“...everypony just calm down for a second. Now... let's start over. Yer sayin' that Rainbow Dash's pendant... tried zappin' yer Holy Reed?”
“It wasn't just her accursed jewlery! The pony herself was desecrating it!”
“That remains to be determined, Antsan. If I recall, the anointed one was quite delirious when I caught her. It's quite possible she simply suffered a dizzy spell that drove her to delirium.”
“Stop defending the mare, Sonikah! Just because you're her anchor doesn't excuse blindness!”
“Watch your tongue, child. Sonikah has performed far more sacraments than you have. I have full faith in her, which is why I assigned her to the investigator.”
“But she didn't even see it, elder! Sonikah was deep in meditation the moment that Rainbow Dash began prying at the Reed! Everypony was!”
“The elders you witnessed were in deep communion with the spirit of Verlaxion, child. You would understand that if you had committed yourself to the sacraments as much as they have. But you weren't even allowed to be in the Holiest of Holies today—”
“And praise Verlaxion's divine glory that I was! Or else the Reed would have been damaged irrecoverably!”
“And just how do y'all know that Rainbow was tryin' to damage thangs? She done went through yer crazy endurance test to have a seat before Verlaxion, didn't she?! So, after all that, why try and muck things up?!”
“Mrmmmff...” Rainbow's lips parted. Her ears twitched... then twitched some more. “Why is... grnngh... everypony... yelling...?” Within the space of that utterance, vague memories pierced the cloudy veil of Rainbow's mind, and her ruby eyes flashed open. “...Fluttershy.” She sat up with a gasp. “The Reed—!”
Two talons held her in place—one metal and the other flesh. As soon as Rainbow tried sitting, she was overwhelmed by dizziness and nausea. Wildcard's gentle grip of her shoulders kept her from sprawling across the floor.
“Eughhh...” She rubbed her forehead. The mare's skull throbbed from the continuing argument in the background. The wooden walls of a candle-lit shack rattled with voices. She recognized Bard's in an instant... as well as Sonikah's, Kyron's, and—most grating of all—Antsan's. “Ah jeez... things really lit up, didn't they?”
“Pffft... you have no idea,” Pinkie Pie said. “And not in the birthdy candle way.”
Rainbow gasped. She looked at the mare in front of her, and her eyes instantly watered. “Pinkie...” She looked aside, quivering. “Twilight... Rarity!” She squirmed. “Omigosh... omigosh! You guys are fine!”
“Why, of course we are!” Rarity stammered, nevertheless squirming uncomfortably at the scene around them. “Why wouldn't we be?”
“But... but when my hoof touched the... touched the...” She gulped. “All three of you vanished.”
“We tried communicating to you, Rainbow,” Twilight said in a low tone. “But you didn't respond. It was... just like the machine world in Shoggoth all over again.” She sighed out her nostrils.
Rainbow blinked. “What... what's the matter?”
“Mmmm...” Pinkie whimpered, cowering away from the center of the room like a dog. “...everything.”
Rainbow's brow furrowed. “Girls, did... did something...?”
“Now listen!” Antsan's voice resonated. Rainbow sensed his figure pointing at her from the far end of the room. “She's even talking to herself!”
“Rainbow...” Bard gasped, pivoting about and tilting his hat back.
Sonikah left Kyron's side to squat before the pegasus. “Rainbow Dash... child... are you... feeling alright?”
“I'm... mmff...” Rainbow struggled to get up on wobbling legs. Wildcard helped her gently. Shrugging her shoulders, she gave him a thankful wave, then stumbled forward... teetering slightly. “I'm as good as I'll ever be.” She came to a stop, braids flouncing. A long sigh, and she murmured: “I'm... I'm very sorry...”
Kyron tilted his head aside. “And precisely what are you apologizing for, my child?”
Rainbow Dash opened her muzzle—but lingered. Gulping, she leaned back, trembling slightly. “Is... is it okay...?”
“Do you now inquire about the Reed, outsider?” Antsan frowned. “Is this truly the face of your 'penitence'—?”
Kyron waved a hoof at the young stallion, silencing him. He calmly gazed at Rainbow again. “The Reed is healthy and majestic as ever. No damage has been done.”
Rainbow exhaled. Her ears drooped as she turned to smile at her marefriends.
“Rainbow, darlin'.”
Rainbow turned around.
Bard stared at her, lips pursed. “Care to tell us what happened in there?”
Kyron's voice raised: “By Verlaxion's grace, a firm explanation would be most righteous.” He took an icy step forward, eyes leering. “Do you know what you were doing right before you collapsed?”
Rainbow cleared her throat. “Do I know what I was doing...”
“Newly-anointed Antsan claims he saw you touching the Reed with your bare hooves.”
“More than that!” Antsan seethed. “She was—!”
Kyron's hoof waved in the air with such remarkable speed that it even startled Rainbow Dash. He kept staring at her, the rest of his body remaining immaculately still. “...Possibly even manipulating the structure of the Reed through physical force.” His eyes darted over. “Then anointed Sonikah gives the account of seeing you doing precisely what Antsan described... before she had to forcefully remove you from the Reed.”
Sonikah gulped before murmuring: “Rainbow Dash... your... jewel...” She pointed at the Element around Rainbow's neck. “The representative piece of iconography that you were so graciously allowed to bear on your person within the Holiest of Holies... ... ... it was resonating with a strange magic. You seemed faint... distant... and you did not react to any of my fervent inquisitions. I... I-I feared for the Reed, and that is why I took it upon myself to forcibly distance you from the essence of Verlaxion's glory.” She shuddered. “I do sincerely hope that I did not cause you grave injury.”
“No, Sonikah...” Rainbow shook her head at her anchor. She spoke in a reassuring tone. “You didn't hurt me in any way.”
“Since you are so keen on answering Sonikah's question, then perhaps you will answer mine,” Kyron said, stepping closer. Rainbow became suddenly aware of just how tall the elder was. “Do you remember any of these details, as they have been so described to you?”
“Now just a moment...” Bard stepped forward, waving a hoof. “Before y'all give her the third degree, how 'bout lettin' her get a word in fi—”
“Yes,” Rainbow Dash said.
Bard and Wildcard glanced at her with a jerk.
She took a deep breath, nodding at Kyron. “I do remember.” She glanced aside. “It is like what Sonikah described.” She clenched her teeth. “...and Antsan.”
Kyron's brow furrowed. “Would you care to explain why you chose to touch the Reed with your mortal being?” He blinked. Hard. “Was it not thoroughly explained to you by your anchor that a newly-anointed foal of Verlaxion—even through anchorage—is not permitted to come into contact with the essence of our Goddess?”
“She did explain it thoroughly to me, elder,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Then you know that your only purpose for being inside the Holiest of Holies was to meditate? So that you might commune with Verlaxion in spirit?”
“Yes, elder,” Rainbow said, breath shuddering.
“Do you acknowledge by failing to commit to either of these things, you not only directly disobeyed the directions of your anchor, but you trespassed on the spiritual code laid out by the Foals of Verlaxion?”
“Rainbow...” Rarity floated in, shaking her head. “Don't allow them to increminate you! There's still time to properly explain what must have hap—”
“Yes,” Rainbow said, frowning. Pinkie and Twilight winced.
Before Kyron could speak again—Antsan trotted firmly forward, gnashing his teeth: “Then explain! Explain why you sought fit to attack the Reed!”
“I was not attacking the Reed,” Rainbow Dash growled.
“Then what were you doing, child?!” Antsan demanded.
Rainbow Dash glared at him, then looked at Bard and Wildcard.
The Desperadoes fidgeted in anxious confusion, their eyes glued to the mare.
Rainbow sighed, her body sagging inside her sackcloth gown. She hung her head for a few seconds, then muttered: “I... I saw something.” She gulped. “A vision, if you will.”
Antsan blinked, his muzzle agape in confusion. Kyron gently brushed him aside and stood beside Sonikah. “A vision of what, child?”
“Of a spirit,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Not of Verlaxion's... but of a friend. A very old friend of mine.”
“You saw this vision in the Holiest of Holies?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“And the Reed... did proximity to it give you this vision?”
“It wasn't the Reed.” Rainbow raised her face, squinting. “It's the metal behind it.”
Antsan blinked. Lips pursed, he gazed up at the other two Luminards.
“Rainbow Dash, that metal... is a lifeless piece of ancient Luminar,” Sonikah remarked. “It is devoid of any life or spiritual meaning. That is precisely why Verlaxion's Reed is so miraculous, for it has chosen to shroud one of the last standing effigies of our past sins and failures—”
“No. There's more to it than that.” Rainbow's nostrils fumed. “There's more to all of this then just Verlaxion or the Plight of Luminar.”
Antsan frowned. He opened his mouth to object—
“And... you know... I wasn't one hundred percent certain of it,” Rainbow Dash said. “So... I had to get closer to find out... to know if I could commune with my friend.”
“So, then...” Sonikah squinted. “...you had this vision before you even set hoof in the Holiest of Holies?”
Twilight bit her lip.
Rainbow blinked. “Uhm... I-I...”
“Was that the entire reason you took part in the Penitent Sacrament?” Sonikah exclaimed.
“Look...” Rainbow frowned. “I passed, didn't I?!”
Bard sighed, reaching over. “Rainbow...”
She shook his hoof off and frowned at the pilgrims. “By your code... by your Word of Reed, I became anointed! Don't pretend that it didn't happen! I passed your friggin' closet test with flying colors! And you know why? Because I'm sincere about this! I'm more sincere about this than I have been about almost any darn thing in my life!” She pointed. “There's more to this place than just the Reed! It holds the secrets to why I'm even here! And if I can't uncover that, then... then...” She leaned back, lips tight. “Well, I'm screwed... and so is a bunch of other ponies by proxy. How's that for anchorage?”
Bard looked over at Wildcard. The griffon sighed and face-talon'd.
Sonikah's muzzle was twisted with confusion. “You... you came to the Quade for secrets? But... but I don't understand—”
“It's for her journey,” Kyron said.
Antsan and Sonikah twirled to face him.
“Elder...?” Antsan blinked.
Kyron took a long, heavy breath. “She never held any faith in the Reed to begin with. It's the metal beneath that she's obsessed with... as has been the case since she came here.”
“But...” Antsan gulped, glanced at Sonikah, then looked back at Kyron. “I-I don't understand. Just what does that mean?”
“It means that Miss Dash has not been very forthcoming with us,” Kyron firmly said. “Which, I do believe, is quite the understatement in regards to her character.” He turned about and took a few steps towards Bard. “So, to gauge her circumstances better, she forced others to bridge the awkward gap in her stead. Tell me, Mr. Bard...” Kyron pointed at Rainbow. “She is the mare belonging to the supposed 'Church of Austraeoh,' isn't she?”
Bard blinked.
Kyron's eyes narrowed. “The one you claimed to have met rather incidentally in your travels. The curious stranger from beyond the Blight.”
“I... uhm...” Bard looked at Rainbow.
Rainbow slowly nodded.
With a long sigh, Bard hung his head and nodded. “Yes. Yes, she is.”
“And that... that jewel around her neck...” Kyron gestured. “I suspect there is more from her homeland that she carries in it.” He turned around, peering across the room. “Something magical. Something dangerous.”
“It isn't dangerous,” Rainbow insisted.
“Truly?” Kyron cocked his head to the side. “Do tell me, child. What would have happened to Verlaxion's miraculous Reed if the pedant's red light described by Sonikah actually impacted it?”
“I...” Rainbow grimaced. She glanced at her marefriends, then gulped. “I... I don't know...”
“Alas...” Kyron nodded. “...you have finally told us something with complete honesty.”
Dead silence.
“Rainbow Dash...” Kyron paced across the room on coldly shuffling hooves. “...we have welcomed you and your companions with open arms. Even when the protector Menthe first came to me—personally, and in secret—to inform me of his silent misgivings, I insisted that we treat you like any other pilgrims called to the Quade.”
Bard and Wildcard exchanged blinking glances.
Kyron continued, trotting before Rainbow Dash. “We shared company like friends... we allowed you to sample our hymns and eat our food. We gave you shelter to sleep and facilities to keep you comfortable. And when you expressed a deep desire to partake in the Penitent Sacrament of Anchorage, we humbly agreed to exercise a ritual that hadn't been performed by a single Kyron in many lifetimes. We gave patient ear to your personal beliefs, and we even allowed you to bring with you a personal trinket... a supremely iconic piece of your royal heritage—a symbol of “Harmony”—into the Holiest of Holies... the lowest chapel of the Reed... the most sacred spot in the Quade where we give our souls over to Verlaxion...”
He came to a stop, hooves scuffling. His glare was like the precipice of a mountain, and just as precarious.
“...am I to understand, that after all of these things, you would still desire to take advantage of our kindness.”
Rainbow stared at him. After a brief shiver, she gulped and shook her head. “I... I don't want to take advantage of anything.”
“And yet, you broke our rules... knowingly defied the code set before us and before you...” He took a deep breath. “Do you understand the heinous nature of what you did? Never in recorded history since the foundation of our order has any pilgrim dared to so much as touch the Reed. Since the first Kyron irrecoverably damaged the outer shoots of Verlaxion's blessing, we have understood far too well the consequences of harming any part of the Reed. Manipulation of a single shoot could damage the entire whole. What you did down there in the chapel—against all direct instructions—risked destroying the very foundation of our sacred communication with the redeeming Goddess Verlaxion. And what is your defense? What is your explanation for doing this? Some... fleeting, personal dedication to a heathen faith that falls so far outside of Verlaxion's grace that it exists even beyond the Blight? Do you even know how close you came to bringing utter destruction to everything we hold dear... and that which we were so happily willing to share with you?”
“It wasn't... I-I mean...” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She squeaked, “You don't understand...”
“No. Perhaps not.” Kyron shook his head. “But neither do you, child.”
Rainbow blinked.
Kyron hung his head. He stood there, hunched over and frozen, until at last he weathered a pathetic sigh. “Sixty-two winters ago, I was just a young pilgrim... still getting used to the odd smell of the Quade's waters... suffering to become familiar with the chaffing fabric of sackcloth... when the Kyron before me last stripped a foal of their anointed blessing. I remember how shocked I felt... how my heart ached in sorrow for the pilgrim... excommunicated for eating meat and lying about it.” He gulped. “For weeks... months... I entreated the spirit of Verlaxion, asking for Her divine grace in helping me get past the melancholy and shame I felt for a fellow pilgrim that I would no longer have the pleasure of communing with anymore. It was then that I had a vision... that the merciful Goddess found something to cherish from my humble prayers. I decided right then and there that I would do my best to prove She had a reason to have faith in me, and that—if someday I was to become Kyron myself—I would exercise Her merciful will with gentility, kindness, and grace. I swore to myself that I would lead pilgrims to Her glory, so that we may bask in the Reed without need for distraction, or temptations to deviance. I promised that I would establish a congregation full of faithful foals, and that I would never... ever have to strip an anointed pilgrim of their blessing.”
Shuddering, the elder looked up. There were tears in his life.
“I see now, after so many long years, that I have finally failed Her... and I have f-failed my congregation as well.”
Rainbow leaned back, lips pursed.
Jaws clenched, Kyron turned to face Rainbow Dash directly. “Rainbow Dash... it is with a h-heavy heart that I must strip you of your blessing.” He slowly shook his head. “You are no longer anointed. From henceforth, your anchorage to Sonikah is severed.”
Upon hearing that, Sonikah choked on a sob. She held a hoof over her muzzle, staring into the shadows.
“I...” Rainbow winced. She pointed at Sonikah. “But—”
“You will no longer be allowed to enter any of the chapels,” Kyron said, his face iron-wrought and resolute. “You will no longer be allowed to stand within eyeshot of the Holy Reed. You will only be granted access to the Word of Reed so long as you are accompanied by a highly-anointed elder for the duration of your reading, and even then you will be barred from exercising any of the Sacraments. Any request to pursue the rituals stated in Scripture shall be refused, until such a time that the other elders and I have determined that you have properly repented of your transgressions committed today.”
“Please...” Rainbow Dash lurched forward, grimacing. “The metal! Behind the Reed! If you could just tell me if there's another spot where—”
“We will do no such thing,” Kyron said, his eyes briefly flaring. “Remove the Reed from your thoughts, for they do not belong to an anointed mind.” He shuddered. “Not any longer.” He leaned back, sighing. “You are still bound by the flesh. As such, we recognize the inhospitable nature of the Quade and its surrounding Elements. To that extent, you and your friends... are still welcome to shelter and sustenance. It would be cruel of us to not offer such. Perhaps—with nourishment here in the temporal realm—you will rethink your sins committed against the spiritual. When such a time comes that you have truly displayed a penitent and repentant nature, then and only then might the excommunication... be undone.”
Rainbow gulped. “How...” She quivered. “How l-long are we talking about?”
Kyron stared sadly at her. “That will be up to the Kyron who is alive at the time.” That said, he turned swiftly towards Antsan. “And you, newly anointed one.”
“Yes, elder?”
“You know fully well that you were not allowed in the Holiest of Holies today. Your own trials—dedicated as they may be—are far from complete.”
“Yes, elder. Absolutely understood.” Antsan gulped and pointed at Rainbow. “B-but if I hadn't been moved by Verlaxion's spirit to catch her—”
“Do not assign the Goddess' spirit to disobedience!” Kyron exlaimed, his voice raising. “A soul who commits a sin, fully aware of the transgression, is just as guilty as a soul who's never buried their sins in the Shadow of the Plight to begin with.” He took a deep breath. “However, Verlaxion has anointed me with Her mercy and understanding. What you've done for the sanctity of the Reed today shall not be forgotten... but I cannot forget the manner in which it was done. There is no right way to do a wrong thing. As such, Verlaxion's Spirit will require much show of penitence and humility from you.” He pointed at Sonikah. “Sonikah shall be your anchor now... to nurture you to a proper position of spiritual awareness, until the elders and I deem you worthy for the lower chapels. Is that understood?”
Antsan blinked. Eventually, he bowed his head. “Yes, elder,” he spoke in a low tone. “I understand... and I thank you for your blessings.”
“Thank Verlaxion, my child,” Kyron said. “It is Her blessings that restore all.” He took a calm breath, then turned towards Rainbow and the Desperadoes. “This conversation—as it ever was—is now finished. Please... return to your shelters. You are not to enter our interior domains again... not without the express permission of the elders.”
Kyron and Antsan slowly shuffled off. Sonikah remained behind, shaking slightly.
Rainbow swallowed a lump down her throat. She took a single step towards the former anchor. “Sonikah... Sonikah, I'm really—”
Fighting tears—and a frown—Sonikah swiftly spun from Rainbow Dash and trotted firmly out of the room.
Rainbow Dash stood in place, breathing in nervous, spastic spurts. Bard and Wildcard came over, and the stallion placed a hoof on her shoulder. Rainbow stared down at the floor with a sigh. With one hoof, she reached under her sackcloth... and viciously tore the thing off her, littering the wooden boards with white tatters.
Hours later, Rainbow Dash sat on the high platform beneath their lean-to's. She stared straight ahead while Wildcard—positioned behind her—used a combination of his talons and his whittling knife to sever the strips of yellow Reed from her mane. One by one, her braids were undone, so that the prismatic fibers hung loosely and lazily at the base of the mare's neck. And yet, with each length that was graciously unbound, she didn't feel any less ache from it all.
Below, the calm waters of the Quade glistened in the setting sun. Pilgrims strolled across the lower platforms, but none of them came close to where the outsiders sat in their lofty shelter.
“Well... if you ask me,” Rarity said, floating from side to side with a ghostly sigh. “They went about that rather melodramatically.” She turned to glare at the others. “And, yes, I am quite aware of the irony in that statement.”
“Rarity, please...” Twilight sighed, hovering beside Rainbow Dash. “You heard the pain in Kyron's voice when he stripped Rainbow Dash of the 'blessing.' There wasn't a part of that that he even remotely enjoyed!”
“Then why did he even bother to do it?!” Rarity frowned. “All because Rainbow Dash fiddled with a little bit of bamboo roots!”
“It's a far more complicated situation than that and you know it.”
“'Forgive and forget,' is what I'd say!”
“And just how many times are they going to 'forgive' Rainbow and the Desperadoes until they have no sincerity to give?!” Twilight shrugged. “No matter how we approach it, we have a very... very serious problem right now and it's high time that we faced it!”
“Hey Wildcard.” Pinkie pointed at Rainbow's hair. “You missed a spot.”
Twilight grumbled. “For the last time, he can't hear you, Pinkie.”
“Awwwwww...” Pinkie folded her forelimbs. “Well, it doesn't hurt to help!”
“I think we have more pressing concerns than the fashion of Rainbow's mane—” Rarity went cross-eyed. “Oh dear...” She caressed her own cheek. “Listen to what I'm saying! Oh Celestia, what has this most dreadful excuse for a scenic soiree done to me?!”
“Rarity, it's not all about you,” Twilight said. She gestured at Rainbow. “She's the one having to bear the brunt of this!”
“You're right, Twilight.” Rarity upturned her nose. “It isn't about me. Then again, it isn't truly about Rainbow Dash either.” She pointed at the central shaft of the Luminard's Reed. “Poor Fluttershy is still stuck in that blasted thing! And now that Rainbow's been... pffft... excommunicated, how on earth are we ever going to get her out of there?”
“I'll tell you one thing!” Pinkie said. “It won't be by banging our hooves around the holy monk sticks like Dashie was doing earlier!” She winced, then smiled at the mare. “Erm... no offense.”
Rainbow Dash's nostrils flared. She continued to gaze dead ahead, her eyes following the jagged contours of the northern mountain range as it towered above the waters of the Quade.
“Rainbow...” Twilight swallowed a lump down her throat. She floated closer, hovering near Rainbow's other side. “Rainbow Dash... please... talk to us.” She smiled sincerely. “Tell us how you're feeling. It's okay.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie pointed. “And Wildcard's used to it by now! So don't worry about spooking the bird!”
Rainbow merely sighed. “What's to tell?” she muttered.
Wildcard paused, craning his feathery head about to glance at her.
“I bucked it all up,” Rainbow droned, eyes darting past her friends, following the glowing rays of the setting sun. “More than once. Kind of like a crazy layer of buck-ups, really.” She shuddered. “One on top of one another.”
“Don't be so terribly hard on yourself, darling,” Rarity said. Nevertheless, she sighed as she continued: “You put yourself through... so much strain to become 'anointed' as t'were. Shouldn't they have at least recognized it? I mean... what's the value in such a title if they can take it away so swiftly? As if on a dime!”
“Rarity, we're done talking about the Luminards and what they've done,” Twilight grumbled. “That's not the crux of the issue anymore.”
“Isn't it, though?” Rarity remarked. “Oh, sure, they're friendly and inviting on the surface, but there's this one spot... this impermeable road block where they instantly stop listening to reason and start treating every creative idea as 'heathen' or 'apostate,' with nothing but a series of... stuffy old rulebooks to defend their rather nebulous belief system.”
“And if any single one of them was given the chance to express themselves, they'd say the same thing about Equestrian ideas!” Twilight said.
“Oh, Twilight, please, don't even pretend to go there!” Rarity folded her forelimbs with a frown. “Every mare here—ghostly or not—knows... without a shadow of a doubt, we know that Harmony is the real ticket!”
Rainbow bit her lip. Her hooves kneaded the sleeping mat beneath her and Wildcard.
“After all, we've seen it in action!” Rarity continued. “We know what it can do to an abhorrent spirit such as Nightmare Moon! Why... even these monks themselves recall a moment in time when night lasted longer than usual! But are they willing to be illuminated on the topic by someone who saw the reason for the anomaly in person? Noooooo... 'Oh look! Verlaxion sneezed! There's dreaded slit everywhere! Why, yes! That must have put the sun out! No point in arguing that! It's our sins that are to blame!'”
Pinkie scrunched her muzzle as she spoke: “Why do I get the feeling that if we try bumping our spirit rocks against their spirit rocks for eternity... it still won't produce rock candy?”
“Pinkie's right,” Twilight said. “A spiritual debate isn't going to solve anything.”
“But if Rainbow was to somehow convince them that her Element and her essence as 'Austraeoh' has a legitimate connection with what's beneath the Tower—”
“I don't see how that's going to be feasible!” Twilight replied. “At least...” She winced slightly, avoiding Rainbow's gaze. “...not anymore.”
Rainbow grimaced, gazing towards the side. Incidentally, her sight fell over two familiar figures on a lower platform. Upon making eye contact, Galloran winced, then pretended to go about his business. Menthe, in the meantime, stood absolutely still, staring up at the high platform, unfazed.
“Whelp...” Bard suddenly strolled up, carrying a dish full of fruit. “...they certainly ain't cheery anymore,” the stallion said. “Funny how ponies are only themselves as long as they can afford bein' themselves in front of folk they trust.” He placed the fruit in front of Rainbow and Wildcard. “I still can't get over the fact that Menthe talked nasty behind our backs... not that I can't believe it, but still...” He shook his head with a tired smirk. “Old farts... amirite?”
Wildcard gestured, then pointed at Rainbow's skull.
“Nice job, mofo.” Bard smirked. “She's certainly lookin' less... ... ... cactusy.” A beat. He shrugged. “Anyways. Ocean mangoes. Eat up.” He pointed at the plate. “Them Luminards are still as generous as ever... but I can tell they're none too happy about it. The sackclothers who gave me them vittles were also givin' me the stink-eye somethin' fierce. No doubt they heard what went down in Kyron's... guilt shack. Meh.”
Rainbow gulped, fidgeting while Wildcard undid more of her braids. “I'm... uhm...” She rasped,” I'm not really hungry at the moment...”
“Well Hell, use 'em for shampoo'n yer mane... I dun care...” Bard paced around. He sighed heavily into the sunset. “Dayum if that didn't used to look pretty.” He stood there for a while, fumbling.
Rainbow gazed up.
“... ... ...funny how thangs went south so quickly. For a moment there... I almost felt like you was onto somethin'.”
Silence.
“But I guess not,” Bard muttered. “Or... at least... if you was onto somethin'... you threw yerself at it too quick-like.”
“I...” Rainbow fidgeted, then sighed. “I-I shouldn't have messed with the Reed like I did.”
Bard spun with a frown. “Yer dayum right you shouldn't have!”
Rainbow winced, causing Wildcard to lose his grip of her braids.
Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow shook where they hovered.
“I mean... Rainbow... heheh...” Bard shook his head into the upper winds of the Quade. “...darlin'... you was in their most sacred spot. Ponies dun even pass gas there without throwin' thirty lashes on themselves! And then you stood up and did the tango with their holy sticks. I mean... what did ya think was going to happen?!”
“I... I don't know...”
“Ya dunno!” Bard nodded, stomping towards her. “Sure! Fine'n'dandy! Well, Rainbow, how 'bout usin' yer imagination for once? Look back on all that wrasslin' ya did with the Reeds and try to come up with an outcome that could have possibly... feasibly fallen in yer favor!”
“Maybe...” Rainbow Dash shivered. “M-maybe if I could have just touched the glowing symbol of Ynanhluutr... I-I could have finally opened the door to the Machine World.” She gulped. “I could have opened the door to Fluttershy.”
“Yeah?” Bard frowned. “And then what? What about all them old monk-geezers sittin' all around you? Wouldn't they have protested?”
“I-I don't know!” Rainbow gnashed her teeth, voice cracking. “Maybe... m-maybe they would have galloped off in fright! That would have... uhm... g-given me time to get Fluttershy out of there—”
“—while the entire collective psyche of the Luminards collapsed in on itself! Real good plan there, Rainbow!”
“Well, they considered me anointed, didn't they?!” Rainbow Dash said with a frown. “Maybe I figured... th-that they would have given me a benefit of the doubt!”
“And just let ya tie knots in their precious holy Reed?!” Bard folded his forelimbs. “I'm startin' to think that you don't even have figured what ya figured! Sure... goin' through the trials was mighty brave of ya. Noble, even. And it got you far! Really far! But most of that plan got cooked up by yer marefriends! Not you! And when it took you to the next step, what happened?”
“I bucked up...”
“And that's 'cuz you dun think, Rainbow Dash!” Bard said, bending over and slapping one hoof against the other. “Hell, even back in Shoggoth, how'd ya even plan to get Pinkie Pie out of her frozen locker? None of us woulda gotten anywhere if Camellia hadn't steped in with her telepathic know-how and given us the boost we needed!” He gazed at her. “I'm not sayin' yer dumb, darlin', but when it comes to plannin' in advance, it just ain't yer strong suit.” He leaned back. “I know the feelin', cuz oftentimes I'm havin' to think on my hooves... livin' in the moment so that Dubya-Cee and I can hop from one job to another. But the problem with actin' impulsively is that it only ends in good results half of the time! And when it comes to gettin' bits or findin' the next bounty, that's all good and fine. But when it's a matter of life or death?! Or... o-or when yer stilt-walkin' across the fine silk thread of another culture's ancient religion?”
“I thought I could make contact with the metal entrance,” Rainbow said, frowning steadily at him. “I was wrong.”
“Hun, yer more than wrong,” Bard said. “You done pissed off the kindest, most forgivin' soul that any of us have ever met in the entirety of the Rohbredden Seas. Right now? Yer a million steps behind where you was this mornin'. That's where you are. And ain't no amount of prayers or closet somersaults with glasses of water that's gonna win ya back these folk's favor. Not in this lifetime.”
Rainbow hung her head, gazing down at her still-bandaged forelimbs.
Bard blinked. He rolled his eyes, sighed, and slumped down in front of her and Wildcard. He took his hat off and slapped his own fetlocks, exhaling through his nostrils. “... ... ...Rainbow, I'm really sorry. It's... it's mighty frustratin'. And not so much 'cuz of what ya did... but because of all the shiet you went through to get there...” He clenched his jaw. “I gotta say... there were times when I thought you was gonna be a goner. You threw more than yer body at them 'trials' of theirs. You threw yer spirit... you dedicated yer heart... all the thangs it took to make you who you are... even before all this... this Austraeoh bullshiet rolled into yer purdy lil' life. And all for what? Just to... to lose it all on a sudden gamble? It... it just dun make no sense to me.” Bard looked up. “Tell me how it makes even a lick of sense.”
“You should have seen it, Bard,” Rainbow said in a breathy tone. “The tower was right there. I could see my own reflection in the metal... at least durign the times when I wasn't being blinded by the proximity of Ynanhluutr.”
“So you saw the doorway, huh?”
“I-I did! And... and...” Rainbow Dash gestured, gazing in front of her. “...and I figured that if I could just move the Reed a bit to the side, maybe I could make enough room to slip through and activate the entrance!”
Bard took a deep breath. “Rainbow...”
“I never once even considered damaging the stupid stuff! Just... just shove it aside so that I could—”
“Rainbow...” Bard's eyes hung like an even razor. “Was there really enough room for yer body to slip through? I mean... really.”
Wildcard gazed curiously at the mare.
Rainbow bit her lip. She glanced up at her friends, then sighed with folded ears. “No. I... I guess there wasn't.”
“And yet you tried forcin' the hole wider.”
“It... it had to be done. There's no other place along the shaft that has that much open space.”
“Is that how ya collapsed?” Bard asked. “Tryin' to force that stuff open?”
“No, that happened because—” Rainbow blinked. Her pupils shrank. “...chaos...”
Twilight and Rarity craned their necks.
“Beg yer pardon?” Bard asked.
“It... it was just like what I saw beneath Shoggoth,” Rainbow murmured. Her eyes darted towards Bard. “Y-you saw it too! The ice... the frozen material that filled the Machine World! The stuff was full of this white powder! Chaos metal!”
“Lemme guess...” Bard scratched his chin as he squinted at her. “The same crud that them creepy golems were fashioned out of.”
“Exactly! It's something I've encountered a lot in my travels... some ancient material imbued with chaos and Verlax... darn it... that stupid Matriarch is using it to fill all of the Seeds she's touched!” Rainbow huffed... puffed... “Even... even...”
“The Reed?”
Rainbow gulped. “I have no doubt of it now. The moment I got that stuff to move just an inch... the material rained down on me. I... I-I got exposed to pure chaos... and...” She glanced up at Pinkie and the others. “My friends vanished... just like they did in lower Shoggoth. And then my Pendant started reacting and going haywire—”
“Mr. Holy Ginger said you nearly zapped the Reed.”
“It was an accident!” Rainbow growled. “I didn't mean for Harmony to go beserk like that!”
“Just like ya didn't mean to give their Reed some stretching exercise?”
Rainbow gaped at him. She rolled her eyes, then groaned prolongedly into her forelimbs.
Wildcard looked over her shoulder and gestured at Bard.
Bard nodded. “Makes sense. If dozens of generations of Luminards felt so dayum superstitious about the Reed, it figures that they'd never touch the darn stuff. That way... they'd never see any of the... chaos dust or whatever that's always been clingin' to it.”
“Right...” Rainbow murmured, muffled into her forelimbs. “You're absolutely right.” She looked up. “It all fits together too perfectly!”
“But that's what bothers me somethin' awful,” Bard said, leaning back with a squint. “What could possibly inspire a dragon like Verlax to put so much time and effort into settin' up somethin' like that? I mean... we're talkin' eons in advanced! How could she possibly have caught wind of this 'Austraeoh' stuff that long ago!”
“Trust me,” Rainbow droned. “She could.”
“It just... boggles my mind...”
“Well, sit there and remain boggled for all I care,” Rainbow grumbled. “But down there...!” She pointed at the lower platforms where the chapels lie in shadow. “...is the truth! To Verlax... to the Luminards... to getting Fluttershy! To everything!”
“And it's a cryin' shame,” Bard said, nodding. “Cuz there ain't no goin' down there no more.”
Rainbow's mouth hung open. She tried producing words to protest, but ultimately failed.
“It's over, Rainbow,” Bard said. “You put in a good effort... but as soon ya started throwing yer body and mind into the shredder to try and appeal to these folks and their beliefs... that shoulda been a good enough clue right there, ya think?”
Rainbow hung her head. She sniffled. “I know...” She bit her lip.
Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie hovered closer, their expressions sad and sympathetic.
“I just...” Rainbow ran a hoof over her head. Half of her mane hung loosely, the other in painful braids. “...I just dun know what to do. I mean... this was it. Yaerfaerda guided me here. I've... always f-found a solution before.” She sniffled again. “But now...?”
Wildcard looked up at Bard. He signed with his talons.
Bard blinked, then looked at Rainbow. “Rainbow, darlin'... Dubya-Cee and I... well...” He stood up. “We've been thinkin'.”
“Uh oh...” Pinkie cooed, her left lower leg quivering.
Rainbow and the others looked up.
“I mean... really thinkin',” Bard said. He began pacing with noticeable nervousness as he spoke. “It was drivin' us crazy to see ya goin' through so much Hell with the trials, so naturally we started comin' up with possible Plan B's... or I guess Plan C's at this point. You seemed to come out of the ordeal on top of thangs, so that gave us a brief glimmer of hope. But... well... we're back to where we was before. As a matter of fact, we're back even further behind our past selves... and... well...”
“...what?” Rainbow stammered.
Bard finally stopped pacing. He sighed, then turned towards Rainbow with a weak smile. “Maybe... we should consider goin' on to the next Seed.”
Twilight and Rarity did double-takes.
Rainbow blinked several times. She leaned forward. “... ... ...what???”
“It... it's not as crazy as it sounds—”
“My blueberry flank it's not!” Rainbow snarled. “Dude... Yaerfaerda is here!” She pointed. “It's not out there! It's right here!”
“I know—”
“Then what could we possibly gain from ignoring it and flying east past it?”
Bard opened his muzzle... lingered... then finally finished with a grin: “Control of the reins for once?”
Rainbow blinked. “Buh?”
“Hear me out...” Bard shuffled closer. “Just how long have ya been strugglin' with the logistics of this Austraeoh nonsense, huh? 'Am I bound by some ancient prophecy' or 'Am I in control of where the flight is leadin' me' and all that sort of hullabaloo.” He shook a hoof. “And dun pretend Dubya and I are ignorant of yer conversations with yer marefriends. We may be simple bounty hunters, but we still have ears.”
Twilight glanced nervously at Rainbow.
The stallion continued: “This glowy Yiffy symbol has led you to places where you've fetched yer friends, for sure... but what if... wh-what if there was more to it than that?” Bard gestured. “What if—to truly excel at this Austraeoh biz—you gotta take control for once... forcefully if need be? And... y'know... it could still be confirmin' the prophecy of all the whacked out ancient 'angels' or whatever it is you call them mysterious Urohringr pegasi. Yer just... puttin' more faith in yerself and less in the elements, ya feel me?”
“I... I-I assume...” Rainbow gulped. “...that the harmonic essence of Applejack is out there waiting for me, but... but I don't know where—”
“You've got them maps from Sinistar, dun ya?”
“Sinrar, and yes...”
“You have these Points of Interests marked down from when he poured through the old Kihutajan texts, right?”
“Uhm... sorta. Yeah...”
“So maybe you've got what it takes to make more than an estimated guess at this, darlin'!”
Rainbow frowned. “I can't afford to base my journey on 'estimated guesses,'” she grumbled. “Now who sucks at thinking things ahead of time?”
Bard raised a hoof. “Glad ya asked that. 'Cuz Dubya and I were talkin'...”
“Yeah...?”
“We have... mmm... connections... in Rohbredden.”
Rainbow blinked. “You mean the continent?”
“Well, yeah.” Bard shrugged. “What the Hell else is east of us, darlin'?”
“But... but I thought you made it your business never to have business there again.”
“Okay... fine... lemme start over,” Bard said with a sigh. “... ... ...Dubya-Cee has connections in Rohbredden.”
Rainbow looked over her shoulder. A griffon smiled sheepishly and waved back.
“I'm talkin' in the upper mountains... where it's super extra snowy'n'stuff.”
“Lemme guess...” Rainbow turned towards Bard yet again. “The wyverns.”
“The wyverns.” Bard nodded. “And what makes them the rarest and wisest of the Six Tribes is that they fancy stickin' to their mountains like hermits, preservin' some of the most ancient relics of Rohbredden culture.”
“Yeah... and that's gonna help us...” Rainbow arched an eyebrow. “... ... ...how?”
“Well... the more ancient a culture is, the more... connected it is with Verlaxion. It so happens that Wyverns hold major sway over the Council that runs the show in our homeland.”
“I... st-still don't know where you're going with this, dude,” Rainbow said with a sigh.
“I wish I could say it was simple, but it's not improbable.”
“What isn't?”
“That we go back to Dubya-Cee's old stompin' grounds,” Bard explained. “We get him to curry favor with the Wyverns. Then we get the Wyverns to appeal to the Council. The Council appeals to Her Majesty, the Goddess Verlaxion, and then...”
“... ... ...” Rainbow blinked. Her lips moved. “Verlaxion... mulls over... her stance on Austraeoh?”
“Now you've got it.”
“Dude... you think Verlaxion is even remotely interested in listening to what her own subjects have to say?”
Bard shrugged. “She's been supporting a democratic Council for countless millennia.”
“Yeah, and guess what?” Rainbow frowned. “It's all a front for a Divine Dragon chomping to get her way!”
“And I know ya think that, but what if yer wrong?”
“Bard... nnngh...” Rainbow ran a hoof over her face. “This isn't the right time to go into another philosophical debate over your life-long belief in—”
“Just think!” Bard whispered firmly. “If there was a way to win Verlaxion's favor, wouldn't that make yer whole journey easier! I mean... it's been done before!” He smirked. “Axan turned a new leaf, didn't she?”
“Mrmmmff... and she's decided to abandon me for some reason—”
“Still, one moment she was smashin' you to bits, and the next moment she was yer guardian dragon!” Bard gestured. “And... and then there was whatshername! The big bad bug horse!”
“... ... ...Chrysalis?”
“Was there ever an hour in the day before savin' Val Roa that you ever once considered that she would roll over and surrender to yer good graces?” Bard smirked. “I'm tellin' ya, darlin', you have a gift for persuadin' souls... well... when you decide to be smoothe and use it right.” He leaned back. “Combine that with the Desperadoes' connection in Rohbredden, and I bet we can make an appeal to Verlaxion as well. Who knows...” He shrugged. “If she starts to see thangs yer way, then surely she'd help ya get back all the Harmonic pieces to this puzzle yer livin'! I mean... crazy as she may be at the moment, the two of you still have the same end goal in mind, right?”
“Mmmm... s-sorta...”
“Bringin' Urohringr back together? I mean... why be at odds over that?” Bard waved his hoof. “But, y'know, one step at a time. And if thangs work out, I'd say the first order of business would be comin' back here to the Quade. I mean... just imagine the look on Kyron's and the other elders' faces if you return here with the Goddess herself. There'd be no defendin' the Reed no more. Verlaxion would just say the word... and poof... they'd let you open the door to Fluttershy.”
Rarity cleared her throat. “I must admit. His idea—though far-fetched—certainly has a degree of charm to it.”
“It's certainly more charming than sitting around here and being miserable,” Pinkie said.
“But...” Rainbow shuddered. “I don't see how... h-how...” She winced. “I mean, flying on without Yaerfaerda! It... it's like flying naked! I-I'm telling you, that beacon is there for a reason! Because it points me at the solution! And trying to go outside of that... I-I just don't know what would happen!”
“Yer a brave pony, Rainbow,” Bard said. “Surely you aren't afraid of that.”
“It's not about courage!” she retortedf with a frown. “It's about accepting what's destined.”
“Or... maybe... perhaps maybe...” Bard gestured. “The role of Austraeoh is to defy the rules of Destiny... break out of yer restrictions and throw your colors outside the lines.” He squinted. “Maybe that's just the sort of 'purpose' you've been needin' to find yerself 'within' all this time.”
Rainbow blinked.
Bard exhaled. “Didja ever think of that?”
Wildcard leaned back, folding his arms.
Rainbow gazed into the mountains above the Quade. Eventually, her eyes drifted, falling upon Twilight.
Twilight smiled. “I'm... starting to think that Bard might be onto something, Rainbow,” she said. “I mean... I doubt anything can be simple or easy at this point. But...” She shuddered. “...we really could use more answers at this point. And I don't think they're going to be lying in wait for us here.”
“Yeah...” Pinkie nodded. “I mean... it's not like you went straight to seaponyland after finding Rarity to get me! You had to make stops first!” She giggle-snorted, waving a hoof. “Destiny-detours!”
“Ew... Pinkie, honestly...” Rarity rolled her eyes.
“But...” Rainbow sniffled, her eyes moistening. She tilted her head down, gazing into the yellow glow beyond the Reed. “To... to give up on Fluttershy, though...”
“Rainbow...” Twilight shook her head, speaking softly. “We won't be giving up on Fluttershy.” She gulped. “Just like we won't be giving up on Applejack or the journey or Urohringr at large.”
“We just... need to branch out elsewhere for inspiration!” Rarity chimed. “For all we know, the solution to the problem here in the Quade could surely be waiting for us outside our perceived boundaries! Trust me... I've finished many a demanding project in the Boutique by setting it aside with full faith of returning later. And—guess what! I did return! And I accomplished what I meant to in the end!”
“Erm... dress-making analogies aside...” Twilight turned towards Rainbow again. “It's a healthy course of action for once. Besides, you've... I-I mean we've exhausted all of our options here. If there was any sort of message—predetermined or not—that we should be adhering to, then I think it's that the time has come to move on.”
“Fluttershy, Applejack and the rest of us have waited for you all this time, Rainbow, darling,” Rarity said. “We can afford to wait for you a little longer. After all... what's the rush?”
Rainbow opened her muzzle. When words tried to come out, she could only blanch instead.
“Well...?” Bard adjusted his hat on his head. “...what do the girls think?”
“They think... I think...” Rainbow gulped. “I-I think I should sleep on it.”
Wildcard looked up at Bard. The griffon nodded.
“Hmmmm...” Bard exhaled through his nostrils. “All thangs considered...” He smirked. “The best idea I heard all day.” He shuffled up towards his end of the lean-to as the sun went down. “Dun care if it's a mite bit early, neither.”
“Heh... I'm not about to complain!” Pinkie hopped about in the air while Wildcard resumed unbinding the last of Rainbow's braids. “Sleepy sleepy—no time for weepy!”
“Heeheehee...” Rarity and Twilight giggled.
In the meantime, Rainbow sat in silence. She glanced down, then gingerly picked up some of the woven reed string that was being clipped loose from her mane. Feeling the coarse yellow twine in her grasp, Rainbow let loose a deep sigh, closing her eyes.
At night, she could no longer keep them shut.
Despite all of her lingering aches and pains—the throbbing in her bandaged fetlocks or the persistent itch in her scalp—she laid perfectly still, no longer having the capacity for wincing or cringing. There was no welcoming sleep... no tempting unconsciousness.
A few feet away, Bard snored loudly. Wildcard—of course—lay as still as a statue.
The stars hung overhead, rich and purple in their distant drift.
Rainbow's nostrils flared. She tried clenching her eyes shut, but that accomplished nothing.
Suddenly, her ears twitched from a chirpy little sound hovering overhead.
“Hmmmmm...” Pinkie tossed and turned, gliding horizontally in the air above Rainbow. “Mmmmm-mmmm... pineapple float...” She smiled, cuddling her head against an invisible pillow as her eyes remained shut. “...cookies'n'cream... ... ...mint frosting...”
“Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow rasped.
“Heee-eeee... vanilla wafers dipped in apple sauce...”
“Pinkie...” Rainbow managed a weak, chapped smile. “...you're doing it wrong.” She pointed at her pendant. “The Vanilla Zone is that way, girl.”
“Hmmmmm... so sorriez...” Pinkie sputtered through a snore, turning over again. “Will not doughnut again...”
“Heheheh... here...” Flapping her wings, Rainbow beckoned Pinkie closer. “Lemme help.” She positioned herself so that the ghostly mare floated into her Element, disappearing with a puff of translucent pink light. “Sleep tight,” she droned. “Don't let the bed biscuits bite.”
Silence.
“Mrmmmffnngh...” Rainbow shook one leg, then another. She winced slightly, then glanced all around. The mare approached the very edge of the platform. There, she leaned forward, squinting towards the northern banks of the Quade's canyon.
Along the still waters—built into a thin notch within the steep mountain face—was a sliver of even stone floor where several tell-tale outhouses loomed. Rainbow remembered many mentions of them by Menthe and even Sonikah.
“Hmmm... r-right...” Cracking the joints in her neck, Rainbow flapped her wings, hovering off the edge of the platform—
Behind her, she heard the sharp, swift scraping of wood.
“...?” Rainbow spun around.
She saw Wildcard sitting up in his sleeping mat. Starlight reflected eerily off his goggled lenses.
“...what?” Rainbow shrugged, then pointed north. “A filly's gotta do a filly's business. Besides...” She shrugged. “The monks don't use them until sun-up. This way...” Her nostrils flared. “...I won't risk pissing them off. Literally.”
Bard's beak clenched and unclenched. His gaze remained locked on Rainbow while he charaded “flapping wings” with his flesh and metal talons.
“Yeah yeah... I know...” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It's against the rules. But honestly...” She flew off with a tired frown. “...who the buck cares at this point?”
Wildcard remained behind, fidgeting.
“Thanks for your concern, dude,” Rainbow nevertheless muttered. “I'll be fine. Will... just take a minute. I swear.”
Silence.
Wildcard eventually nodded. Then—keeping one lens trained on her—he slowly laid back on his mat... and was still.
Rainbow Dash didn't realize just how long she had gone without actual flying until the brief sensation of a four hundred meter glide electrified her. On the way towards the outhouses, she allowed herself no small amount of loopty-loops, flips, and barrel rolls.
By the time she landed on the steep notch of stone, she was grinning like an idiot. It felt as if her mane hadn't truly been tossed free until that very moment, and nearly all traces of the braids' number on her scalp had vanished.
She stood there, panting, reveling in the endorphins rolling through her body... until at long last she remembered where she was standing. Staring at the outhouses, Rainbow blinked, realizing that there wasn't a single ounce of biological purpose in her body pertaining to the matter.
Was it all just for the flight?
“Hrmmff...” Rainbow smirked to herself. “Hypocrite, thy name truly is Rainbow Dash.” She stared ahead into pure mountain, and slowly her smile faded. A lump formed in her throat, and eventually she shook it all off with a raspy growl. “Ehhhh... woulda made a lousy monk anyways.”
She kicked at a few pebbles, listening as they splitter-splattered into the shallow waters. Tiny waves formed for the first time in days, and then the Quade was still again.
Rainbow limped along the edge of the stone floor until she couldn't limp no more. A tiny shelf of granite loomed just along the river's edge. She plopped down there, feeling the rattle of her Element. Somehow, with the sackcloth gone from her red-raw body, she felt the weight of the pendant all the more. She brushed a hoof across it, watching as rays of ruby Harmonic light shot outward, reflecting off the surface of the waters. For a brief moment, she saw beneath the Quade, spotting the heads of multiple rock spires emerging from the dark depths, lingering just beneath the polished glass surface. Then, once the Harmony had faded, the starlight came back in full-force, glittering like a kaleidoscope.
Sighing, Rainbow gazed up at the tall-tall tower of shoots—upon which an ancient cabal of penitent ponies built their entire culture. It looked so much more enormous from sea-level, looming over Rainbow Dash with dozens of woven platforms—like thunderclouds against the purple canvas of night.
Through it all, Rainbow spotted the tell-tale glow of Yaerfaerda's golden light. Somehow, it always shone brighter the further she was from the Reed itself. Perhaps—if she flew even further away, the beacon would shine with even greater clarity.
“Fluttershy...” Rainbow gulped. “Flutters...” A bitter wind blew by, chilling her. Clenching her teeth, the mare hugged her lower knees to her chest and rocked back and forth before the Quade's edge. “You deserve so much more... so much more than this...” She gulped. “You deserve far better than what I've been doing to get you free. I... I'm so sorry...”
The glow continued pulsing unendingly. Rainbow felt another chill breeze, and it only made her shiver harder.
“I... I don't want to leave you...” She blinked, fighting tears. “But I don't know what else to do. Bard's and Wildcard's idea... it's pretty crazy... but it makes more sense than sticking around here. And... and I hate it...” She clenched her skull, seething. “I hate losing. I've always hated it... only now... so much more so now than ever before...” She sniffled, gazing up again with quivering lips. “...there's so much that I have to lose. And you...” She choked on a sob. “...and Applejack? I...” Rainbow whimpered. “Kyron isn't the only one who failed today. I was supposed to be Loyal. I was supposed to save you. I just... I just don't know how. I don't...”
By now, the cold was excrutiating. It felt like a blizzard... only without the obvious snow. It was enough of a savage shift in temperature to finally jostle Rainbow Dash from her melancholic malaise.
“What... in the h-heck...?” Rainbow shaded her eyes, but she didn't know from what. She squinted out at the lower platforms... and her ears folded back.
A shadowy figure stood on the edge of a woven disc. The wind rippled at its body—which is how Rainbow Dash saw the outline of a hood. Seconds later, two ice-blue eyes pulsed, then faded.
Rainbow watched... blinking.
The figure began trotting... shuffling... approaching the edge of the platform. It then reached the waters of the Quade... and kept going.
Rainbow's eyes twitched.
The dark figure trotted closer with frigid grace. Over the waters, it strolled, not making a single ripple in the surface. Instead, each step produced a bright-blue halo of frozen bands spreading in each direction—swiftly melting as the figure moved on. Within minutes, the equine stranger and its frozen hoofsteps came within breathing distance, and the vapor that issued out of its hood was frigid, blistery, illuminated by two reptillian slits that strobed between each motion.
Rainbow stood up, and soon she summoned the strength to snarl past her chattering teeth: “You...”
“Why, a greetings, Austraeoh!” echoed a voice from deep within the figure's robe. “How very... kind of you.”