//------------------------------// // Good Angels and Bad Angels // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "So he didn't always know?" Twilight Sparkle asked. Rainbow looked past her at Wildcard. "When did you first figure me out?" Wildcard's flesh and metal talons sliced through the high mountain air of the balcony. Flynn surprised Rainbow by translating instead of Bard. "'It was when the Princess of the Moon spoke to us through your pendant. By then, all of the puzzle pieces were starting to come together.'" "That explains why he was so protective at the Quade," Rarity murmured. "He... he knew at that point." "Or at least he had an inclination," Twilight said. "All this time..." Fluttershy murmured. "...he had this knowledge weighing on him. No wonder the Desperadoes came around." "Even after Dashie sent them away," Pinkie said. Rainbow and the other ghostly mares winced. "Well..." Pinkie shrugged. "...I'm just saying." "What... uhm..." Rainbow shifted her weight from one set of hooves to the other. "...what convinced you to come back for me?" "You mean come wrangle us from our exciting, adventurous lives for a suicide run?!" Logan boomed. "Hey..." Bard frowned from the shadows. "Big Show." He pointed. "She's talkin' to my partner. Let Dubya answer, ya cow plopper!" "Eughhh..." Logan rolled his dark brown eyes. He waved a meaty hoof towards the Heraldite in goggles. "By all means. Crow away, rooster." With a shuddering breath, Wildcard swung and twirled his talons in the air. It was Ariel's turn to interpret: "'I needed to do some fact checking. So I sent a message here, inviting Kepler to rendezvous with Bard and I.'" "Ah!" The wyvern adjusted his bifocals. "I do believe that this is wherre I can pick up the dazzling tale!" He nodded his head in Wildcard's direction. "If I may have yourr perrmission, old frriend." Wildcard nodded back with a soft smile. Kepler cleared his throat, pacing before Rainbow like a college professor. "Togetherr, we pourred over volumes and volumes of text: prriceless scrrolls immaculately trranslated frrom ancient rrunes. I speak, of courrse, of the timeless worrds given us by the prrogenitorrs of old! They might seem like prrophecy to some, and undoubtedly my brrotherrs and I have prreserrved theirr magnificence thrroughout the yearrs with no less zeal! Ha Hah! Verrily, we rrefrreshed our somewhat ill-temperred memorries with frresh bounties of inforrmation and—" "Basically..." Bard interrupted, facing Rainbow. "They found a whole heapin' load of connections between them ancient texts and the crud we witnessed while escortin' ya from Rust to Luminar." He glanced at Kepler. "My apologies, Kep, but we can't be here forever." "Heheheh... nothing to be sorrry for, music maestrro." Kepler leaned back, his tail curling. "Gods know I do have the tendency to prrattle on like a vorracious frrost wyrrm with its pedipalms chock full of—" "The matching patterns were far too numerous to deny," Remna said, trotting slowly through the assembled group. "The tenuous balance between balance and chaos. The mortal dependency on a harmonic vessel." Her green eyes sliced their way towards Rainbow. "... ... ...the less-than-fortuitous origins of your journey." Rainbow Dash gulped. "Yeah. I'd be... awfully curious about all of that too." Wildcard gestured some more. Logan cleared his throat and spoke: "'But the real kicker was when you turned out to be resurrecting the harmonic energies of your ill-fated companions.'" "Hold the sound stone." Rainbow Dash leaned forward, lips pursed. "You... you mean that these... ancient prophecies actually predict the Austraeoh 'foaling yesterday?'" Six sets of eyes—plus Bard's—glanced curiously at one another. Rainbow stared at them. Twilight leaned in, whispering: "'Yaerfaerda.'" "Yaerfaerda!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Ah!" Kepler exhaled, nodding. "But of course!" "For the Austraeoh to complete her journey, she needs more than just the wind to supply endurance to her wings," Flynn said, his mechanical eye adjusting between each syllable. "She needs the power that sustained her in the past to be restored. For it shall give her the strength and energy she needs to complete her journey." "In yourr particularr case, that would appearr to be these... mysterrious 'Elements of Harrmony' that Wildcarrd has spoken so poetically about." Kepler grinned through his tusks. "A most intrriguing way to manifest the Austrraeoh, if you ask me! I would love to learrn more along the trrip ahead!" "Yeah, I... figured that the spirits of my friends played a part in getting me to my destination." Rainbow blinked. "...eventually." "I'm a little bit confused here," Ariel said, squinting down from where she hovered above the group. "From the way you reacted to us just now, it seems as though you've run into representatives of the Herald before." Rainbow nodded. "And I did." Ariel cocked her head to the side. "Then... how is it that you haven't learned all of these details about Yaerfaerda until just recently?" Remna glanced calmly from Ariel to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow gulped. "The... Herald and I... d-didn't exactly get along well when we first met..." "In what way?" Flynn asked. "Their leader... Khao?" Rainbow cleared her throat, brushing a hoof over her shaved head. "She... kinda sorta foalnapped one of my friends... attacked our airship... then attempted to abduct me..." Bard raised an eyebrow. The group stared on in silence. "Holy shit!" Logan eventually blurted. "Rnnngh!" Flynn swatted his fat hide. "Big Show!" "For reals, though!" Logan pointed with a thick hoof. "That's messed up! And to do those things to the Austraeoh and her Eljunbyro! I mean... she's gone through that already, right? Or do we gotta do the whole 'Eljunbyro' schtick as well? Cuz if that doesn't involve cracking skulls, then I might not be the hot wind that this chick needs." "Goddess, dude..." Flynn rolled his good eye. "How long did you spend rolling around in that brothel, anyways?" "Oh, lay off!" "Quick, someone go fetch this tub of lard an Austraeoh fact checker!" Kepler raised his claw, smiling. "I vorraciously volunteerr!" Logan grumbled, "I know you do ya... mangy cat vampire..." "Am I the only one super p'd off by this?" Ariel grimaced at the others. "I mean, what kind of whacked-out ponies would call themselves the 'Herald' and then try to make the Austraeoh's life miserable?" "They... th-they turned around in the end!" Rainbow insisted. "Especially their leader! Khao! She..." She shuddered. "...she sacrificed her life and the lives of her crew in order to fend off Nevlamas, the Dark Divine." "Too little, too late." Remna grumbled. Rainbow turned to frown at her. "It was a very noble act of heroism. If it wasn't for her, I'd be toast... and an entire continent might still be embroiled in bloody war to this day." "And yet the most important thing suffered: your quest." Remna's nostrils flared. "This... Khao... this so-called 'Lead Wing of the Herald of Angels' was obviously a misguided misanthrope, poisoned with her own egotistical presumptions of a dirtied truth." "She... must have been a surviving descendant of one of the migrating sects," Flynn remarked. He glanced at the others. "You know... the two ancient cabals that ventured west beyond the Blight in order to set up sentries for the advent of the Harbinger?" "There's three of you guys?!" Rainbow's voice cackled. "Well, if you take the centurries into account," Kepler said, "They could verry easily have brranched into dozens of stalwarrt grroups at this point, taking station at varrious locations all acrross the light side!" "Wowsies, Dashie!" Pinkie turned towards her anchor, smiling. "Ponies were celebrating your birthday eons in advance!" "My goodness..." Rarity cooed. "That..." Rainbow winced as her ears folded back. "...is freaky." "And a poorly planned venture at best," Remna said. "It was a long time ago, a dark time... an ignorant time. Khao obviously suffered from lacking the Mountain Matron's insight, and the Austraeoh suffered for it." The violet bounty hunter turned towards the others in the group. "Let this be a living reminder for the importance in maintaining the Stalwart Seven." "Aye." Logan nodded. "I can get behind that." "Dude..." Flynn leaned in. "Your behind is that." Ariel laughed. "I... I don't get it..." Rainbow Dash looked at the group. "Is... there something so important about there only being seven of you?" "Ah! But of courrse!" Kepler remarked. "And a verry interesting tale to it there is—" "All of which the Mountain Matron can explain to the Austraeoh personally," Remna said. Her brow furrowed. "And I do believe it is high time she paid our leader a visit." Wildcard nodded in agreement. Rainbow turned to look at Bard. Her eyes fell on his crossed forelimbs. "He..." Fluttershy spoke the obvious. "He doesn't have Odrsjot on him." "Yeah..." Rainbow exhaled. "Say, uh, Bard?" "Y'all heard Dubya-Cee's dreadlocked mentor," Bard hummed. He stood up straight and motioned his hat for the upmost tier of the palace. "It's time the ladies had their chat." "Indeed so!" Kepler said. "Wildcarrd, old frriend? Carre to lead the way?" "But... but..." Rarity squeaked. "There are so many questions that need being answered!" "Yeah!" Pinkie pouted. "Like why the earth pony is called 'Big Show!'" Rarity glared at her. "Seriously, darling?" Wildcard stepped up to Rainbow Dash. His smile persisted calmly beneath his beak. With a metal talon, he gestured towards the wooden heart of the sanctuary. "Your friend seems so content, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said. "Like he's at peace." "He wasn't always that way, Fluttershy," Twilight remarked. "At a glance, I would have once described him as... 'intimidating.'" Rainbow nodded. "Guess you're home right now, eh, Wildcard?" Wildcard shrugged, then nodded. Rainbow glanced to the side at Bard. "Home is a nice place to be." She looked back at the griffon. "I'm honored to be here. Shall we?" The two turned and walked side by side while the rest of the group followed, with Remna and Bard lingering at the rear and Ariel zipping about in a gray blur.