//------------------------------//
// A Penultimate Decision To Be Made 
// Story: Yaerfaerda 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	Swissssssssssssh!  The Lounge Sphere flew in from the south, gliding down into the valley of Amulek, then slowing down to enter the hangar at the rear of the Noble Jury.

Roarke glanced up from where she stood beside Kera.  The little filly's glowing horn illuminated the metal mare's features as she levitated several planks of lumber, rotating them around one another in elaborate motions.

"Mmmff..."  Kera's tattooed brow furrowed, her eyes clenched as she sweated.  "What was that?"

"Your father has returned, evidently."

"Snazzy," Kera murmured.  "Think he and Booster brought some Chineighs food with them?"

Roarke glanced at her, her lips slightly curved.  "Finish your meditation, child," she said.  "Then we can retire for the evening."

"Heh, you k-kidding?"  Kera smirked.  "I could do this all night—!"

Cl-Clank!  One piece of lumber collided with another, sending a shard of splinters flying at Roarke's neck.

The mare quietly ducked.  Milliseconds later, a tree right behind Roarke wobbled as several dagger-sized chunks of wood embedded in its surface.

Kera gulped, squinting one eye open.  "Uhhhh... you d-didn't see that."

"No."  Roarke stood up, dusting herself off.  "But I almost felt it."

"Eheheheh..."  Kera shuddered.  "Sleep sounds good right about now..."





Inside the hangar, Booster Spice helped Pilate out of Whizzball.  The door from the stairwell creaked open, and Bellesmith galloped in.

"Finally!" she exclaimed with a smile.  "You've been gone all day!"

"Sorry I took so slow in flying us back here," Booster said.  "We visited a tavern, after all..."

"Mr. Spice," Pilate chuckled.  "All you had was a grape knee-high."

"Yes, well..."  Booster fidgeted.  "I-I didn't want to take any chances."

Belle embraced Pilate and rubbed noses with him, grinning.  "Beloved..."

Pilate kissed her, then lingered, nostrils flaring.  "You know... there was a time when Eagle Eye borrowed your conditioner, not the other way around."

"Hmmmph..."  Belle stuck her tongue out.  "You forget that it was I who had to grow her mane back."

"Indeed."

Zaid strolled in.  "Hail the conquering zeroes!"

"Hardy har har," Booster mumbled, shutting the sphere with a hydraulid hiss.

"Well?"  Zaid folded his forelimbs and smirked.  "Did you learn anything on your fart-finding tour?"

"As a matter of fact, we did," Pilate remarked.

"Although Pilate utilized some rather unorthodox tactics," Booster said.

"Unorthodox?"  Belle squinted.  "How so?"

"Let's just say I got to show off my stripes to a certain degree," Pilate said.

"Pilate..."  Belle sighed.  "Please don't tell me you revealed yourself as Jurists."

"I assure you, nopony knows where the Jury is, much less where it will be next," Pilate said.  "But my decision was a timely one, for I think we may have found a plausible avenue into infiltrating Val Roa."

"Oh?" Belle leaned her head to the side.  "In what way?"

"I will explain—although Rainbow Dash would very much like to hear this."  Pilate craned his neck.  "Just where is our illustrious leader at the moment?"

"Where else?"  Zaid smirked.  "She's moonlighting."

"Ungh..."  Booster Spice trotted past him.  "I'm only on this ship for two months and already you make me wanna jump off."

"Heheheh..."





"What's more, they've begun exploring several of the outlying areas to the west.  This includes the bluffs of Alafreo," Princess Luna's voice said, drifting nebulously across the pale cloud beds.  "It would seem that there—more than any other location—they have encountered noticeably friendly locals, and have initiated a robust trade agreement."

"Heck yeah, the locals there are friendly!" Rainbow's voice cracked.  She lay on her back, forelimbs crossed behind her head.  Her pendant pulsed with lunar energy as she gazed casually into the starlight.  "If I wasn't—y'know—a terminally ill half-chaotician with east farting powers, I'd totally pick that part of the continent for an extended vacation!"

"Well, according to Celestia, the Alafreons and the Durandanans have become fast friends overnight.  Jerrio, the First-Born himself, has made three separate trips, and on each return he brings good tidings."

Rainbow smirked.  "And just what are the Valkyrie's grandfoals using to trade with those turtles, anyway?"

"An abundance of fruit.  It would seem that the bluffs of western Alafreo are greatly lacking in both vegetation as well as sweet delicacies.  The Durandanans provide the sentient tortoises with bananas, melons, and grapes.  In return, the long lost pegasi of Equestria dine on... fish for the first time..."

"Heh... guess you're not all that proud about that last bit."

"In truth, Rainbow Dash, the thought of any equine devouring animal flesh disturbs me... but that may simply be a consequence of attuning myself to the modern Equestria that my sister has governed for so long.  Alas, I'm old enough to possess an open mind.  After all, Sarosians dine on insects and small rodents, and they've never fallen from my grace."

"Y'know, Princess, Fluttershy used to feed fish to her otters out by the cottage where she lived."

"The caretaking of wildlife is a different matter, for they operate by their own scale of harmonic balance.  I must admit that I have several reservations when it comes to consumption on the pony level.  It boggles my mind how you've been able to witness so many different cultures with such varied rules first-hoof and yet maintain your composure."

"Hey..."  Rainbow shrugged against the cloud.  "The Jury eats meat all around me.  I've learned to chillax with it... so long as I don't take a bite myself."

"Your integrity is commendable, Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah, well... don't let it get around."

"I just remembered something.  Jerrio and Sivrem requested that Celestia and I deliver a message from the Alafreons to you."

"Oh?"  Rainbow Dash sat up straight, raising an eyebrow.  "What kind of a message?"

"Are you familiar with a village that goes by the name of Abinadi?"

"Pffft!  Totally!  What, did Boxer have more snazzy things to say?"

"No, not him, though the descriptions I've heard of the village elder have instantly won my respect.  Alas, this message comes from Lerris."

Rainbow paled instantly.  "Uhhh... excuse m-me?"

"The changeling who traveled in your party, evidently.  She wishes you and your companions good fortune, and she desires for you to know that she is thriving happily among her peers in Abinadi."

"... ... ..."  Rainbow blinked.  Slowly, she smiled.  "Well, how about that..."  She giggled slightly and hugged herself with a long sigh.  "Now, if that isn't a bucket of awesome right there..."

"Celestia and I were certain you would benefit from hearing that."

Rainbow cleared her throat.  She rubbed one of her eyes dry with a forelimb.  "Yeah..."  The mare gulped.  "Well... it's s-super nice hearing that Durandana's doing nicely for itself too."

"Indeed."

"Cuz, y'know, if the place was imploding in on itself in cultural upheaval and all that crud—"

"I'm certain that is the least of your concerns at the moment," Luna's voice said.  "It begs inquiring: have you had any success in reaching Val Roa?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes instantly clenched shut.  She took a deep, deep breath.

Eventually, Luna once again spoke up.  "...if that is a tender subject, we can switch to discussing something else—such as the welfare of your companions."

"Nah, Luna, it's okay," Rainbow Dash murmured.  She reopened her eyes with a weak smile.  "It's just that... th-there's not much else to say.  I mean... we're trying everything we can to find a weakness along the border that we can fly through."

"A 'weakness?'"

"That's right."

"You almost make it sound like you're attempting to invade the kingdom, not bring it salvation."

"Well, honestly, Your Highness, at this point it's not like we have any other ch-choice!" Rainbow's voice cracked.  "They're sure as heck not making it easy for us!  Or for any other pony for that matter!"

"The kingdom is obviously experiencing a crisis, on top of the fact that they value their secrecy."

"Yeah, or maybe it's just Chrysalis who doesn't want anypony to know what's going on inside Val Roa."

"You truly believe her influence has consumed the land already?"

"I'd friggin' bet on it."  Rainbow sighed, her nostrils flaring.  She kicked lazily at the cloud bed beneath her.  "We've certainly given her enough time to pillage the place from the inside out."

"Rainbow Dash..."

"She probably has a dayum hive being laid on the monarchy's chest, for all I know!"  Rainbow wheezed.  "The Val Roans are probably up to their fetlocks in changeling slime as we speak!  And with me and the Noble Jury farting around the countryside, we certainly haven't made life any better for them!"

"Correct me if I am wrong, but have you not been exemplifying peace and harmony for the last sixty days in that land?"

Rainbow sighed, face-hoofing.  "Yes, Y-Your Highness—"

"Have you not been acting as key guardians and defenders of justice in a time and place where the local ponies have no one else to turn to?"

"Yeah.  We've been kicking butt and saving innocent flanks!  I know that!  But even still—"

"You must not punish yourself unnecessarily, Rainbow Dash," Luna's voice said.  "There is no doubt whatsoever that you are a pony of integrity.  You and your close companions are heroes to the core."

"There's a big picture here, Luna," Rainbow muttered.  "I fear that we're not doing anything to tackle it."

"Well, you most certainly are not ignoring it," Luna said.  "Neither are you ignoring the pleas for help from these needy villagers being plagued by the insufferable goblins of that land."

"Uh huh..."

"Your actions are completely and utterly commendable.  Do not deny that."

"And I'm not, Luna."  Rainbow gulped.  "There's j-just... something else to it.  Something else that I'm having a hard time with acknowledging."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy kicking goblin butt.  I do."  Rainbow rolled over on the cloud, hugging herself.  "These punks deserve it.  I don't know how come so many of them are so aggressively rushing up from the South—but the Jury's literally been the only thing holding them back, and their numbers are starting to dwindle.  But still..."  She sighed, her eyes thin and melancholic.  "I-I know that deep down... I'm not doing this for heroism's sake.  Neither am I doing it just to be a good pony..."

"Then what is your motivation, Rainbow?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the pegasus muttered.  "Right past Val Roa is the Grand Choke.  And I know that trying to take the Noble Jury through it is stupid."

"I seriously doubt that this 'Grand Choke' is capable of halting your travels—"

"No offense, but you're not getting it, Your Highness," Rainbow grumbled.  "It's suicide."  She gulped.  "Not for me, though, but for the Jury.  The place screws with magic.  Every pony around these parts confirms it.  Plus, it's all I've ever heard about the dang place since I started flying east in the first place."  Rainbow sighed.  "The Grand Choke may not consume Austraeoh, but it sure as heck would drain all the life from my friends."

"Your concern is admirable.  And, believe it or not, Rainbow, I do get it," Luna's voice said.  "You dread an inevitable parting of ways."

Rainbow slowly nodded.  "For the longest time, I always figured that... y'know... something tragic would force me and the Jury to split.  I know that sounds morbid, but we've been through some pretty nasty straits and it's taken quite a few blows to my faith.  But these past two months?"  She shuddered, smiling slightly.  "They've been fantastic.  Mega awesome, even.  We've kicked butt and taken names.  We're like friggin' superheroes out here.  It's everything I've ever wanted to be, but..."  Her smile faded.  "...sooner than later, it's all gotta end.  And I'm thinking that—deep down—it's not the border of Val Roa that's stopping me... it's just me stopping me."

"I seriously doubt that, Rainbow."

"Well I don't," Rainbow snarled slightly.  "No matter how hard I shake the feeling, the truth always comes back to haunt me.  And that truth is that... sooner than later..."  She sighed.  "The Noble Jury will make its last flight together.  And... and I-I can't bear to face that.  But I should."

"Nopony can blame you, Rainbow Dash.  You've made some remarkable friends in your journey.  It would not be easy to give them up."

The pegasus sniffled slightly.  "I wish it was th-that simple, Princess.  I've f-found more than friendship out here."  She hugged herself and closed her eyes with a shudder.  "I've found love..."