//------------------------------// // Hi There, How's the Hoard? // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// "The windigoes! They're upon us!" "Oh Goddess!" "Verlaxion, save us!" "Protect your faithful foals, blessed Unifier—" "Will you damnable pillow-humping snotjobs shut the buck up for one friggin' second?! Flynn! Turn on a light, goddess dammit!" "At ease, Big Show. I'm recharging mana here." "I urrge everryone to rremain calm. We arre safe forr the moment." "Yes, but safe where?" "Just hold yer horses and let Flynn do his thang!" "Alright, everypony. Eyes open!" A cold blue light emanated from Flynn's horn. It charged up a crystalline rod which he held up with glowing telekinesis, casting a shimmering aura across the dim cavernous interior. The chamber was still settling from the recent explosion. Rocks, pebbles, and powdery layers of snow came to a rough stop all around the twin groups of survivors. The Herald and the breathless members of the Central Guard looked straight up to see a relatively dull roof of ice and porous limestone resting overhead. Loose rocks and boulders dislodged by the explosion had piled up, patching the hole in the terrain's surface, blocking out all light and wind. A persistent roar of whinnying banshees and stampeding hooves echoed across the roof of the chamber. The soldiers of the Central Guard shuddered in momentary fright, but gradually calmed when the noise grew more and more distant. Everypony stopped holding their breaths. The sounds of panting and sighing filled the chamber, with the likes of Ariel, Bard, Kepler, Flynn, and Logan exchanging relieved glances. A good two minutes after the crystal had been lit, the air rang with the sound of swords and axes being drawn. "...!" Wildcard spun in mid-hover, facing the Central Guard with both nightsticks unsheathed. Schiiiiing! Some of the Rohbreddenites flinched while others frowned, pointing angry hooves at the Herald. "You! You brought this upon us!" "You and your insufferable black magic from beyond the Blight!" "You've polluted this continent and incurred Verlaxion's wrath—!" "Hey!" Logan growled, nostrils flaring. "Dumbasses! You weren't the only ones in peril up there!" "Huh?!" Bard clutched his bleeding hoof, frowning. "In case you didn't notice... grnnngh... them windigoes were attackin' all of us!" "Only because we f-failed in defeating the scourge of this land," a griffon stammered, still breathless. "You've cursed us! Cursed us all!" "Don't take it the hard way," Flynn said, levitating the crystal until it shone in their faces. "You've guys trained for—what—two years of boot camp at Frostknife? Five tops?" He blew out the side of his muzzle. "We've been fighting all of our lives to get this good." "Yeah." Ariel nodded from where she leaned against Kepler. "You all just suck." An angry shiver rolled through the guardians. "You are all accomplices to the Rainbow Rogue!" a stallion snarled, dragging a hoof. "If you aren't stopped, then your very presence spells doom to our Queen and all that she's accomplished for the Tribes!" "Alas, it is this deceitful 'Queen of Frrost' who has crrafted that verry same doom since the dawn of civilization!" Kepler remarked. "She carres forr you no morre orr less than the rrest of us!" A pony spat, "Like we'll ever give heed to the words of a traitorous freak like you, wyvern!" Kepler adjusted his spectacles. "Eh?" "Look, y'all..." Bard frowned, craning his neck to catch the gaze of the other survivors. "If we was such horrible bad guys, then why'd we bother to let you come down here with us?" "We're not the ones who sprung an ambush!" Flynn exclaimed, his light shaking slightly. "Our qualm is with Verlax. Not with you guys!" "If you seek to engage the Queen of Frost in combat, then it is our duty to intervene!" One griffon roared. Another pony shuffled up, limping in his battered armor. "They... they do have a point. They did save us." Yet another nodded, adding: "And when the windigoes attacked, they attacked all of us." She blinked. "There was no other escape!" The griffon spun around, beak clattering. "Don't tell me that you're actually defending these usurpers?!" "They had every reason to destroy us... twice." The mare frowned back. "Once on the battlefield, and just now while escaping the frosted demons." She sighed. "We can live to see our loved ones again. Doesn't that count for something?" A few other members of the group muttered in mixed agreement. The outspoken griffon sighed, bowing his head. He turned to glare at the Herald. "You have bested us in combat before. I refuse to sacrifice any of my fellow comrades in attempting to fight you again in tighter quarters." He gnashed his teeth. "For that reason and that reason alone will I hold back my wrath." "Jee, thanks," Logan grumbled. "Spoken like a true shit-for-brains." Flynn face-hoofed. "Goddessdammit, Big Show..." "Rrrrrngh!" A mare in armor unsheathed a mace in a show of anger. Schiiing! "Buck chivalry! These are putrid cretins of Blight, and I've pledged my life to ending them before they get to Starkiss!" She galloped straight across the cavern. "Raaaaaugh!" Another soldier reached a hoof out. "No! Blast it, wait!" She hadn't made it ten feet when Wildcard swooped down and clashed with her. Swoooooooosh! Clannnnnng! Sparks splashed as they struggled against one another. An emaciated pair of hooves slammed into the cavern's floor. "Everyone cease this second!" Mortuana's voice roared. The resulting echo sounded like pure thunder, shaking every mortal to their core. The mare leaned back, panting. Wildcard hovered at a distance. Taking a calm breath, he fluttered backwards, making room for Mortuana to approach the Central Guard. The alicorn stood before the group, taking a long regal breath before speaking. "My little ponies, you have every reason to be angry," Mortuana said. "And mournful." Her eyes narrowed. "Not only have you found your valiant efforts thoroughly diffused, but you have suffered the loss of multiple comrades. I am exceedingly sorry for this." She sighed. "But remember that my subordinates—although viscious in their defense—spared the lives of all whom they could. In the meantime, it was the stampede of windigoes that consumed the lives of your noble compatriots. It was never our wish for this to happen, nor was it our desire to come to blows in the first place." Several members of the Central Guard hung their heads. Others avoided Mortuana's gaze with steely anger and conternation. "Only one creature in the whole of Rohbredden history has ever wielded control over the windigoes, and she has shown her true form to everyone on the battlefield above us—just as she did millennia ago to the unlucky souls frozen in time." Mortuana's jaw clenched. "It is the issue of this great deceiver that we hope to rectify through our pilgrimage to Starkiss. Not only does Rohbredden depend on the reckoning to come, but the whole world at large... and even more beyond that." "You're a liar and an assassin," a stallion bravely said, sneering up at Mortuana. "And the defenders of Verlaxion will stop you." Mortuana slowly nodded. "That may be so. Alas, for the moment, we are all stuck in the same predicament... a situation that I highly doubt you have the resources to escape. However... my Herald does possess the means of venturing forward from this entombment. If you follow us—peacefully and without conflict—then I promise that all of you will make it home to your families alive. Venture forth on your own, and you will not be helped... most especially not by your so-called 'Goddess.'" The members of the Central Guard exhanged nervous glances. They fidgeted in their armor. "The choice is up to you," Mortuana said. "As for me and my group—we cannot tarry for long. The path lies ever long before us, and time is of the essence... for all of us: Rohbredden and beyond." That being said, the alicorn calmly turned around, folding her bony wings beside her. "Flynn. What is the state of your manabanks?" Flynn was already fishing through his pack. "If I conserve one crystal at a time, it should be enough to hold us out for a day. It'll just be very dim." "We'll make torches in the meantime to assist in the subterrannean trek." Mortuana pivoted again. "Kepler? What is the status of our injured?" "Hah!" The wyvern smiled through his tusks. "Glorrious news, mountain matrron! The brrave Barrd and the lovely Arriel have sufferred superrficial wounds at worst!" "Rnnngh..." Ariel hissed through her teeth, hunched over and clutching her bandaged limb. "The jolly wyvern's got a l-loose d-definition of 'superficial.'" "Eeyup..." Bard nodded shakily. "What she said." Swooooosh! Wildcard glided down to his side, holding a metal talon on his shoulder. The stallion looked up, smiling thinly. "I'm okay, buddy. For real..." He weakly hoof-bumped with the griffon. "I ain't licked yet." Wildcard smirked slightly, his headcrest drooped. "Hmmmm..." Mortuana nodded. "Is the cart in one piece?" Kepler nodded. "That it is, Morrtuana." "We should place Bard and Ariel there to rest for the next stretch of the journey." "And just wherre, exactly, will ourr jourrney be taking us in this spelunking mannerr?" "A fine question indeed." Mortuana spoke over her shoulder, "Remna, would you be so kind as to scout ahead for us? In the meantime, Rainbow Dash, we will be relying on the fine senses of your dear companions." "Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Logan shuffled up, tugging on the alicorn's dark tail. "Morty?" He gestured towards the east end of the cavern. "Don't look now, but..." "Hmmm?" Mortuana turned, blinking. The passage ahead of them was completely vacant. Rainbow and Remna were nowhere to be seen. "Ah..." Mortuana calmly blinked. "...I see." Rainbow huffed and puffed. Despite the fresh bruises of combat across her limbs, she galloped up and over crags of rock, navigating the winding corridor of rock. The light from her pendant wobbled, causing crimson shadows to dance all around. "Rainbow!" Twilight Sparkle struggled to keep up with her anchor. She phased in and out of structures, gnashing her teeth. "Rainbow Dash, slow down!" "What Twi said!" Pinkie nodded, floundering and bouncing against lavender force fields. "We all know that caves are your bread and butter, Dashie, but will ya take it easy?" "You have us all worried, darling!" Rarity exclaimed. "What's gotten you in such a tizzy?" "Did... did something happen up there on the surface?" Twilight stammered. "Something with the frost vessel of Verlax?" "I gotta find Remna," Rainbow Dash grunted, hopping and leaping across random ledges. Her pendant illuminated a narrow fissure with granite platforms edging both sides. "Gotta figure everything out once and for all." "Figure what out?!" Rarity squeaked. "Rainbow, please! Talk to us!" "All this time..." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "...why'd she have to hide it?! Why does she always have to hide?!" Twilight blinked. "Who? Remna?" "Uhm..." Fluttershy floated alongside Rainbow, pointing straight ahead. "She's in front of you. A level up. Standing on a ledge." Rainbow tilted her pendant up slightly. The red light caught a violet figure in mid-stride. Remna prepared to hop another gap in the rocks. "Remna!" Rainbow hollered. "Still... have a long way to go before Starkiss," the "bounty hunter" grumbled. She hopped across the empty space and landed on a lofty platform. Her hot breath formed thick vapors in the cold, cavernous air. "I must perform recon... for you... for the Herald." "Remna, stop for one friggin' second!" Rainbow's hooves scuffled against the cold, cold rock. The hairs on the back of her head stood on end. "Axan!" Remna froze in mid-step. Her ears drooped beneath her fiery dreadlocks. Rainbow's marefriends blinked. Twilight and Rarity gawked at one another. "Uhhhhhh..." Pinkie squinted. Remna took a deep breath. Without looking, she at last spoke. "My sister is wise to my location. The Herald's been compromised." Her voice rumbled deeply, laced with a reptilian hiss: "This is not what I wanted to happen." "Then just what did you think you were gonna accomplish?!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "Huh?!?" "...go back to Mortuana, Austraeoh," Remna muttered. "You will be safest in her charge—" "I don't want to be safe!" Rainbow Dash stomped her hooves. "I want the truth!" "... ... ..." Remna turned to glare down at her. Her emerald pupils narrowed to scrutinous eyeslits. "And what good do you expect from the truth, Rainbow Dash?" "It doesn't matter," Rainbow grumbled. "Just talk to me already!" "Oh, but I think it does." Remna turned around completely. She stood in Rainbow's harmonic spotlight, staring down at the petite pegasus from her lofty platform. "For is that not the crux of your journey as of late? My sister stated so, thus her diabolical test. It's evident that she knows far more than you and I combined." Her nostrils flared with smokey vapors. "It was truth, after all, that rid me of my hoard and my brood. I suspect that Verlax has even more to lose in embracing the destiny of Austraeoh, no matter how warped her perception of it may be." Silence. Pinkie twitched. She gestured a "gun" to her forehead. "Puffffft!" Her eyes rolled back as she performed a ghostly pratfall. Rainbow frowned up at the violet mare. "The whole reason we're in this mess is because Verlax's been manipulating this entire continent against me with her lies." Her brow furrowed angrily. "You really wanna learn a lesson from her? Take a courageous step and open up! Or does every Divine have to be a stuck-up, pretentious immortal?!" "Only the resourceful ones." "Axan..." Rainbow Dash took a bold step forward while her friends looked on. "...the last time you and I had anything even remotely resembling a rational conversation, it was in a cave much like this one... with the cards stacked up just like they are right now." She gulped hard. "And it ended with you murdering me." Remna stared at her. "Do you really wanna repeat history? Or protect the Austraeoh?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Switch gears. Stop hiding and level with me..." Her ears folded back as her lips pursed. "Have you... really been watching after me all this time?" She gulped. "Through Ledomare... Alafreo... Val Roa... a-and the Grand Choke?" Remna stood in silence. Her braided tail flicked... then fell limp. At last, she replied in one fuming breath: "...Yes." Twilight and Rarity gulped. Rainbow had to contain her snarls: "You... were there the whole time..." Her hooves dragged against rock. "Watching." Remna calmly nodded. "I was." "You could have intervened." Rainbow was shaking at this point. "In Stratopolis... at the Quade..." Her teeth gnashed together. "In Lerris!" "The Austraeoh's path is her own to tread," Remna said firmly. "Eljunbyro was required to guide the spark to Yaerfaerda and beyond, not the Divines." Her brow furrowed. "I only manifested myself when it was absolutely necessary to preserve your life—such as when my sister Nevlamas reared her mad head—" "Preserve my life?!" Rainbow Dash howled, "You smashed me to bits then dumped my corpse in Aridstone!" She panted, heaved. "Countless ponies died because you kept aloof! I lost friends because of you, Axan—!" "Death is inevitable," Remna firmly said. "Pain... an element of life. Assuming I was even capable of ferrying you across all these lands..." She tilted her head aside. "...would you have found the beacons? Would you have developed the adequate strength and attunement to foal yesterday?" Rainbow shook, convulsed, and spun around. "Rrrrrr-aaaaugh!" She bucked a series of boulders hard, sending rocks and pebbles crashing into a dark fissure below. Her friends shivered from where they hovered in ghostly silence. Remna's body was cast into darkness up above. A glowing pair of green eyeslits gazed down at the pegasus. "What angers you more? That you've suffered so much for Austraeoh's destiny? Or that even my role has no legitimate bearing in it whatsoever?" "No." Rainbow huffed and puffed. She clenched her jaw, spinning around so that the ruby lightning bolt shone on Remna once again. "I'm angry because you almost sound like Verlax..." She clenched her eyes shut. "...and yet... you almost make sense." Remna gravely nodded. "The brazen mare who destroyed my hoard back in Silvadel would not have had the courage... nor the maturity to admit that." "Then... that's it?" Rainbow gulped, reopening her eyes thinly. "You were just... waiting out for a moment like this to happen?" "No, Austraeoh." Remna slowly shook her head. "If I had my way, I wouldn't have crossed paths with you at all." "What... happened... Axan?" Rainbow inhaled and exhaled. "Where's the real Remna? Did you slaughter her too?" She leaned her head to the side. "Is there even a 'real' Remna?" The violet mare slowly turned, staring into the abyss ahead. "She's dead. This thing that you see before you is merely a shell." Rainbow merely stared, her muzzle agape. Remna gave a prolonged sigh, She spoke slowly: "It's true that I've always followed your journey from a distance. But when you ventured into the kingdom of the noble elk—I realized that Eljunbyro had grown powerful enough to protect you sufficiently on their own. Thus, I decided to make the trip across the Grand Choke ahead of time, testing my Divine might against the magical Blight that my conniving sister had erected eons ago. Once I had thoroughly mapped out the desolate landscape in my mind, I retraced my steps in time to guide you along with my journey. For a while there, I was afraid... mortified that the spark of Austraeoh would die out before it had a chance to 'foal yesterday.' To my infinite relief, Yaerfaerda beckoned, and—emaciated or not—you followed thoroughly... loyally... "And yet I knew that your toughest trial was still ahead. It had always been a basic assumption on my part that Verlax—in crafting the civilization of Rohbredden—possessed a knowledge of the beacons and their locations. I knew that for you to have access to them, you would have to cross paths with her. However, over the ages, Verlax had... grown quite eccentric... at least unpredictably so since our last communion. There was no way to properly predict just what she would do once the Spark had lit a fiery path across her frozen lands. "So while you were recovering in Kihutaja, I made for the heart of Rohbredden. It was a meager task for a Divine such as myself. I reached the throne of the so-called Verlaxion, appalled by the kingdom of lies she had erected around herself. As soon as I arrived at her domain, I could sense that something was... amiss. Verlax's strength was fragmented, a pitiable shade of the sister I once knew. However, she more than made up for it in spirit and willpower. An ambition unbecoming an immortal had consumed her heart and mind, and while I never got to meet her in person—accosted instead by those damnable frost vessels at the gates to her throne—I soon discovered that she was possessed by a single, heinous goal: to put the Austraeoh through an unfathomably convoluted gauntlet in some... twisted purpose of training you for the challenges to come. "I can safely say without hesitation that while I respect the nature of this plane and the lengths to which the machine world must be saved from a slow, chaotic cold death... I have never particularly held the Austraeoh in any amount of high esteem. That being said, I knew that the path of the Spark is a necessary one, tempored by the factors set into stone by energetic forces older than the Divines themselves. Thus, when I realized that my sister Verlax was attempting to manipulate that, I had no recourse but to resist her. This, as you can suspect, did not go well. While I have—admittedly—spent the last few years in somber isolation, mulling the end of all things in the company of my own brood, Verlax has spent the same period of time tirelessly mechanizing a malevolent ambush—the likes of which even her fellow sisters and alicorns cannot begin to ascertain the details of. "Needless to say, she countered my efforts on every turn. Whatever senses she gained from her trip to the dark side, they completely and utterly defeated my attempts to dethrone her. I grew weak with each day that I combatted her golems and windigoes, until I had no choice but to weigh my options: either I remain locked in combat, hoping that I could last long enough to allow the Austraeoh a meager chance at finding narrow passage to the edge of the world... or I execute a retreat—the first act of cowardice committed in all my eons of existence—so that I might reassess my current impasse and discover a better way to assist the Spark's journey. "I sacrificed whatever little pride I had left and made a daring escape from Starkiss. I knew that I could no longer stay in one place for long. My conflict with Verlax had alerted her to my presence, and she has magically-controlled agents spread all throughout the continent. Rohbredden was covered from shore to shore with the eyes and ears of the 'Great Unifier.' It was only a matter of time before Verlax rediscovered me, tracked my body down and afflicted my weakned flesh with her cold curse. My first thought, then, was to make contact with Sturke and draw from her benevolent wisdom. However, to do so at that point was to signal Verlax to my whereabouts, and with the Austraeoh making her way through Rust and Lower Shoggoth, time was of the essence and I could no longer waste any more time. "It was then that my immortal mind recollected the legacy of the House of Verdestone. The elder alicorn Onyxxus had foaled a daughter—I recalled—who had once made it her mission to reach out to the mortals of Rohbredden who had been shepherded by the Deceitful Queen in the Far East. While I could not signal Sturke, I decided to take the risk of combing the landscape for this long-lost 'Mortuana.' It wasn't long until I found her dwelling in the sanctuary of Wyvern Point. I entreated her for her assistance. She complimented me on the courage and humility it took to bridge communication with alicornkind after... mrrrrmmngh... so many millennia of sullen silence. "To my surprise, I learned that she too had suffered greatly at the hands of my sister. While Verlax's power had weakened me, it had reduced Mortuana to a veritable corpse. We had something in common, and she taught me of the Herald and the fearless mortals pledging their lives to assist the Spark in her journey. While I desired to help, we both agreed that to do would be putting Mortuana and her allies at risk. Verlax's magical foresight had me tagged. If I took one step eastward towards Starkiss, she would find me out... and the path of Austraeoh would be revealed. "So Mortuana made a bold suggestion. The same curse that rendered her a living corpse had wisened her to the magic Verlax had used to disguise herself before the Rohbreddenite Tribes of old. It was feasible that the daughter of Onyxxus could mimic that very same spell and transform me into an equine being, so as to evade the senses of my crafty sibling throughout the journey ahead. "This, of course, meant that I would have to assist the Austraeoh in person, a prospect that I was... not enthusiastic about. However, Mortuana insisted that I reassess my tactics—for the Spark's sake. The leader of the Herald is a wise, meditative soul... for an alicorn, and—needless to say—she easily convinced me to follow through with her suggestion." At last, with a deep breath, Remna turned to gaze on Rainbow Dash once again. "She performed the spell, using the second to last vial of enchanted blood remaining in her possession, a very noble and honorable sacrifice. Soon after, I sought you out, and discovered you nearly freezing to death within the heights of Dust Prefecture. Thankfully, I was able to rescue you in a timely fashion, and I have endeavored to act as your guardian ever since, in sincere hope that our powers combined—the Herald's, the Austraeoh's, mine and Mortuana's—will be enough to stave off Verlax's influence... so that you may light the beacons at the last two Seeds and proceed to the Midnight Armory on the Dark Side." "But..." Rainbow Dash leaned forward, squinting. "That doesn't explain everything. Like..." She gulped. "How did Remna ever get involved in the whole mess? Did... did she have to be killed for you to... friggin' dress in her skin?" "Remna perished over a year ago, my little pony," said Mortuana's voice from behind. "...!" Rainbow jumped in place and spun around. Her eyes reflected the alicorn and her bandaged horn. "How... how long h-have you been st-standing there?!" Fluttershy cleared her throat. "About half a monologue ago." "Why didn't you say so, darling?" Rarity remarked. "Did you want to interrupt Axna... I mean Reman... I mean—" "Shhh!" Pinkie insisted, shoving the other two aside. "Morty time!" Mortuana strolled calmly towards Rainbow and the "bounty hunter." "She was a brave soul. A protector and a guardian to the end," she said, staring down at the pegasus. "Abrasive personality or not, I've no doubt that she would have made a loving parent. She certainly watched over Ariel from afar with great respect over years... and the mare paid the same heed to Wildcard when he arrived—injured—at the foundations of Wyvern Point." Rainbow gulped. "She... she passed away from that disease she contracted, didn't she?" "Indeed." "And... and you decided to have Axan pose as her when the time came for her to assist the Herald." Rainbow took a deep breath. "Seems awfully convenient." "Believe me. Convenience has nothing to do with it," Mortuana said. "In my meditations, I sensed that you had become the Spark not very long ago, Rainbow Dash. I didn't know Axan's involvement in it, nor did I ascertain the extreme degree to which you had..." Her eyes darted towards Remna. "...been mangled." Remna hung her head. Mortuana continued, "But the timing of Remna's passing couldn't have been more unfortunate. Among all the Heraldites, her strength and fortitude stood out. I knew that it would be a matter of months when I would have to rely on her priceless tenaciousness." "Something tells me she wasn't going to live long enough to lend a hoof," Rainbow said. "So... what's the twist?" "No twist, Rainbow Dash," Mortuana said. "An act of loyalty, not unlike yours." She took a deep breath. "I entreated Remna... asking if I may perform a spell that would preserve her soul essence... until the time that the Austraeoh arrived." "Oh gosh..." Twilight Sparkle grimaced. "That... that sounds very advanced." She looked at the others. "Even Starswirl refused to dabble in soul-essence spells." "You..." Rainbow squinted. "...you what? Kept her soul in a jar or something?" "Not necessarily," Mortuana said. "But I did preserve her body and life energy in a neutral state of limbo for several months. It was my hope to induct a new member of the Herald and imbue them with Remna's essence when the time came. Alas, as fate would have it, the Divine Axan came to the wyverns' doorstop. I have personally encountered a Dragon Matriarch possessing the shell of an equine before, and I had just the vessel for Verlax's sister... with a volunteer who was more than willing to undermine the Great Deceiver's conspiracy within Rohbredden, no matter what it took." "You... you gave Remna's essence to Axan." "In part," Mortuana replied. "A sacrifice had to be made by both individuals. Axan gave up her flesh and Remna gave up her ghost." Rainbow turned to look at the violet mare. "Then... are you only half Axan?" "My body was... displaced," the "bounty hunter" said, clearing her throat. "Transplaced... suspended in the leylines tied to this corpse." "Axan..." Mortuana chided. Remna sighed. "This vessel." "Remna's spirit is now freed while her shell is lent to Axan. It's the noblest act of loyalty yet committed by a member of the Herald," Mortuana said. "As it stands, the spell is so powerful that it can only be undone with the same amount of magic casted to initiate the facade in the first place." Rainbow's eyes fell on the dark vial dangling from the alicorn's neck. "In other words... you've got one last bullet in the chamber." "And she shall not use it on me!" Remna growled. "It will expose me before Verlax." "No offense..." Rainbow turned to glare up at her. "But you're pretty much exposed already, don'tcha think?" Remna merely fumed. "Verlax's messenger met us on the battlefield," Mortuana said with a nod. "That much is true. But in her state, she naturally opposes her sibling's spells, among many other elements." "So... that's why she stomped the crap out of that golem," Rainbow remarked. "Wow... wish we saw that!" Pinkie squeaked. "I cannot return to the throne beneath Starkiss in my true form," Remna said, gravely shaking her head. "I will no longer be able to assist you properly. I will be weaker than a mere mortal, for my sister will know all of my vulnerabilities." "And in the meantime, you sacrifice flight... dragonflame... the whole nine yards..." Rainbow gulped hard. "I'm... beginning to understand the sacrifice being made here." "Then perhaps you understand—as well—why it was important to keep it a secret," Mortuana said. Rainbow turned to glare at her. "But from me?" Mortuana gazed at her calmly. "Would you have gladly agreed to the Herald's assistance... if you freely knew that a member of its utmost elite was the very same Divine that maimed you several continents back?" Rainbow Dash clenched her jaw. She avoided the alicorn's gaze. "Would it kill you to put a bit more faith in the 'Spark?'" "Says the mortal who was screaming at me minutes previously," Remna said. "Ohhhhhhhh-girl..." Rainbow waved an angry hoof. "We are so not done—" She blinked suddenly. "...where do you think you're going?" "As stated earlier," Remna growled, trotting deeper into the cavern. "I must perform recon. We have wasted enough time standing here and doing nothing." "Get back here! I mean it!" Rainbow stomped her hooves. "Don't act so smug! Don't you realize you're in the absolute best proportions for me to whoop your sorry flank?!" "I suggest that you let her be, Rainbow Dash," Mortuana said. "Divines are not without their own emotions, and she has many to deal with at the moment, even though she may not be expressing them." Rainbow blanched. "You've gotta be friggin' kidding me!" "Axan is facing the fact that she will soon have to confront her sister... perhaps to the death." Mortuana exhaled. "Keep in mind that she's extinguished the life of one sibling before..." "And you think that keeping who and what she is a big secret from the rest of the Herald is going to help anything?!" Rainbow fumed. "Tell me one thing, Mortuana. Does Wildcard know?" "Yes," Mortuana said. "..." Rainbow blinked. "Oh..." She blinked again. "Since when?" "I informed him back at Wyvern Point," Mortuana added. "Shortly before we set out." "My goodness..." Rarity murmured. "No wonder he looked so terribly angry at his 'mentor' when you observed him." "All this time, he's kept silent about it," Twilight remarked. "Well... erm... you kn-know what I mean." Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches, shivering slightly. "Forgive me if I'm... not exactly thrilled at this huge flippin' game of secrecy, Morty." "I cannot blame you, Rainbow Dash," the alicorn said. "But can even you deny that withholding the truth—no matter how absurd the secret—is the greatest weapon we can afford ourselves in a time of dire need?" Rainbow Dash blinked. Twilight glanced at Mortuana, then at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow cleared her throat. "Well said." Mortuana nodded. "I would hope so." "But... but when Axan, Bard and I... uh... ran into Verlax's messenger up above..." Rainbow fidgeted. "She... uh... she said that this last leg of my trials is a test of 'honesty'." "Seems only fitting." Mortuana trotted closer. "Considering the Element of the spirit you're freeing from the flame next." "Yeah, but... there's gotta be more to it than that," Rainbow said. "I mean, back in the Quade, Verlax was testing me for 'kindness,' and I ended up..." She sighed, shivering slightly. "I ended up ruining a bunch of peaceful ponies' lives..." Mortuana nodded. "Then we must strive to give you the support that you require, Austraeoh," she said. "So that you need not make the same mistake you did before." "I've no doubt that I won't be making mistakes again, Morty," Rainbow said. She turned to cast Fluttershy and the others a soft smile. "I've had some support for a while now." She blinked, glancing worriedly down the corridor. "But... but you yourself said that dire times call for secret weapons, or some-such, no matter how absurd." "I was attempting to be figurative." "Yeah, I get that. But..." Rainbow shuddered. "What if—even with all of your help and friggin' Axan on my side..." Her jaw muscles clenched. "...what if Verlax doesn't give me a choice?" Mortuana took a meditative breath. "Then the Herald's role will be to... weather the gravity of such a decision." Rainbow's eyes twitched. "None of us approve of Verlax, Austraeoh," Mortuana said. "But despite how much we do our best to resist her, she is very much the heart of Rohbredden. I've no doubt that she wants you—in the end—to consider a very tentative balance that will require scaling. When that time comes, it will not be up to me, but rather the wisdom and the courage of the Spark. It will be your task to reboot this world in the end, after all. The Herald can only get you to the point of agency." "Then... one way or another..." Rainbow shuddered. "...I'm still in the same position I was in when I first took off from Ponyville." "Perhaps." Mortuana's head tilted to the side, bandages dangling. "Perhaps not. You have your friends at your side, yes?" "I... I do..." "Then progress is being made," Mortuana confirmed. "The likes of which even Verlax cannot fully understand. That—more than anything—gives the Spark the edge that she needs." Rainbow glanced at Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy. The others smiled back, at least gently. "I understand that the gravity of recent revelations is weighing heavily upon you." Mortuana calmly drew Rainbow towards her with a wing. "But Axan is right. We cannot stay here much longer." "What... I mean... where is there to go?" "Follow me back to the main group," Mortuana said. "And we shall determine that together." "And..." Rainbow gritted her teeth as she trotted back the way she came, escorted by the alicorn. "...what of the others? Should... should I tell them about Axan's secret?" "You are the Austraeoh, Rainbow Dash, and we are the Herald." Mortuana nodded. "That decision is completely up to you now." Rainbow took a deep breath. "Friggin' good, then."