”
“Is Fluttershy okay with that?” Luna let her question hang in the air as she turned to her sister. “It’s about time for the sun to come up, is it not?”
The elder lit her horn with a nod. “Your journey has begun, Rainbow Dash,” she said as the moon and the sun slowly exchanged rule over the sky. “Do not falter.”
Far away in the distance, Rainbow Dash watched as the sun began poking over the horizon, bathing her in the first warm rays of morning light. Ponyville was a blur beneath her, but just before she passed its outer limits she banked and came in for a landing on a hill just beyond the last few houses of the town. The hill was dotted with stones and markers of varying age and surrounded by other similar hills, all wrapped in a soot-black fence. Atop this particular mound was a monument that stood above the rest; a simple, six pointed star, a little taller than the average pony.
She landed right in front of it, examining the beautiful etching upon a brass coloured plaque. ‘Here rests Twilight Sparkle’ it read, ‘Princess of Equestria, Element of Magic, and a dear friend’. There was more, but Rainbow didn’t bother to read it. A bigger monument had been put up in Canterlot, honouring the Princess who gave her life for Equestria, but this was where she’d been buried.
“Hey, Twi,” she said, and for the first time she didn’t cry. Before, she’d never been able to face Twilight’s tombstone, preferring instead to leave flowers at the library. But now… now she knew the pain would end, the grave a temporary wound on her heart rather than the timeless scar it had been. “I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I’ll be there soon. Just hold on a little longer, okay?”
Rainbow lifted her hoof and pressed it against the star, and for a moment in the polished stone she could have sworn she saw Twilight looking back at her, but the image was gone with a blink of her eye. She smiled, and still no tears fell. “I’m coming.”
“Are you leaving again?”
Rainbow Dash jumped at the familiar voice as Fluttershy came and sat down next to her, lavender flowers tucked under her butter yellow wing. “Yeah,” was all she could say.
Fluttershy smiled sadly. “Everypony’s really worried about you. You never answered when I came to your house, and nopony’s seen you since you came back. We thought you might have left already.”
“Spike still mad at me?”
“He’s… frustrated. You’ve been gone almost as long as she has,” she nodded to the tombstone. “It’s like we lost you that day, too, and it’s been hard on him. On all of us.”
Rainbow snorted, pawing at the dirt. “I wasn’t going to sit around on my flank doing nothing, you all should know that.”
Despite the tears gathering in her eyes, Fluttershy giggled quietly. “You’ve never once sat around when you thought there was something you could do to help a friend. But this time… I don’t think there’s anything you can do. All the girls took what you said pretty hard, but I think Spike’s the worst. It’s been more than a year now, and having you come back and say what you said?” She shook her head. “It opened a lot of wounds.”
“I’m not going crazy,” Rainbow muttered.
“I don’t think you are. I think you’re sad, and you don’t know what to do. I think you’re grasping at straws because you can’t accept that she’s really gone. I think you feel guilty about something that was never your fault.” Fluttershy paused, frowning at the glare growing on the other mare’s face. She sighed, and changed tactics. “Spike still wakes up, sometimes, calling her name in the middle of the night.”
Rainbow’s glare softened. “So do I.”
“I think we all have,” Fluttershy agreed. “But it’s gotten worse since you came back. What you said really hurt him, Rainbow.”
“I’m going to bring her back, ‘Shy. We’ll all be together again, and we won’t have to be sad anymore.”
Fluttershy shook her head. “I know I can’t stop you from going, but promise me; no matter what happens or what you find out there, promise me you’ll come back. No matter what.”
Rainbow Dash finally looked up from the grave, giving her friend a cocksure smile. “I’ll be back. With Twilight. Promise.”
With that she took to the air once again, disregarding local aviation regulations as she rocketed towards the rising sun in the east, towards where she knew a wrinkled old mare was waiting for her. Fluttershy watched her go with an odd sort of half-smile even she couldn’t fully explain. Despite everything, Rainbow Dash was still Rainbow Dash, even if she didn’t always look it.
The flight was long, but Rainbow flew faster than she had since that day. It felt as though a portion of the weight had been lifted from her. For the first time in a long time, she could see the lavender light at the end of the tunnel.
Mind wandering as she flew almost on autopilot, she found herself lost in memories of days gone by as Ponyville faded over the horizon.
“That’s it, Twi!” Rainbow shouted enthusiastically, having to force herself to stop from doing a celebratory loop. “You’re really getting the hang of it!”
Twilight’s wings were flapping out of sync and she wobbled dangerously, eyes never straying too far from the ground. “Are you sure!?”
Giggling, Rainbow made sure sure to stay close enough to catch the alicorn if something happened. “Yeah! I know it doesn’t really seem like it, but you’re doing good for your first time in the air. Now we’re gonna try turning, okay?”
“Not okay! Not okay!” Twilight shouted, shaking her head and dropping a few terrifying feet before catching herself. “I can’t even stay hovering!”
“Relax, egghead. You’re fine as long as you don’t start over thinking it.”
“I am not overthinking it!” Twilight snapped. “I am treating this with exactly as much care as being hundreds of meters above the ground should be treated! Need I remind you I was not born on a cloud?”
Rainbow laughed again. “Twi, we’re about a dozen feet above my house. I promise you’ll be fine if you fall, and that’s if I don’t catch you. Now come on; just like a taught you. I thought you liked learning?”
“Theoretically!” Twilight hissed. “I liked learning the theory behind flying. Practical learning has never been my forte!” Regardless of her protests, the alicorn did slowly start to swivel to the right, still staying in place. Eventually, when she’d rotated a full 180 degrees, she came face to face with a grinning pegasus.
“See? Was that so bad?” Rainbow asked, already knowing the answer as Twilight nodded rapidly, seemingly too focused on her wings to even speak as her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth adorably.
“Yes,” she said eventually, when she was sure her wings would keep flapping on their own. “Yes it was. Can we please go back to practicing flight positions on the ground now?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Where’s your adventurous spirit, egghead?”
“You’re hogging it all, featherbrain,” Twilight quipped back, bobbing in the air as she practiced controlling her elevation. She sighed, steadying out again. “Okay fine. What’s next then?”
“Hmmm…” Rainbow rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Well, at this point my dad started throwing me off clouds until I got good enough to fly back up to Cloudsdale myself, but-”
Twilight gasped. “He what‽”
“Relax, Twi; it’s a pretty normal pegasus thing. If you can hover you can fly, if you can fly you can soar, he used to say. But I don’t really think that’s gonna go over well with you.” She chuckled as Twilight gave a glare practically daring her to try it. She almost took the bet, but held herself back. “So we’ll do something a little different.”
With no further words, Rainbow flew straight up into the air a moment before snapping her wings to her sides. “Catch me!” she shouted, as her momentum stopped, then reversed.
“Rainbow!” Twilight screamed, panicking as the pegasus really did seem content to let herself fall, not even trying to control her descent. Before she even knew what she was doing Twilight was flying as fast as she dared to line herself up with Rainbow’s descent.
With a grunt Twilight caught her, though she was unable to hold up the extra weight and before long there were now two ponies falling out of the sky. One of them screaming. Just as the alicorn swore she should have hit the clouds, she felt her momentum halt gradually. Slowly she peaked an eye open, realizing they weren’t falling anymore.
“Hey you,” Rainbow greeted cheekily, holding the alicorn bridal style just above the clouds. “I knew you wouldn’t let me fall.”
Twilight didn’t share the mischievous mare’s maniacal grin. “Rainbow Dash!” She shouted angrily. “What did you think you were doing!?”
The pegasus shrugged as she set them both down on the clouds, letting Twilight out of her hooves. “You flew farther than you have since you got those wings of yours. And nothing bad was gonna happen; you fell, I caught you. Just like I promised I always would, right?”
Despite the look in Twilight’s eye, she couldn’t seem to find the words to disagree. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she muttered eventually, pouting cutely and turning away.
“Awe cmon, Twi. It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Twilight seemed firm in her stance. “Yes, yes it was.”
Despite herself Rainbow couldn’t help but acknowledge the adorableness of the pouting alicorn. “Oh alright, fine; I owe you one, and you get to choose what the next lesson is, okay?”
Seeming to perk up, Twilight peaked at Rainbow out of the corner of her eye. “I can choose the lesson? Anything I want?”
Rainbow nodded hesitantly. “Anything,” she said, already feeling a sinking feeling of dread.
“Books,” Twilight said simply.
Rainbow Dash blinked, not quite sure she’d heard correctly. “Twi-”
“Books,” Twilight repeated in a hiss. “I want to learn more about pegasi customs and traditions. From books.”
Slapping a hoof to her face, Rainbow shook her head. “Twi, I meant flying lessons.”
“You didn’t specify, and you promised I could pick the next lesson. I pick books. Got a problem with that, featherbrain?”
Rainbow sighed. “No…” she grumbled, noticeably wilting in the air as she followed the alicorn towards the library. And her precious, precious books. “Dumb Book Princess.”
Shaking herself from her memories, Rainbow set her face in a determined scowl. She’d crossed over into the badlands; she needed to focus. Harvest’s shack should have been close. Rainbow scanned the featureless terrain carefully, looking for anything familiar to her that would point the way.
Before the sun reached its zenith she spotted a familiar building, just as rickety and rotten as she remembered, but to her it shone like the golden sun. That little shack was every last hope she had. Rainbow wasted no time in coming in for a landing, not even bothering to knock as she burst through the dusty door, the interior no less dank than the last time.
“Harvest?” She called, noticing the distinct lack of the old mare. Silence was her only answer. “Harvest‽” Rainbow called again, a sliver of fear spearing her heart. “Harvest!”
Finally, a voice answered; “I’m out back, dear.”
Rainbow trotted back out the door and around the corner, finding Harvest sitting in a small fenced in area, a watering can next to her. In the ground at her hooves was a small purple sprout with a single green leaf. Harvest gently brushed the leaf with her hoof, humming in thought a moment before gently pouring a few drops of water over the plant.
“Is that it?” Rainbow asked as Harvest stepped back. She nodded.
“That’s it. Funny, how such a small flower could hold such power, isn’t it?” Harvest asked, though her tone made it clear she wasn’t looking for an answer. “The titan arum. Of course, it’s little more than a rather... odorous flower without the right touch and the right magic.”
“How long will it take?” Rainbow circled carefully around to the mare’s side, not daring to get too close to the plant.
Harvest chuckled. “I doubt you’ll need to concern yourself; it should be finished growing long before you return. The body will be kept alive and healthy beneath the soil, too, so you needn’t worry about rushing. However, I doubt you’re keen on waiting much longer either. Are you prepared for your journey?”
Shifting her bag and feeling her lighter-than-air saddlebags rustle on her back, Rainbow nodded. “I’m good to go.”
“Really?” Harvest raised an eyebrow, blindly waving a hoof about until she felt the side of Rainbow’s bag, feeling her way under and lifting it. “These bags of yours feel pretty empty to me.”
“Heh, that’s magic for ya,” Rainbow chuckled, trailing off as she looked to her saddlebags, emblazoned with her cutie mark on the clasp. “They were a gift from a friend of mine. Bigger on the inside and light as a feather no matter what you put in ‘em. Great for flying.”
Harvest smiled knowingly. “A gift from this friend?” She asked, motioning to the sprout.
“Yeah…”
“Well then, it’s best you not keep her waiting.” Harvest stood, dusting off her flanks before leading the pegasus back into her house. “Come along, we have a long walk ahead of us.”
Rainbow obeyed, ducking into the shack, glad to be out of the scorching sun. Inside, Harvest made herself busy searching through various cabinets with practiced ease. Eventually, with a small noise of success, she withdrew something but stashed it in a pair of bags of her own before Rainbow could see what it was. “You’re coming with me?”
“Only to the entrance of the realm of the dead. I’m… no longer welcome beyond the divide,” she half-explained, throwing her bags over her back and motioning Rainbow to follow her once again as she exited the door. “Besides, there are still a few things you must know if you wish to succeed.”
Already Rainbow’s wings were itching against her back, but she stayed grounded as together they started across the barren land. Harvest walked across the rough terrain with an ease that made Rainbow wonder if her blindness wasn’t all an act. Eventually, when the mare didn’t say anything more, she asked; “What do you mean?”
Chuckling, Harvest shook her head. “You are about to venture to a realm forbidden to living ponies, and you haven’t the foggiest idea what to expect on the other side, do you?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Winging it usually works out fine for me.”
“Not this time,” Harvest said, her usually light tone taking on a serious note. “Listen, child, and listen well; the land of the dead is not a place to be trifled with. Some basic rules; first, you are not to reveal the hand the Princesses and Discord played in you making it to the other side.”
“How did you-”
Harvest swiftly shushed her. “I told you, I know anything you wish to hide, and despite how resourceful you may be, there’s simply no way for you to have the items you do. Second,” she continued smoothly, “whatever you do, don’t lose those gifts; they are the only way you’ll make it out alive and with your friend’s soul. Third, don’t die; for a living pony to die while in the underworld is a fate worse than just death. Your soul will be forever left wandering until every last shred of who you were is gone and you fade forever.”
Rainbow gave a weak smile. “Sounds fun.”
“You have everything you need to find your friend,” Harvest ignored the failed attempt to lighten the heavy mood. “But there are still a few things you should know. Your friend’s soul likely ended up in the Elysium Fields given who she was and how she died. Ordinarily you’d be judged worthy and have no problem entering the fields upon your death. However, as you’re not dead, you won’t be judged at all and must prove your worth. The trial is different for everyone, but it’s usually some form of trial by combat. Your compass will guide you. Do not doubt it.
“Once you find your friend, you will have to find a certain flower called a Poppy of the Soul somewhere in Elysium. Locating it is up to you, and it must be picked only while it is in bloom. Finally, my payment; the Fruit of Life. Or death, depending on who you ask. This fruit grows only in the heart of the Underworld, and you’ll have to make it through the Labyrinth of Lost Souls to find it. Ordinarily an impossible task, but you are very fortunate to have a friend resourceful enough to find a map.”
Rainbow growled. “He’s not a friend.”
“Of course,” Harvest chuckled. “With those three things, return to the entrance and exit the same way you enter, then come back to me.”
“Speaking of entering, you haven’t told me how I’m going to do that yet.” Rainbow noted, glancing around the barren land. “We’ve been going nowhere.”
Harvest frowned. “Patience was never your strongest point, was it?” She paused, carefully swiveling her ears a moment. “We’re almost there,” she said, turning slightly.
“Almost where!?” Rainbow shouted, flaring her wings. “We’re in the middle of nowhere! There’s nothing out here!”
The old mare tsk’d. “You sighted ponies can be so blind,” she muttered, coming to a stop and forcing Rainbow to do the same. “We’re here.”
“What’s here?”
“Listen,” Harvest stressed, flicking her ear. “Don’t you hear it?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, but trained her ears forward, struggling to hear anything at all aside from the wind blowing over the desolate land. Faintly, not quite far away but as though through a wall, she could hear a vague sound. It was almost like… rushing water? “A river?”
“Exactly.” Harvest reached back into her bag, withdrawing two golden coins, wethered with age untold. “Take these; you will need them to return to our realm.”
Stuffing them into her bag, Rainbow watched as harvest withdrew two more of the same coin, placing one in Rainbow’s hooves. “What’s this one for?”
“The fee,” Harvest said, taking a small knife out of her bag. “There is a price for a living pony to be ferried across the divide.” Before Rainbow could react the knife was placed against her foreleg and in a quick slice her skin was cut, a few drops of blood weeping down her leg.
“Hey!” Rainbow cringed as the other coin was pressed into the wound until its one side was dyed red. Harvest ignored her as she worked, placing the coin blood-down into the soil and stepping on it, pushing it in.
“Reveal yourself, mighty Acheron.” Harvest called, her voice growing more firm than it had ever been.
Suddenly, the dirt in front of them shimmered and shifted like sand, flowing and fading as a thick grey fog poured out of where the coin had been pressed into the earth. Rainbow watched with wide eyes as the ground turned to water, flowing in a rough current past them and extending away until it vanished into the ever thickening fog. The other side was entirely hidden. The clouds surrounded them, offering only a couple feat of visibility in any direction as the air grew colder and wetter until they could see their own breath.
The sound of rushing water filled Rainbow’s ears, but it wasn’t the only sound. The faint creaking of wood could be heard in the distance, coming closer.
“Listen to me carefully, Rainbow Dash,” Harvest said urgently. “Charon will ferry you across the Acheron, but he will not do so for free - that coin is your payment. But be warned; you are not to give it to him until you reach the other side, do you hear me? He must not get that coin while you are still on the water, and whatever happens you are not to get out of the boat.”
Rainbow looked at the coin in her hoof, noticing the slight tremor running up her leg. She took a deep breath, then nodded. “Right, gotcha.”
From the depths of the fog a small boat appeared with no driver, drifting across the current towards them, guided by an invisible force.The rotting wood groaned as it ran aground in front of them. Despite herself, Rainbow felt her heart hammering in her chest, her legs suddenly feeling heavy. For a moment, she questioned what she was about to do.
Then she remembered the look on Twilight’s face as the alicorn died in her hooves, and she boarded the boat without a second thought. “Wish me luck,” Rainbow called as the boat rocked and shifted itself back into the water. Her voice shook worse than her hooves.
“Give my husband my regards, if you see him,” Harvest called as she was swallowed by the fog. Everything around Rainbow disappeared into a grey abyss, and she was alone save for the rushing torrent beneath her. For a time she sat, glancing around nervously, in silence. Until, suddenly, it was broken.
“Payment,” a booming voice said from all around. Rainbow nearly jumped out of her skin, whipping her head around to locate the sound of the voice. She clutched the golden coin to her chest, noticing a small black pot in the boat with her, a few similar coins laying inside.
Her voice cracked as she said; “Not until you take me all the way across.”
The voice came back, louder, right in her ear. “Payment. Now.”
A shiver raced down Rainbow’s spine. “No. You’ll get it when I’m there.”
“Then you will sink to the bottom of the Acheron,” it roared, and for a moment the boat rocked extra hard, forcing the pegasus to cling to her seat. Not for the first time she considered taking her chances flying the rest of the way, but she held herself steady, clutching the golden disk tightly, frowning pensively.
“Then you’ll never get your coin,” she threatened back, and the rocking stopped. Rainbow smirked, reaching her hoof out and holding the coin over the edge of the boat. “Take me all the way across, and you’ll get your payment. You have my word. Try anything, and you’ll never see it again.”
The voice didn’t return, but the ride was noticeably smoother over the rushing water. Rainbow grinned victoriously, retracting her hoof slowly. When again the voice didn’t return, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief, settling into her seat. What felt like hours passed lost in the fog. There were no further demands for payment, and Rainbow took the silence as a chance to attempt to relax, breathing deeply and steadily. A trick, she noted, she’d learned from Twilight.
Rainbow was shaken from her reverie as the boat gave a violent shudder and a groan, once more beaching itself on solid ground. “Payment,” the voice said, and Rainbow rolled her eyes as she stood, ensuring there was actual ground below her before tossing her coin into the bucket and jumping out. By time she looked back the boat was gone, lost in the fog covering the river.
She turned, and took in her surroundings. The river stretched on behind her to either side, curving inward slightly. The ground was rough rock and dirt, deep red in colour, almost brown. The air was thick and stale, and above her were swirling grey clouds covering the entire sky. The landscape itself seemed almost normal; she was at the bottom of a steep hill, the rest obscured behind it. With a few flaps of her wings she reached the peak, and all notion of normalcy vanished.
Rainbow Dash stood on a small outcropping overlooking a sheer cliff, dropping straight down for what almost seemed to be miles, the bottom mostly obscured by a deep black haze. The cliff face stretched on in either direction for as far as she could see, though it bent inwards slightly, forming almost a semicircle with the horizon. Ahead, down in the chasm, was what she could only describe as an endless pit. Far below everything was swallowed in a haze of inky, unnatural blackness. From within she could hear… something. It sounded like the muffled wails of a thousand voices. It was a cacophonous din that melded together and formed an entirely unpleasant sound that permeated the air and buzzed in her ears. Beyond the giant chasm, barely poking over the horizon, was a large castle like structure, it's tallest spire piercing the clouds that filled the sky. Its base sat at what seemed to be the center of the pit, equally lost in the thick fog.
For a few, long moments, Rainbow stood in awe, failing to entirely comprehend what she was seeing, or where she even was. Eventually, she managed to shake herself out of it, turning away from the cliff and digging through her bags, pulling out the compass and flipping it open. The arrow wobbled slightly as she turned to where it was pointing - thankfully not towards the castle, but off to the side along the cliff edge. Rainbow nodded to herself, flipping it closed.
“I’m comin’, Twilight.”