Rainbow groaned as she rolled over, her head feeling as if it was about to split apart with the pressure that was building up inside it. It was almost like having a bad hangover, except she couldn’t remember having a good time any time before. Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember much of anything, other than…
She suddenly sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain in her head as memories came rushing back to her. She remembered everything, but in another way, she barely remembered anything that had happened. It was like the memories were hidden behind a bank of dense fog, occasionally shining through in their entirety, before being snatched away once more, replaced with only hazy outlines and half visible facets. All she knew was she had an acute sensation of shame swimming in her mind.
A bead of sweat ran down her forehead as she looked out at the room she was in, hundreds of beds stretching out, each one with a sleeping Eldar occupying it, the one closest to her holding the form of Tar’nek.
“You’re awake then?” Anira asked from behind Rainbow, and the Pegasus turned to look at the Warlock.
“Anira I…” Rainbow began, but was cut off when Anira raised a hand.
“Not here. We’ll talk outside, away from sleeping ears,” Anira said, before turning and walking towards the door.
Rainbow followed Anira out of the room, making sure to keep her hoofsteps quiet as she left the sleeping Eldar behind. Soon, the pair found themselves in a small chamber, the rune of the Warlocks painted on one wall.
“Welcome to my chamber,” Anira said, turning to face Rainbow and indicating that she should take a seat on the bed.
“What happened on Hannibal?” Rainbow asked as she sat down. “I remember fighting through the Mechanicus base, and then getting on my bike, and then…nothing.”
“You don’t remember destroying the Valkyrie on your own?” Anira asked in a slightly bemused tone. “What about what came next, killing the Magos? Or how you very nearly attacked Tar’nek?”
“I attacked Tar’nek?!” Rainbow exclaimed in shock. “No no no no no. I wouldn’t have done that, that’s not me, you made a mistake.”
“You’re right of course,” Anira relented. “It must have been the other blue Pegasus in the attack force.”
“I wouldn’t have…” Rainbow began.
“Not to mention you put the war mask on again,” Anira cut her off, shaking her head and sighing. “If I didn’t know better Rainbow, I’d say that you wanted to destroy your mind.”
“I didn’t…did I?” Rainbow said weakly, resting her head in her hooves.
“Tell me, do you know what caused the explosion of light around you? Anything that could have caused the slip?”
“Wait, explosion of light? Was it Rainbow coloured?” rainbow asked urgently.
“It was,” Anira nodded.
“I did a Sonic Rainboom on a bike, and that’s what caused my war mask to activate,” Rainbow breathed softly. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure that’s what caused your war mask to emerge? No, I’m not sure, but without running more tests on your mind, I can’t be certain of anything,” Anira shook her head. “With your permission?”
Rainbow nodded, sitting up and closing her eyes. She felt Anira place her hands on the sides of her head, shivering slightly as the cold flesh pressed against her own fur. This didn’t feel like it had the last time Anira had entered her mind, nor did it feel as if she was simply treading the path of the dreamer. This time she just felt like someone else was poking around in her mind, rather than simply watching what she experienced within her own psyche.
“Open your mind to me Rainbow,” the voice of Anira echoed within her head. “Clear it of doubts, focus on Hannibal, the sights and sounds of the planet you knew, not what it became. Show me your Sonic Rainboom, the first time you performed it. Allow yourself to remember the feeling, smell the air on that day, the sounds of those watching you. Recreate the moment in your mind.”
Nodding, Rainbow thought back to that day, the thrill of beating the others not just slightly, but tearing them apart. It was an odd thing to get your cutie mark, something nopony could really describe properly. It was like at that single moment in time, where your flank was suddenly emblazoned for life, you knew exactly who you were. Everything you ever would be or could be was displayed in front of your eyes for the briefest of moments, and you felt at peace with yourself.
Anira suddenly removed her hands, drawing a sudden gasp from Rainbow as it felt like tendrils were being drawn out from around her mind, leaving a void around it that she had not noticed before, but now couldn’t forget. Slowly opening her eyes, Rainbow looked at Anira, her features forlorn as she shook her head.
“I’m sorry Rainbow, but unless I’m mistaken, which I’m usually not, your mind went through the same chemical process on Hannibal as it did when you first performed this, Sonic Rainboom.”
“You mean, doing the Sonic Rainboom, it caused my war mask to emerge?” Rainbow asked, looking crestfallen.
“I saw how much this was a part of who you were Rainbow, but who you were is not who you are now,” Anira grimaced.
“This universe has taken everything from me,” Rainbow said softly, tears forming in her eyes. “It took my friends, it took my innocence, it even took my wing and my leg, and now it’s taken Sonic Rainboom’s from me. What else is there? What else could I lose?”
“You still have your mind, be thankful for that,” Anira said, trying to force a smile. “And you’re still alive. As warriors, that’s all we can ask for.”
“I don’t want to be a warrior, I want to go home,” Rainbow sighed.
“Maybe you can,” Nar’bok boomed as he walked into the room.
“Nar’bok, sir,” Anira bowed deeply, facing the chieftain, Rainbow quickly following her lead.
“Oh rise, the both of you,” Nar’bok chuckled. “Don’t treat me like lord who needs everything done for me. I’m a fighter before a lord. You don’t need to bow every time I fart.”
“What do you mean I may be able to?” Rainbow asked, straightening up and looking at Nar’bok.
“It may be easier to show you Rainbow. Please come with me,” Nar’bok motioned for her to follow him, before sweeping out of the room. Rainbow looked back at Anira, but the Eldar simply shook her head.
“He asked for you, not me. Best not keep him waiting.”
***
“What is this place?” rainbow asked, looking around the room Nar’bok had lead her into in awe.
The room was large, its domed ceiling soaring high above them, and every available surface covered in what Rainbow assumed to be Wraithbone circuits. The circuits criss-crossed around each other, seemingly without purpose who direction, but upon closer inspection, Rainbow saw that they all eventually merged into a single strand, leading into a small stone node. Rainbow had seen something like this a lifetime ago, before she had met Tar’nek, when she had placed Elarique’s soul at rest within the Forest of Ghosts.
“This is the hall of ghosts, a smaller repository of spirit stones for members of Nar’bok,” Nar’bok explained. “Any warrior whose stone can be recovered from the clan is interred here. They are of course still connected to Infinity Circuit, and can be called out by the council, but they can also be called out by the clan. No other clan can access this hall, and none would ever dare, save maybe our perverse dark kin.”
“But, why are we here?” Rainbow asked.
“I’ll show you,” Nar’bok said, striding forward and placing his hand atop the small stone obelisk like node in the centre of the room.
Instantly, a holographic interface sprung up beneath his fingers, and Nar’bok began to work at a ferocious pace, every part of his hand moving as he inputted commands. As far as Rainbow knew, when humans typed, they only used their fingers, but and Eldar was able to make much more subtle movements, utilising their knuckles and individual muscle strands on their palm to speed up data entry. A few seconds after he had started, Nar’bok moved his hand away slightly, a wavy line appearing in the middle of the room.
Rainbow examined the line closer, following its smooth surface and taking in the thousands of small runes that hovered above and below it, showing dates and events on the line, although what the line actually represented was still a mystery to Rainbow. What did draw Rainbow’s attention however were the three spikes on the line, all of them being right at the end, and far outweighing anything that had happened for hundreds of years before.
Of the three, the middle one was the largest, dwarfing the third blip by many magnitudes. By comparison, the first blip was little more than a pebble was to a cliff, and if the rest of the line hadn’t been so smooth, Rainbow wouldn’t have even registered it as an anomaly.
“What is this?” Rainbow asked.
“This is a depiction of the webway circuit of Hannibal.” Nar’bok replied, inspecting the holographic line more closely for a second, before refocusing his attention on the node, manipulating the controls once more, and enhancing the image on the three anomalies on the line.
“This one,” he indicated the largest spike, “matches the date the relief fleet arrived at Hannibal. As you can see, there was a larger than normal disturbance in the fabric of the webway when the fleet emerged into real space, but that can be attributed to the shadow cast by the Great Devourer. This final blip is the last thing we have recorded before the planet was consumed, and shows the fleet retreating, again the signature is larger due to the shadow. It was only by the greatest luck that the world spirit survived. They don’t always live past an encounter with our foes.”
“What about this one though?” Rainbow asked, indicating the smallest blip.
“That one is strange,” Nar’bok admitted, walking towards the line. “As far as I know, no ranger was using the ancient portals, and at any rate, this is bigger than that. The ancient portal on the planet is small, but it is relatively well trodden, so it doesn’t leave much of a signature. This one is like a complete anomaly.”
“When was it?” Rainbow asked out of interest, looking at it closely.
“Let’s see. It happened eight days before the main fleet arrived. Why?” Nar’bok asked.
“Seven days.” Rainbow said softly, mentally counting something out in her head. “Seven days…I was unconscious for one, I thought the Lictor on the third day, it took us a day to get to the battlefield, the battle took up the next day, and I didn’t wake up for another day. Ah you sure about this?!” She asked urgently, moving over to the node stone.
“Rainbow, seven days, I’m sure,” Nar’bok assured her. “Now tell me, what’s…this…all about?” He trailed off, looking out of the door which Rainbow had just disappeared from, leaving a small, almost comical puff of smoke. The data cylinder that had been within the node stone was nowhere to be found.
Rainbow sprinted through the clan’s home, the data core clutched carefully in her mouth as she skidded to a halt in front of her partition in the garage. Quickly pressing the button that revealed her bike, Rainbow grabbed hold of a small bag, slinging it over her back and placing the core inside. She would have liked to armour up fully, but right now she was going for speed, which meant for the first time, she would be riding her bike without her armour on.
Jumping onto the saddle, Rainbow gunned the engines, shooting out of the hanger and across the surface of the craftworld. Her bike’s roar seemed even louder than before, but Rainbow didn’t care about the potential damage it could do to her ears, only that she would be able to get her answers as soon as possible.
***
Equestria
***
“Wait? I could have got ear damage from riding that thing?!” Lightning exclaimed.
“No,” Rainbow shook her head. “My blood was up and I thought it was louder than it actually was.”
“Oh, that’s ok then.” Lightning relented.
“Is that true?” Luna whispered, leaning over to Rainbow.
“Not at all,” Rainbow replied in a hushed tone, feeling slightly guilty at the lie. Then again, she wasn’t the element of honesty, so she could get away with a small, harmless lie.
***
Saim-Hann
***
Rainbow leaped off the bike, galloping towards the doorway to the council chambers, only to be stopped by a pair of shuriken catapult wielding guardians, the two soldiers taking a step forward menacingly.
“Halt. State your business with the Seer council Rainbow Dash,” The first one said.
“I have urgent news and I need to bring it to their attention immediately,” rainbow replied, panting ever so slightly.
“They are currently in session, and without prior notice, none are allowed to enter their chambers,” the second guardian replied simply.
“I need to see them,” Rainbow insisted.
“Not possible pony,” The first one growled. “Fly away now, you come when the council calls.”
“I’m not leaving until I see the council, Eldar,” Rainbow shot back.
“Then you’ll be waiting for a long time,” The second guard snickered, before taking a step back, standing beside the door with his partner in silence.
“Fine then, I will,” Rainbow snapped, before sitting down heavily on the floor and crossing her forehooves. “I’m not moving until I see the council.”
***
One hour, forty two minutes, six seconds later
***
“Ok fine,” One of the guardians eventually relented, walking over and nudging Rainbow with his foot. “I will contact the council, but if they cannot admit you, you’ve got to leave. Deal?”
“Thank you,” Rainbow smiled, getting back to her hooves.
The guardian who had just spoken to Rainbow moved inside the building, while the second one wandered over to Rainbow, looking down at her curiously.
“My partner and I were talking about you. What prompts a xenos to wait for so long to see the Seer council of Saim-Hann?”
“I want to get back to where I won’t be referred to a xenos all the time. I want to be home,” Rainbow sighed. “The Eldar can understand that I’m sure, wanting to have your own world, especially Saim-Hann. That’s why you have a lot of Eldar from here try to fit in with the Exodites isn’t it? Well, a lot compared to the other Craftworld’s.”
“I guess that’s a fair enough point,” The guardian nodded. “But our home is where we are. Our place of origin is not relevant, only where we choose to go together, where we choose to go with those we care about. Remember that Rainbow Dash. My partner and I, we know of your exploits, your home may not be how you remember it after what you have seen with us.”
“It will be,” Rainbow said firmly. “My home is Equestria, nowhere else.”
“The council will see you now,” The first guardian said, walking back out of the building once more. “Follow me please, I will take you to them.”
Following the guardian, Rainbow walked inside the huge spire, its towering halls reminding her of a larger version of both the Temple of the Floating Assault and the Wind Rider clan home of Nar’bok. Eventually, she emerged out into the large, rotunda that served as the central hub of all decisions made on Saim-Hann. If it mattered, it was decided here.
Rainbow had learnt a lot about the Seer council since the last time she had been here, reading up on how it operated, and who each of the Seers were who held the lofty title of councillor. There was the Seer of the Fleet, responsible for everything that happened with the ships, be the military or civilian, and also holding the most sway on matters to do with the webway, always standing to the left of his or her compatriots, while on the far right was the Seer of Ghosts, the man or woman responsible for the spirits and wraithbone warriors that inhabited the Craftworld. Both were subservient to the middle councillor however, the Seer of the Young King. It was him who performed the rituals of awakening when the avatar of Khaine was awoken, and he had final say in matters, and if need be, he could override the decisions made by the other two Seers, as long as he then abdicated from his position immediately. Rainbow only knew of one time the Seer of the Young King had done this in the history of Saim-Hann.
“Seer council. I present you Rainbow Dash, formerly of the Temple of the Floating Assault,” The guardian announced.
“And now of the honourable Wind Rider clan Nar’bok,” The Seer of the Young King finished. “Thank you for bringing her to us Harolg, you may return to your post.”
“Council,” the guardian now identified as Harolg nodded, before turning back around and striding out of the room.
“Rainbow Dash. Set forward,” The Seer of Ghosts ordered once more, leading to Rainbow taking a step onto the slightly raised platform in the centre of the room, bathing in the slightly brighter light that surrounded it.
“You have something to bring to the attention of the council?” The Seer of the Young King asked expectantly.
“I do,” Rainbow nodded, before drawing out the data core she had taken from Nar’bok and holding it up for the Seers to see. “This is a data core, containing information on the webway patterns of Hannibal. Look at it?”
Extending his hand, the Seer of the Fleet took hold of the data core, bringing it to him and inspecting it for a moment, before placing it into a slot on his podium. Instantly, the same line as before was displayed in front of the three Seers, zooming in on the final three blips.
“The second and third blips are the arrival and departure of the fleet sent to rescue Hannibal, made bigger due to the shadow the Tyranids were causing,” Rainbow explained.
“And the first blip?” The Seer of Ghosts asked, zooming in even further so only that was shown.
“That’s me,” Rainbow smiled.
“You?” The Seer of the Young King asked in slight confusion.
“That blip is seven days before the fleet arrived,” Rainbow explained. “I arrived seven days before fleet arrived, I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but that’s when I arrived. Nothing else arrived that day that would cause such a disturbance, not even a ranger. This portal…”
“…is relatively untrodden,” The Seer of Ghosts finished slowly. “I see what you are saying. “Look at the edges of the distortion pattern. See how they are jagged, rather than smooth like all of the other webway disturbances? Something broke through the webway, rather than travelling along it.”
“The primitive webway technology the Necrontyr use produces similar distortions.” The Seer of the Fleet mused, bringing up another webway pattern line beside the one from Hannibal, this one showing a much bigger jagged blip. “This is the webway data from the ancient enemy’s attacks on the Exodite worlds of Merilgrat. They appeared out of nowhere, closer to the planet than even the finest manipulator of the warp would have been able to manage, and at speeds quicker than the technology used by the Tau allows for. They used a Dolmen gate to breech the webway and force their way through. That is why this is so rough compared to the smooth patterns we produce.”
“So you’re hypothesising that Rainbow Dash, using only her own body and the nature of her world, broke through the webway itself?” The Seer of the Young King asked.
“It is possible,” The Seer of the Fleet nodded.
“Then you can help me get home?” Rainbow asked excitedly.
“No,” The Seer of the Young King shook his head. “We already returned to Hannibal, your clan flying there to honour you, but this craftworld will not sanction a mobilisation like this just to return you to your home. I am sorry.”
“Then let me go,” Rainbow insisted. “I can do it myself, that way you won’t lose anything more than is absolutely necessary.”
“Again, we cannot permit that,” The Seer shook his head. “You are bound by all our laws to the clan of Nar’bok and to this craftworld. You may not wander outside it borders on your own, lest you risk being corrupted and returning, imperilling Saim-Hann itself.”
“Rangers roam the galaxy on their own,” Rainbow reasoned, her voice rising as she got more and more irate.
“Rangers walk the path of the outcast. They relinquish ties with the craftworld for the thrill of walking the galaxy unencumbered by the paths we all tread. This path is dangerous Rainbow, I am not sure how long you would avoid the path of damnation.”
“I’ll take that risk,” Rainbow nodded fervently. “If this is the only way you will let me go home, then I’ll take the path of the outcast.”
“Are you sure Rainbow?” The Seer of Ghosts asked. “This is not something to be taken lightly.”
“I’m sure,” Rainbow said plainly.
“Very well. Rainbow Dash, I hereby declare that you shall walk the path of the outcast. It is not our place to condone nor condemn these actions, only to assure that you leave the Craftworld and do not betray it’s trust,” the Seer of the Young King began.
“Once you leave this hall, you shall have one standard cycle to say your farewells, before leaving the Craftworld. Do you accept?” The Seer of Ghosts asked.
“I do, if you will tell me where the linking portal to my breech is,” Rainbow nodded.
“We do not know,” The Seer of the Fleet answered almost instantly. “Portals that once where known to us are now lost. Only the Black Library of Chaos has the knowledge you seek.”
“Then I will find the Black Library, I will walk the surface of the lost Craftworld, and I will return to where I was taken from,” Rainbow said, drawing herself up to her highest height. “Thank you for your assistance Seer Council, and for everything you have given me.”
And with that, Rainbow was gone, galloping out of the council chambers for what would probably be the last time.