//------------------------------// // A Rainbow Shines in Riverstem // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// As the motorized skiff glided around another bend, it passed a trio of large riverboats—each packed to the brim with thick cargo and bulging baggage. Rainbow Dash looked at the mares. Taking a breath, Fluttershy lifted off. She drifted outward, phasing through the riverboats, taking advantage of the full extent of her anchorage. Rainbow and the other ghosts waited patiently. At last, Fluttershy returned, clearing her throat. “They're carrying rice, oranges, carrots...” She smiled. “...and apples. But... uhm... mostly rice.” “Well, that certainly explains that.” Rarity glanced aside at Rainbow Dash. “Rohbredden has the agricultural supplies that keep the Seven Seas afloat.” “It explains where Red Barge got all its rice, at least.” “I'm sure the continental islands have ways of growing their own crops,” Rainbow Dash said. “At least, to some extent.” The old, weary travelers packed on board the motorboat squinted curiously at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow glanced at them, then fidgeted, standing as far away from the other passengers as she could. “Ahem... I'm gonna have to do something about that,” she muttered. “About what?” Pinkie asked, blinking. “If I wanna get anywhere in this trek, I'll have to take transportation like this,” Rainbow muttered, shrugging her shoulders and casting her voice to the water. “That means lots of close quarters shared with total strangers.” A gulp. “They must think I'm a lunatic... talking to 'myself' like this.” “Well, maybe.” Pinkie tapper her chin, then smiled. “But a fuzzy lunatic, at least!” “Mrmmffff...” “Will you just look at those mountains?” Twilight cooed, eyes sparkling as they passed more and more jagged emerald peaks. “Almost every square inch is covered in vegetation! We've got nothing like that back home!” “I wonder if any animals live up on them,” Fluttershy said. “What I want to know is...” Rarity pointed at the farms and rice paddies packed between the hilly structures. “...precisely how do ponies eke a living with so much random topography to deal with?” “Quite well, it would seem,” Twilight said. “I mean... just look at that efficiency! And the terracing in the wider spaces!” “Yes? What about it?” “Well, it seems obvious to me that the ponies here in Rohbredden have been doing this for a very long time?” “We're talking centuries...?” “Millennia even!” “Say...” Pinkie tapped her chin once more, thinking. “Didn't Captain Farooq say that only the inland prefectures were all snowy'n'cold?” “Farouche,” Twilight insisted. “And yes. She did imply that.” “Then what does that mean, precisely?” Rarity asked. “When Rainbow Dash first explained to me that Verlax was the Queen of Frost, I expected her entire continent to be covered in snow.” “That's just the thing,” Rainbow muttered, careful not to attract too much attention from the other ponies riding the craft. “She was supposed to have 'thawed' this kingdom, right?” “Then why is this... 'Osmanthus Prefecture' so incredibly warm and humid while the more central provinces are cold?” Rarity asked. “Elevation?” Fluttershy suggested. “Or perhaps...” Twilight glanced at the other mares. “...Verlax herself is situated in the central prefectures... and that's why they're a great deal colder than the shoreline locations?” “Ohhhhhh...” Pinkie nodded. “Then...” Fluttershy fidgeted. “Does that mean that... that...” She looked at Rainbow. “...Yaerfaerda is leading us right to Verlax?” Rainbow stared across the rippling waters of Sunset Tract. “Because... because you did say that Yaerfaerda is located above the horizon line, right? As if it's inside the mountains?” Rainbow opened her mouth— “Hey!” Pinkie Pie chirped, pointing eastward past the next bend in the Tract. “Look it! Look it!” The mares all crowded around, staring over Rainbow's shoulder. The river opened wider—almost becoming a basin. At this point, Rainbow's craft slowed, if only to avoid a thick assortment of rafts skimming back and forth. The rafts were barely more than a few planks of wood tied together, and the ponies who “operated” them were almost all elder stallions—navigating the shallow waters with long wooden poles that they used to move the rafts around. Several of them poked the depths to avoid Rainbow's incoming motorcraft. They did this with ease, situating themselves on top of empty patches of riverwater. As Rainbow drew closer, she and her friends noticed that each raft had one or two birds perched on board. Thin spools of twine anchored them to the raft's prow. Once the slats of wood stopped drifting, the stallion sheathed his pole through a loop of his saddle bag, reached over, and unceremoniously dumped one of the water fowl into the river. “Uhhhh...” Pinkie Pie blinked. “They're fishing,” Fluttershy said. “Huh?” Rainbow was confused, until she glanced over to see other stallions on other rafts retrieving their birds, then feeling up their slender necks until they forced the trained creatures to spit up a whole, live fish. With quiet ease, the elders next shoved the live catch into their saddlebags before proceeding towards another part of the river. “Those are called coromant,” Fluttershy explained. “Remarkably graceful creatures. No doubt you've seen several of them around Equestrian rivers, spreading their wings out to dry in the sun. But I've never... ever seen them domesticated like this before.” She smiled with a happy sigh. “This must have taken several... several generations to accomplish.” “Ehhh... but... but what is it done for?” Rarity grimaced as they passed by another set of rafts where stallions gently wrung the fish from their birds' necks. “Why would a village need that much fish? Seems like they don't feed them to their pet fowl.” “It's not for the animals, Rarity,” Rainbow droned. “It's for ponies.” “Surely you jest?!” “Haven't you figured it out by now?” Twilight asked. “Ponies this far from Equestria eat meat.” “Well, yes. I knew that. But...” Rarity shivered. “To go to such lengths...” “Hey, Dashie?” Pinkie looked over. “Have you ever—” “No.” Pinkie tilted her head aside. “Not even for curiosity's sake?” “It's tough enough having done the decisions I've made just to survive,” Rainbow grunted breathily. “Death sucks in general. I... c-can't imagine slathering it onto a dinner plate.” “That's our Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said with a smile. “Ever loyal to her convictions.” Rainbow's nostrils flared as she glanced aside. “Yeah, well, when I can afford it.” “Hmmmm... I wonder what fish even tastes like,” Pinkie remarked. “Eugh...” Rarity fanned herself, eyes rolling. “Darling, must you?” “It's thinner and stringier with chicken, with a slight oily aftertaste,” Fluttershy said. The other mares gawked at her. “...?” She looked back. “What?” A blink. “Uhm... Hairy described that to me once.” “Hairy?” “Mmmm... my best bear friend back home.” “Ohhhhhhh...” Fluttershy sighed, gazing across the waters. “I do hope he's getting along well without me right now...” “He's a bear, Fluttershy,” Rainbow muttered, causing more passengers to glance at her. “The Everfree Forest is right there. Plenty of woods to go crapping in.” “That's a myth, actual—” “Look!” Twilight said, pointing outward as the boat rounded its thickest bend yet. The river opened up to a complex array of wooden docks, stretching out into the dark brown waters. Beyond the rustic port was a thin gray line of stone buildings with wooden shingled rooftops. Around the stone complex, a humble smattering of two-story buildings loomed, meanwhile—along the furthest edges of the township—several turf houses hung low to the ground, surrounded by meager rice paddies and orchards. At last, in the very center of the riverside community, there stood a three story stave temple with multiple steeples sticking vertically from the corners of a multi-tiered rooftop. “Riverstem?” Rarity breathed. Rainbow gulped. “I wouldn't doubt it.” She watched as several small rafts, motorboats, and a few cargo ships lingered around the port. The penumbra of an especially hilly mountain hung over the entire village, giving it a pleasant shade within which dozens upon dozens of bustling ponies went about their business and bartering. “Well, girls, looks like our joyride has come to an end.” “Pffffft!” Pinkie stuck her ghostly tongue out. “Says you!” Rainbow Dash stepped off the dock... ...and onto soft, moist soil. She froze in place, wobbling slightly. The mare's red eyes blinked. “Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked. “Is something the matter?” Twilight turned around, eyes glinting with concern. “No, it's...” Rainbow took a deep breath. She leaned back and forth, squishing her hooves even deeper in the soil. “Just... for the first time since that one spot along the Quade...” She swallowed a lump down her throat. “Never mind. It's... kinda awesome being on land again.” “We believe you, Dashie,” Pinkie said. She smiled sheepishly, phasing her forelimbs through the ground. “Trust me. We do.” “Mmmmm...” Rainbow strolled forward before she could hold up the line of marching ponies and their supplies. “Let's try and find a way to the Silt Path,” she said. “Some supplies would be in order, Rainbow,” Rarity said. “After all, it's bound to be a long trip.” “Yeah, yeah...” “Especially if Captain Farcry is to be believed!” “Darn it, Pinkie...” “Oooooh...” Fluttershy cooed, staring past the immediate courtyard of fractured stone. “Look!” The spectral ponies looked over Rainbow. With the aid of a ladder, several locals in glowy brown peasant wear were raising the last of many strings full of multi-colored paper lanterns. The decorations hung between rows of stone buildings: shops, merchant hovels, blacksmiths, and eateries. Dangling from the corners of shingled rooftops were silken effigies of frost-white equines that billowed in the river valley's wind. “OoOoOoOooooh...” Rarity grinned. “Not exactly chic, but I'm feeling positively charmed by the antiquity of it all!” “What do you suppose they're preparing for?” Pinkie remarked. “My party senses are tingling off the chart!” “It's... it's Unification Day, isn't it?” Twilight glanced over her shoulder. “Followed by the Month of Thawing.” “No doubt,” Rainbow said with a nod. She had to jump left and right to avoid sweaty locals carrying trunks and bags full of supplies. Most of the Rohbreddenites utilized poles balanced over their flanks to carry such intense loads. “That means villages like this are gonna get super crowded soon.” “Like... how soon?” Pinkie asked. “Last I heard, the Month of Thawing was gonna start five days ago!” She tapped her chin. “...or was it five weeks ago?” “What are you even talking about?” “Has anypony been keeping track of how long we were on that rust bucket?” “What matters is that we've left the horrid place,” Rarity grumbled. After clearing her throat, she turned towards Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow? Supplies?” “Right...” Rainbow trotted briskly across Riverstem, approaching the inner city squares, where the traffic bustled the thickest. “Let's get this over with.” Rainbow crossed yet another ancient stone bridge that spanned a narrow canal filled with miniature rafts. A gaggle of giggling foals ran past her, chasing a stallion who was flying a miniature kite of a snow-white horse. The pegasus' fuzzy ears tickled to the sound of music. Curious, she glanced at the nearest street to the bridge. An old mare sat on a sleeping mat, dragging a bow across a long, spiked instrument protruding from a soundbox wrapped in snake-skin. “Wow... would you look at that!” Pinkie remarked. “Sounds exquisite!” Rarity exclaimed. “Is... that a cello?” Twilight asked. “Since when did a cello have two strings?” Pinkie said. “Who cares?” Rarity cooed, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the melody from the performer's instrumental. “It's positively heavenly!” “Heehee...” Pinkie winked. “'Move over, harpsichord?” “Now let's not get ahead of ourselves,” Rarity said, causing the other mares to giggle. She observed a can of bits lying in front of the old mare, then turned towards Rainbow with puppy-dog eyes. “Keep our eyes on the prize, girls,” Rainbow muttered. “We're here just to do one thing.” “But we passed by—like—a dozen shops and storefronts already, Dashie!” Pinkie said, pointing back across the village. “Look, I'm just trying to find a place that... y'know... looks cheap.” “They all look 'cheap' to me,” Fluttershy said. “A matter of perspective, darling,” Rarity calmly chided. “This is a place of antiquity. Let us not allow the rustic aesthetics of it all fool us.” “Speaking of rustic...” Twilight pointed up. “Look at that.” Rainbow tilted her head skyward—only for the heavens to be blotted out by the dark, mahogany terraces of the stave temple situated in the center of the village. Beneath the sharp, jutting steeples, she saw the effigies of large equines with flowy, otherworldly manes positioned at each corner. The wooden surfaces of the building were carved with the same motif of metaphysical horses, over and over again. “A place of worship, perhaps?” Fluttershy remarked. “Probably...” Twilight nodded. “I can't help but admire the artistry that went into this,” Rarity said, waving a hoof. “No doubt thousands of years old. And those mares...” She squinted at the effigies. “The way their shapes flow... it almost reminds me of the tapestries of the Two Regal Sisters that hang in Canterlot.” “Yes—only they aren't alicorns, see?” Twilight pointed. “What's more, their rear legs are missing.” “They're missing?” Pinkie sputtered. “What kind of creature is that?” Rarity cooed. “Windigos.” Everypony looked at Fluttershy. Fluttershy bit her lip. “Uhm... after all, it would make sense, right?” “So there you have it...” Rainbow sighed, gazing up at the effigies. “In every town, Verlax has the phantom ghosts of the past staring down at everypony from up high.” “Huh?” Twilight glanced over at her, blinking. Rainbow gulped. “I dunno. It's just that... I can already tell how far she's stuck her claws into the culture of this place.” “You're saying Verlax is a windigo?” Pinkie remarked. “What? No!” Rainbow winced, glancing at other ponies trotting back and forth through the busy river town. “Just that... ugh... I dunno.” She shuddered. “Just... from everything I know... everything we know... and everything that Chrysalis told me... I can already tell that this place is as blind as... as...” “A happy hog thrown into a mud convention?!” Pinkie belched. Everyone looked at her. “What?” Pinkie smiled, fluffing her pink mane. “We're off to rescue Applejack, aren't we? I figured I'd toss a countryism in her honor!” Rainbow sighed. “We're wasting too much time already...” “Rainbow, relax,” Twilight said, drifting closer to the mare. “Does anypony here look like they're trying to tackle you?” “Yes. I must say...” Rarity glanced around. “This place is remarkably pleasant.” “Looks can be deceiving,” Rainbow grumbled. “Even the quietest spots in Ledomare... were still in Ledomare.” “Well, let's not have a reason to freak out until it presents itself,” Twilight said. “Sound good?” “Uhm...” Fluttershy trembled all of the sudden. “You mean...” She pointed down at the far end of a winding stone street. “...like that?” “Huh?” Rainbow turned around. A glossy, silver-embossed stagecoach had just rolled to a stop. Four stallions in immaculate black uniforms stepped out, passing bundles of white paper between them. “I don't see what the issue is, Fluttershy,” Rarity said. “They look like company traders.” “Yes...” Twilight leaned forward, eyes squinting. “And that emblem... on the wagon.” She blinked. “Looks like dredge coal on fire.” “Look h-harder,” Fluttershy said. Before the mares' eyes, the uniformed stallions planted the first of several posters on the ancient stone walls of the marketplace. Sunlight peeked through the mountains, shining off the glossy colors of a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane. Beneath the portrait, the words read: “WANTED: RAINBOW ROGUE – FOR COMMITTING CRIMES AGAINST VERLAXION IN THE QUADE AND THE SEVEN SEAS BEYOND – BOUNTY FOR BRINGING IN ALIVE: 750,000 BITS” The stallions proceeded to plaster these posters on more and more walls, gradually bleeding their way through the streets of Riverbend. In curious droves, locals stopped to stare at the posters, muttering to one another in contemplative commotion. “Whoopsy...” Pinkie gulped, glancing aside. “...time to poopsy.” “I do believe we need to make haste now, Rainbow.” Silence. She looked towards her anchor. “Rainbow, darling?” The pegasus' muzzle was scrunched. “Only seven hundred and fifty thousand?!” “Rainbow!” Twilight hissed. “Come on! Let's get to the west side of town before news spreads!” Rainbow backtrotted, her eyes still locked on the posters. “For real, though! That's—like—sneeze money to the Council of Ledo!” “Dashie, hoof it!” “I'm hoofing it! I'm hoofing it!”