"Big Show," Flynn grumbled. His hoofsteps echoed across the cold chamber as he trotted across the cavern. "Will you get in the cart already?"
"Pffft..." Logan limped in the opposite direction, leaning on his axe. "Ariel and Bard are needin' Wyvern's wagon to rest. Now you wanna throw my fat ass into it?"
"Dude... you took a frickin' arrow to the chest," Flynn growled.
"The vest took most of it," Logan belched. "Plus, I cauterized the wound and Kepler gave me his fancy Wyvern meds."
"Even still," Flynn sighed. "That's a lot to bounce back from. Medicine or no medicine, your body needs rest to go on."
"I ain't got time to rest... or bleed," Logan said, nostrils flaring. "If this troupe's gonna march anywhere, who's gonna lead the convoy? You?"
Flynn rolled his one flesh eye.
"Besides." Logan motioned towards the soldiers gathered at the far end of the cave. The members of the Central Guard huddled around a campfire, murmuring amongst themselves. "We're gonna need someone to keep a watchful eye on those bozos."
"We whipped their butts before."
"I whipped their butts before," Logan grumbled. A beat. "Well, me and Wildcard."
A metal talon saluted from beside Kepler's wagon.
"Still, they do outnumber us three to one. I dunno about you, but that's good enough reason to stay alive, awake, and anxious."
"Fine. But when the time comes that you gotta sleep your sorry head off, lemme know." Flynn adjusted his pack full of tools and mana crystals. "We'll switch shifts... like clockwork."
"Yes, mom," Logan grumbled.
Kepler looked up from bandaging Bard's wound. "Speaking of motherrly monarrchs..."
Wildcard stood tall at attention as Mortuana returned. She was accompanied by Rainbow Dash.
The mountain matron stood in place. With a bony wing, she gestured to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow stood before the group. While all eyes rested on her, the pegasus spoke firmly: "Remna's gone on ahead to scout out the cave system. According to Rarity, most of the limestone rock formations ahead of us are pretty hollow. If we continue moving east through the caves, we should hopefully be able to avoid contact with the windigoes on the surface above. Remna's doing recon to figure out just what that path is. We'll begin moving our way east, and then once Remna returns to meet us along the way, we should hopefully have a full course laid out."
"So we can keep on moseyin' along," Bard said from where he slumped in the wagon. "Only underground... all mole-like." He winced slightly as he shifted the weight of his bandaged leg. "Sounds good to me."
"I wouldn't mind resting my wings for a bit," Ariel wheezed.
"Glorrious! Glorrious!" Kepler rubbed his clawed hands together. "So be it! The jourrney of the Sparrk continues! Ha hah!"
As the wyvern prepared to hitch the wagon back to himself, the members of the Central Guard stood up, stirring anxiously.
"You... you are leaving?" one stammered.
"Don't be foolish!" exclaimed another. "We must stay here! Surely the other battallions stationed north and south across the Star Fringes will be alarmed at our absence and send reinforcements to dig us out!"
"Didn't you hear the mare?" Logan grumbled. "So long as those winged snow demons are farting around up above, chilling everything to popsicles, we're better off below ground!"
A griffon hissed, "As if we're going to take advice from the Rainbow Rogue! We're better off staying right here and waiting for back up! That goes for you too!"
"We are not waiting here," Rainbow Dash said with a frown. She took a few bold steps towards the group. "Look, I know that you guys don't like me. I know that everything that you believe in tells you that I'm eviler than evil itself or whatcrap. But your Queen Verlaxion? She's the one letting loose those windigoes! She did it way back in the day and she's doing it again. Doesn't matter if her 'precious foals' are being caught in the crossfire or not. The fact is... none of us are safe up on the surface right now! Now, my friends and I can map us a way out of this frozen hole in the ground—and guess what?! You're all invited! That's right! You want a ticket out of this mess? Then follow us! We don't have to fight each other any more. I mean... Luna Poop... we never wanted to butt heads in the first place!"
The members of the Central Guard exchanged quiet, mulling expressions.
A mare in armor cleared her throat and spoke up: "How do we know that you won't lead us to our doom? You have us in an awfully compromising position."
"I have nothing to gain from bringing harm to you guys," Rainbow said. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes and added: "Okay, yes, I know I've done some cruel things in the past. While the stories that came out of the Quade have been greatly exagerrated, the truth is that I did totally wreck the Luminards' Reed. That happened and I regret it. Really, I do. I'm on a super important quest with more at stake than even I can explain, but it doesn't excused what I did. Back in the Quade, I thought I didn't have any other options available to me. I realize now that I was wrong, but I can't undo my stupid decision any more than I can stop this journey that I'm on. But instead of spending forever and a day trying to explain it all to you, just know that my companions and I are offering you all an opportunity to make it out of this mess alive. It's not something that can make up for the mistakes that I've made, but it's still a cool, decent, and awesome thing to do for other ponies. Especially ponies who didn't deserve to sacrifice their lives needlessly in the first place. So, what do you say?"
Once more, the soldiers murmured amongst one another.
A pegasus spoke up: "Do you actually know a way out of here?"
Rainbow opened her muzzle to speak—
"Rest assured, we shall make it to the shadow of Starkiss," Mortuana said. She took a bold step forward, facing the Rohbreddenites. "From there, you can easily travel south to Frostknife, if you so desire."
"You... you mean these caves open up somewhere?" a griffon remarked.
"Indeed. As a matter of fact..." Mortuana pivoted about, her eyes falling on a Desperado. "...they lead directly to the lower end of the Midfrost Passage. Isn't that right, Wildcard?"
Wildcard gazed at Mortuana.
Mortuana peered back, her calm eyes narrowing.
Wildcard exhaled. At last, he nodded his feathery head.
"So, yes..." Clearing her throat, Mortuana looked at the soldiers again. "We have a way out of these caverns."
Silence.
A mare spoke up. "We shall follow you... for now." She gulped. "Anything has to be better than staying here."
A stallion sputtered: "But the battallions—!"
The mare growled. "They will presume us all dead and push the ambush parties even further east! To Starkiss!" She sighed. "They'll have no idea that we're still alive..." Her ears drooped as she gazed solemnly at the Herald. "...nor who is responsible for saving us... in spite of our attack."
Flynn and Logan exchanged smirking expressions.
"Understand if we keep our distance," a griffon said. "We don't want the poison of the Blight corrupting our spirits any further..."
"Oh..." Bard rolled his eyes. "Heaven forbid!" He winced and clutched his leg. "Ow ow ow ow... damnation..."
Wildcard patted his shoulder, then nodded once again at Mortuana.
"Very well." Mortuana turned and pointed east down the winding corridor. "Follow my lead." She trotted briskly, one bony hoof after another. "So long as flames wait for the Spark, the Herald stops for nothing."
"Holy friggin' cow..." Ariel gasped, eyes wide. "So all this time... Remna's..." She grimaced from where she reclined in Kepler's cart. "...she's been a dragon?"
"Not just any dragon," Rainbow muttered, trotting alongside the wagon as it rattled up and down craggy stretches of stone. Flynn's crystals, Rainbow's pendant, and Kepler's torch lit up the frosted walls of the cave around them. Behind the group—at a distance—a series of unicorn horns lit the Central Guard's wary path. "Remna's the dragon. She's Axan."
"One of the Divines?" Flynn glanced back in mid-trot. "The Dragon of Flame?"
"Ain't she the one who stomped a mudhole in ya?" Bard remarked.
"She did more than that," Rainbow muttered. She gazed past her friends as they floated around her, phasing through limestone and stalactites. "She nearly shattered me into a million bits and pieces. Halfway through the beat-down, she realized I was the Austraeoh, had a change of heart, and left me at the doorstop to the Ledomaritan Confederacy... where I was eventually patched together." She blew out the side of her muzzle. "Thanks to a bunch of chaos magics..."
"What do you mean?" Ariel asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Flynn grumbled. "Those military psychopaths took her pendant off and did experiments on her discordant form."
"Oh jeez..." Ariel grimaced. "Rainbow Dash, that... that had to have been truly... truly awful."
Rarity sniffled. "I concur. Every time I'm forced to remember that part of your journey..."
"Everypony relax," Rainbow spoke to both the ghost and non-ghostly. "I'm past all of that now."
"Includin' how Axan went overtime on yer flesh?" Bard remarked.
Rainbow sighed. "Okay... I'm past most of it."
"Well... shiet..." Bard gritted his teeth. He gazed up at the jagged ceiling of the cave as it rolled overhead. "...no wonder Remna was so worked up about protectin' Rainbow Dash." He gulped. "Considerin' it was this 'Axan' character the whole time, she must have been worked up somethin' awful with guilt and responsibility."
"It certainly explains why she was bitchy," Logan said.
Ariel sighed. "Big Show..."
"I mean bitchier than normal Remna!" Logan continued. "That ol' battleaxe was always hardcore! But at least she used her head! Ever since Wyvern Point, this... pretender has been taking stupid risks and throwing her head out there for Rainbow! Remna... the real Remna liked to think things through!"
"So..." Flynn glanced aside. "You didn't notice a difference?"
"Pffft! Did you?! You're the smarty-pants gizmo-humper of the group here!"
"Hey..." Flynn shrugged. "I just figured it was senility mixed with fatigue! I mean... the real Remna was pretty far gone the last time we saw her! I figured she had retired and Mortuana was gonna nominate someone else to replace her as a member of the Heraldic Seven!"
"Just..." Ariel's muzzle scrunched. "...j-just how long did Mortuana know about this?"
"The whole time, I reckon," Bard said.
Rainbow nodded. "That's about right."
Bard glanced at the others. "Why? Does that not sit right with you folks?"
Logan sighed. "I mean... guess it makes sense why she kept hush-hush about it, considering Rainbow's history with the dragon bitch."
Rainbow groaned, "Will you stop saying the b-word, please?"
"Well, no offense, but she did nearly grind you into rainbow dust—"
"And she's putting a lot on the line just to make sure I get past Verlax," Rainbow huffed. "Which is her sister, by the way."
"Oh yeah..." Flynn nodded, his good eye blinking. "They're both Divines. She's essentially assisting the Herald in a coup against her own flesh and blood."
"And this is truly the only way she can get it accomplished?" Bard asked, wincing as the cart hit another bump. "She had to do it all secret-like?"
"Both Rem—...erm... both Axan and Mortuana have made it clear," Rainbow said. "Axan went to Verlax. Verlax got the drop on her—just like she ambushed Mortuana so many ages ago—and now Axan can't venture anywhere in Rohbredden while in her natural form or else risk being caught by Verlax."
"What's it matter now?" Ariel asked. "Verlax knows that Axan is Remna."
"Perrhaps due to herr prroximity via the frrost vessel," Kepler suddenly spoke up. He drew the wagon along at a calm pace. "But at a grreat distance, I highly suspect that Morrtuana's magic is sufficient enough to mask the trransforrmed Divine's prresence. Quite an ingenious plan, I must say!" He adjusted his spectacles and marched along. "It would appearr, howeverr, that ourr hectic encounterr with the guarrd and the windigoes up on the surrface allowed the eyes of Verrlax to become wise to Axan's facade."
"Maybe," Flynn remarked. His mechanical eye rotated in thought. "Or maybe not..."
Kepler craned his neck. "What might you be suspecting, old frriend?"
Flynn glanced back at the distant soldiers. "We got doubly ambushed just now," he said. "First by one of several battallions who—it would seem—were spread out across the western fringes of Starkiss. Just how... and I do mean how were the high ranking strategists of the Central Guard capable of guessing where we would be and when?"
"But then the freaky snow ghosts attacked," Rainbow said.
"Precisely." Flynn nodded. "It proves that not only did the head haunchos in Frostknife know of our little journey... but 'Verlaxion' herself was made wise to the Herald as well." His nostrils flared. "No, I'm convinced that we had a Frost Vessel hiding out in Wyvern Point the whole time... right under our very noses."
"Buck me," Logan grunted.
"She could know our every move," Ariel murmured, shivering slightly. "Our plan to enter Starkiss!"
"But... I dun get it..." Bard squinted into the dim, fluctuating light. "Ain't Verlax keen on Rainbow finishin' her journey? What's she got to gain from makin' it so dayum hard for the Austraeoh in the first place?"
"It's a test," Rainbow grumbled. "It's always a test. She's trying to narrow my entire journey down so that the gauntlet becomes an unbelievably narrow corridor of trials."
"To what end?" Ariel remarked.
Rainbow looked at Twilight and the others. "To see how far I'm willing to go to make it to my destination." She shuddered. "How many Elements of Harmony I'm willing to compromise for the sake of the big picture."
"We won't let it be that easy for her, Rainbow," Twilight said.
Fluttershy nodded. "We're with you every step of the way."
"Even Applejack would agree!" Pinkie smiled. "We've got your back, Dashie!"
Rainbow sighed. "I still gotta get AJ first..." She clenched her teeth. "...and so long as Verlax has her in her clutches..."
Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie fidgeted nervously.
Rarity cleared her throat and said, "Still, for all of Verlax's efforts, she can't undo the fact that you have so many useful allies in the flesh as well as in spirit!"
Ariel leaned her head over the cart's edge. "What are your friends saying to you now, Rainbow?"
"Ahem..." Rainbow looked up. "Even if Verlax anticipated both Axan and the Herald, she still can't change the fact that I have you guys by my side." She smiled. "And Mortuana too."
"As much as I hate to be the bearrerr of pessimistic perrspectives, it is imporrtant to rremind everryone," Kepler spoke, "that to make Axan's trransforrmation possible in the firrst place, the Mountain Matrron had to sacrrifice herr second to last rremaining vial of enchanted blood."
"Yeah." Logan snorted. "That sucks."
Flynn glanced back. "You've been hanging out with Mortuana at the sanctuary the longest, Kepler. Did you foresee any of this unfolding the way it has?"
"I'm afrraid not, frriend. But I did know that the wise Morrtuana was utilizing herr magics forr something intensely important." The wyvern exhaled past his tusks. "Herr forresight is an amazing thing, unchallenged by even the wisest of my brrotherrs, both past and prresent. While it is quite easy, dearr companions, to feel angerr and confusion at the unorrthodox rreplacement of ourr fallen comrrade, Rremna, let us rreemmberr that the Mountain Matrron would not rresorrt to such extrreme tactics unless she felt that it was rrequirred in the grrand strruggle against ourr adverrsarries."
"Indeed," Flynn remarked.
"Well said," Ariel said.
"You won't hear me bitc—erm... female dogging," Logan remarked.
Rainbow's ears folded back as she clenched her jaws.
Pinkie glanced aside. "What's the matter, Dashie?"
"Is... something bothering you, dear?" Rarity asked.
Rainbow remained silent. Her eyes darted about.
"I... would wager to guess..." Twilight cleared her throat. "...that Rainbow's a tiny bit put off by the attitude of the Herald."
"Why?" Rarity blinked. "They're our companions, are they not?"
"Rarity..." Fluttershy calmly spoke as she floated alongside Twilight. "Their words in defending Mortuana sound a lot like how the soldiers of the Central Guard defend Verlaxion."
"Yeah, but..." Pinkie blinked. "...it's not the same!"
"Still, if there's anything Rainbow's learned in her travels," Twilight remarked, "It's not to have blind faith. Sure, Mortuana is proving herself to be helpful... but she still likes to keep secrets."
"Yeah, but what if they're helpful secrets?" Pinkie said.
"Twilight has a point, darling," Rarity remarked. "Trust is built on truth."
"Yeah, but what if you're needing to protect your friends? Or the quest!" Pinkie's brow furrowed. "Or... or..."
"If Mortuana's hidden so much as it is, then how are we to know she still isn't hiding things?" Fluttershy said.
"Like what?" Pinkie blinked.
"Like what Rainbow's going to have to do when she finally reaches Starkiss."
"Pfft! You're saying that as if Mortuana knows all the stuff Verlax knows!"
"And what if she does?" Twilight said.
Pinkie blinked.
"If there was something that Mortuana knew... that—if Rainbow also knew—it would make the journey even more unsavory..." Twilight sighed. "Just... would she really tell that to the Austraeoh?" Twilight's eyes narrowed. "After waiting so many eons for the Spark to show up and make her destiny manifest?"
Rainbow sighed.
"You okay, Rainbow?" Ariel asked.
"Yeah... just..." Rainbow shuddered slightly in mid-trot. "...a lot to weigh in on."
"I bet..." Ariel smiled sweetly. "We've got your back. I hope you know that."
Rainbow smiled back at her. "Trust me. I know." Her eyes fell on Ariel's rear leg. "You... gave me a real scare back there."
"Heh... believe me..." Ariel brushed her bangs back. A slight rosiness spread through her muzzle. "I gave m-myself a real scare too. Not th-that I wanted to..."
"Heh..." Rainbow nodded. "Looks like Kepler's done a good job on your leg. Really glad you're in one piece, girl."
"Heeheehee..." Ariel giggled, relaxing. "And... uh... I-I'm glad that you're glad that I'm in one piece... Rainbow..."
"Just kiss already," Logan grumbled.
"Big Show!" Ariel pouted. "Flynn, smack him for me."
"I would if he didn't take an arrow in the chest hours ago."
"Pffft... softie..."
Rainbow smiled... then gazed ahead. Her smirk faded as she stared into the dim stretches of the cavern before the group.
Twilight gazed at her calmly. "If it's true, Rainbow... if Mortuana's hiding stuff from you—"
"—then she's hiding stuff from the Herald as well," Rainbow murmured so that only her marefriends could hear. "I mean... why not? She is the 'Mountain Matron' after all."
"Yes, but a good mother is honest with her children."
"Twilight, how honest do you really... really believe Celestia's been with you all these years?"
Twilight instantly clammed up.
Rainbow's eyes glanced aside. "If she told you the dangers you had to face to find the Elements, do you really think you would have been in the place to free Luna from Nightmare Moon like you did?"
Twilight hung her head. She sighed gently.
"Celestia's always trusted you, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "She would never wish to mislead you."
"No..." Twilight sniffed. "But... but she could mislead herself."
Fluttershy bit her lip.
"She... she made a mistake..." Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, shuddering as she floated along. "She thought we could wield the Elements of Harmony. She was only partially right." Another tear fell as she fought the urge to whimper. "We trusted her... and yet... sh-she didn't have the foresight to ascertain just what would happen when we faced Discord... and... and..."
"I was mad at her for a long, long time, Twilight," Rainbow quietly said. "I can't even pretend to understand how you must feel."
Twilight sighed. "Yeah..." Pinkie and Fluttershy drifted closer, nuzzling her.
"But she always meant the best for us," Rainbow said. "As long as it took me to admit my anger at her... it took me even longer to realize that some ponies—including immortals—just can't accomplish everything. This whole... stinkin' Urohringr business is bigger than us... bigger than the Alicorns... bigger than the Divines."
"But... b-but..." Twilight looked up, trembling. "...if you can't perfectly rely on Celestia... then how can we rely on Mortuana?"
"Or the Herald?" Pinkie added in a wavering voice.
"Don't you get it?" Rainbow remarked. "It's not a matter of power... or else even Axan would have gotten me to the Midnight Armory by now." She glanced aside. "We don't need friends because of what they know or what they can do..."
Fluttershy nodded and said, "Friendship is important for the friends."
Rainbow smirked. "Bingo."
Twilight sighed, ultimately bearing a tiny smile. "I guess... with how complicated things have gotten... I've forgotten how simple everything can be."
"A mistake I've made more than once," Rainbow said. "Believe me."
"Still, it begs the question," Rarity remarked. "In the end, who can we trust the most during this journey?"
Rainbow calmly glanced over her shoulder.
Bard fidgeted with his hat. After a couple of seconds, he realized the mare was looking at him. "Hmmm? Somethin' up, darlin'?"
"You holding up okay, Bard?"
The stallion sighed. "Just... head full of thoughts, is all."
"Moping over your guitar?"
"Hey! It ain't smashed!" He pouted. "Besides... I can pluck them strings with my wingtips just fine!" He sighed through his nostrils. "Nah... I'm just wonderin' how Dubya is holdin' up with all this Remna business'n'all. We ain't had much time to gab about the whole mess since we got stuck down here."
Rainbow glanced forward, catching the wingflaps of the griffon beyond the penumbra of Kepler's and Flynn's light. "Mortuana says that she told him back at Wyvern Point," Rainbow said.
"Makes sense to me."
Rainbow looked at Bard again. "You knew that he knew?"
"No, not exactly. But I knew somethin' was up. Dubya was bein' rather quiet."
Rainbow arched an eyebrow.
"I mean for himself," Bard grumbled. "Figured... once he was within ten feet of his ol' mentor again, he'd be all soft-footed and bedazzled. But that didn't happen one bit. In fact... I haven't seen him act this grumpy before. Made me think that Remna had done somethin' to cross him. And since I never knew the mare that much... well..." He tipped his hat back and frowned. "Reckon I got mighty huffy about it. Sure didn't help when she started actin' all cold-blooded and impulsive around ya neither, darlin'."
"Yeah..." Rainbow nodded. "Well... at least now it's all clear."
"Still... must be a lot for the poor Despy to take in."
"I'm sure he'll be okay." Rainbow smiled. "He's got you to lean on."
"Dayum skippy."
Rainbow chuckled. She cleared her throat and said, "Y'know... even if Axan hadn't come to rescue our hides up there... I still would have dragged you away from all those windigoes."
"I know that, darlin'," Bard sighed. "I do hope you promise never to make such a silly sacrifice again."
"How's that silly?" Rainbow squinted. "You're my friend, Bard. What was I supposed to do? Not save you?"
"Ain't nothin' much left that's worth savin'," Bard grumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Yer just gonna have to believe me, I guess."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "I believe that Wildcard would be super miffed if I didn't save you."
"Eugh..." Bard sighed. "Push my damn buttons, shall you?"
Rainbow smirked. "Only because you put them out there for everypony to push. You're like a trotting accordion, you know that?"
"Heh... now there's a crazy-ass analogy if I ever did hear one."
"Heeheehee..."
Silence.
At last, Logan grumbled, "Maybe you two should be the ones kissing."
"Hah Hah!" Kepler let out a laugh while Ariel giggled.
"Awwwwwww shuddup," Rainbow grunted.
Untold hours later...
The two groups had taken a moment to rest for a breather. Wildcard and Remna signaled Mortuana just as they came upon a flat plateau situated in the dead center of an enormous cavern. At Mortuana's command, the Herald sat down and made camp. Observing from a distance, the three-dozen Rohbreddenites did the same.
All was tense and quiet while Kepler and Flynn prepared a meal for the group. They managed to spare some rations, leaving them to the western outskirts of the camp that they had made. It took a full two hours before any member of the Central Guard mustered up the courage—and humility—to trot over and sample some of the Herald's edible offerings.
"Like friggin' squirrels testing the generosity of picniccers," Logan grumbled.
"Goddess dayum, dude," Flynn grumbled. "You'd think meal-time would be the one occasion you'd shut up."
"Hmmmf..." Logan smirked, biting into another morsel of bred. "Mrmmff... you'd think I'd give you the satisfaction?"
"I'd think you'd give the Austraeoh the satisfaction of being positive for once!"
"I wish you'd both give me the satisfaction of shutting the buck up!" Ariel grumbled, lying curled up on a sleeping mat with her bandaged leg outstretched. "It's hard enough trying to snooze past the pain without having to hear you morons go at it."
Before Logan or Flynn could retort, Rainbow strolled up on quiet hooves. "Look, dudes... caves suck. Nopony knows that more than I do. How about we all chillax and just enjoy the rest before it's time to hoof it again?"
Silence.
"And that..." Flynn smiled and handed Rainbow a cup of soup with bread. "...is why you're the Austraeoh." He winked his good eye.
Rainbow smiled back. "I'll pass this on to Wildcard."
Flynn nodded in the direction of Bard's sleeping form. "I'm sure the other Desperado would appreciate that."
"Totally." Rainbow did a brief curtsey and trotted off.
"Hmmmmmmm..." Ariel smiled, allowing her eyes to flutter shut. "Her voice is so adorable... and soothing..."
"Shnorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!" A wyvern's lungs resonated from where Kepler slept.
Ariel frowned. "Well, never mind."
"Shit on a sandwich," Logan muttered, glaring at the wagon. "Even in his sleep, he rolls his damn 'R's'."
Flynn and Ariel laughed. Soon the group returned to their silent huddles.
Kepler stirred. He adjusted his spectacles in his sleep and snored away.
Rainbow Dash stumbled east through the rocky confines of the cave.
Wildcard stood, perched on a stalagmite. He peered west with his goggles reflecting the adjacent camp of Rohbreddenites. The light of their unicorn horns twinkled at a distance.
"Hey there, bright eyes," Rainbow said. She held out the soup and bread. "Flynn bears gifts."
Wildcard pivoted his head—if only to glance at her. He took her offering in a metal talon, lightly nodding his beak.
"It... uhm... it may be a lousy gift," Rainbow mused. "But I promise it'll fill you up."
Wildcard nodded again, then sipped and nibbled at the substance. A minute or two in, he paused to point at Rainbow.
"Nah, I already had something to munch on," Rainbow said.
Wildcard gestured a "pillow" to his cocked head.
Rainbow shook her head with a sigh. "Couldn't if I tried. Too much on the mind. Besides..." She gulped, trembling. "...all sleep ever does is fill me with nightmares. It wouldn't be actual shuteye."
Wildcard's beak clenched tightly.
"But... it's okay." Rainbow absent-mindedly scratched at the thin layer of prismatic fuzz across her scalp. "The girls are all Vanilla Zoning away. So... that's a good thing. So often I'm... I-I'm sorry that they have no choice but to be yanked along this journey... even if it does mean bringing them all back... one way or another in the end." She cleared her throat. "Still, it's nice to know that they can get a little respite one way or another."
Wildcard slowly nodded.
Rainbow's eyes lifted to meet his goggles. "How... uhm... how are you holding up?"
He looked aside. An exhale, and he nibbled some more at his food.
Rainbow winced. She hung her head. After a while, she finally found the words to say: "I know it must really... really suck to have somepony you care so much about be... replaced like this... and with a real jerkface to boot."
Wildcard sat still.
"But... but I think it's a good thing, y'know? I mean... that is to say..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "For so long... I thought Remna was a Grade-A Moron. But now that I know the truth... now that I know of the sacrifice that she's made..." She looked firmly at Wildcard. "...I can rest easy knowing that Remna was as awesome as awesomeness gets."
Wildcard looked up until his dark lenses reflected Rainbow's smiling face.
"'Cuz she gave us all you... one way or another..." Rainbow exhaled calmly. "It was the best gift a mare like me could ever ask for... from the Quade and beyond. I'm alive now... I'm alive and ticking now thanks to you, Wildcard... and it's all thanks to the awesome job the real Remna did in training you. And if she's anywhere near a fraction as cool and badass as you are... then she's alright in my book."
The griffon tilted his head aside.
"I mean it. She did us all right by making you her protege." Rainbow took a deep breath. "And I bet Bard doesn't know just... how lucky he is to have a friend as loyal as you."
"... ... ..." Wildcard slowly smiled beneath his beak.
Rainbow smiled back. Her voice wavered slightly as she said, "You... uh... you enjoy your meal. And remember—if Axan gets uppity with ya—just come and tell me. I've royally owned her before. You don't believe me? Just ask her."
And Rainbow turned tail and briskly trotted back to the Herald's camp.
Her smile had faded by the time she reached her sleeping mat. She stared at the thing just a few paces away from Kepler's wagon... and sighed woefully.
"... ... ...Remna did indeed make a sacrifice," Mortuana's voice said.
"...?" Rainbow briskly spun. She spotted the frail shadow of the alicorn before her.
"But I want you to understand something, Austraeoh," the Mountain Matron spoke. "I would never have purposefully and willingly put Remna through something torturous—in this life or in the life afterwards."
Rainbow squinted. "Do you listen in on every conversation that I have?"
"Negative," Mortuana remarked, shaking her head. "But I've been extra-mindful of Wildcard as of late."
"It's good to know you care."
"But of course, child."
Rainbow Dash squirmed.
"Something troubles you, Austraeoh?"
"Like to take a guess?" Rainbow muttered.
Mortuana tilted her head aside. "You are likely wondering... just how trustworthy I am."
Rainbow sighed. "Nothing gets past you."
"Except when it does," Mortuana droned. "Such as our ambush yesterday. I can understand how your faith in the Herald might be noticeably shifted."
"It doesn't take a wise alicorn to tell me that the Herald can be imperfect," Rainbow muttered. "I faced a whole ton of misguided idiots west of the Grand Choke who nearly made mince meat out of me and Eljunbyro." She cleared her throat. "No offense."
"None taken."
"But Khao changed gears at the last second, and I've benefited from it ever since." Rainbow raised her eyes to meet Mortuana's. "At least you have your priorities straight from the beginning. That counts for something."
"I've endeavored all of my life to assist the Austraeoh in her journey," Mortuana said. "But, in the end, even my greatest efforts have come down to sheer luck." She slowly shook her head. "I had no assurance that you would appear when you did. For all I knew, I would have perished while waiting. Then it would have been up to a future Heraldic Seven to assist you in my absence."
"Let's be glad we're facing Verlax together."
"Indeed."
Rainbow fidgeted, gazing down the cavern. "Mortuana... earlier you said that Remna's 'spirit' had 'been freed' once Axan got ahold of her shell for the transfiguration spell."
"I believe I did convey that, yes."
Rainbow raised her eyes. "Just what did you mean by that?"
"Her soul had been released by the flesh anchoring it in the mortal realm."
"Released where?"
Mortuana blinked. "Your kingdom is ruled by none other than Celestia and Luna—second generation alicorns foaled of pure immortal blood. Surely your culture is properly informed of the nature of all living things?"
"I've... always had some grasp of what the majority of Equestria believes," Rainbow muttered. She paced about, avoiding her sleeping mat. "Something to do with 'our spirits leaving our bodies' and 'communing together in the Harmonic Plains.'"
"Was this belief not central to you?"
"I never thought much about death when I was younger," Rainbow muttered. "Fear only weighed me down. Then... after my best friends turned to dust..." She sighed. "...I guess I was too sad and angry to feel much of anything. Death is just bad luck in its deepest, blackest form. And so many cultures believe so many things about it, that I never had the time to pick and choose. I was too busy trying to live as awesomely as I could with the small time I had left... and the even sm-smaller time I still have left." She gulped. A pause, and she glanced up at the alicorn. "Just what do you believe? You're the 'alicorn of death' or some such... right?"
"Is that what Whitemane called me?"
"Actually... heh..." Rainbow smirked bitterly. "Whitemane never mentioned you. Not once."
"Somehow, that does not surprise me." Mortuana trotted a few steps. "My little pony, what do you know about the Harmonic Plains?"
Rainbow stifled a yawn. "Celestia and Luna have mentioned it a few times. It's—like—where the alicorns come from, right?"
"Indeed, we do. But that is not what defines the Harmonic Plains."
"Then what's so big about it?"
"Namely that there is nothing bigger."
Rainbow blinked. "...okay."
"Imagine—if you will—that the universe has a limit to it... a limit that is constantly expanding and increasing."
"Do I really have to imagine it?" Rainbow muttered. "Or are you just telling me how it is?"
Mortuana nodded. "The universe—for lack of a simpler explanation—is a gigantic sphere. It is hollow, in that everything that is known to exist dwells within this sphere. This sphere grows at an exponential rate, never ceasing, always enlarging. Meanwhile, all stars, galaxies, and celestial bodies are constantly birthed within the volume of this sphere... abiding by chaos, harmony, and the tenuous balance between."
"Kinda heart to tack the word 'plains' onto all of that, Morty."
"The term 'Harmonic Plains' refers to the inner surface of the sphere. That is the original home to all alicorns. Countless eons ago, our ancestors herded across such a surface. These forebears were beings of pure harmony, too powerful and magnificent to be contained in physical frames. They lived in pure peace and tranquility with one another. Death, chaos, and the wages of entropy were miniscule concepts at such a time, if not nonexistent. As the ages dwindled by, and they saw the universe expanding—giving birth to galaxies, nebulae, and whole worlds deep within—they decided to share their bounty of pure harmony with the lives being spawned into existence, even if it meant forsaking the purity of their immortality. It was this benevolent purpose that saw the first exodus of alicorns into the center of the known universe, exploring, fostering, blessing. That's how they stumbled upon countless worlds... and it's precisely how my father—and the parents of Celestia and Luna—came upon this piece of Urohringr, ultimately to spread their gifts among the populace... both equine and otherwise."
"Is that why there are less and less of you with each passing age?" Rainbow Dash remarked. "Because you and every other alicorn who's shown up has been dividing your energies among the mortals you've discovered?"
"Precisely, my little pony," Mortuana said with a nod. "Altruism is the one indellible spirit of life. It has always been our hope that—once mortals have no choice but to dwell on their own—they will discover the means to sustain themselves and spread the same gifts of harmony to the ever-expanding corners of the universe, achieving peace and equilibrium forevermore."
Rainbow exhaled. "Kinda makes me wonder if that's precisely what the Urohringrs are."
"That has been my assumption as well," Mortuana remarked. "My one chief regret is that my father Onyxxus did not live long enough to discover the truth about the Urohringrs himself. He and many other alicorns from his exodus would have wept with joy... knowing that someplace, somewhere, mortals have attained a position of life-renewing enlightenment and peaceful coexistence."
"Wanna bet the ones who built the Urohringrs got to where they were all on account of alicorns?"
"At the risk of sounding egotistical, I would not doubt such," Mortuana said. "It is very indicative of life to be circular. Verlax understands this, it would appear, although she doesn't know what to properly do with the knowledge."
"Right." Rainbow blinked. "So... like... what's beyond the Harmonic Plains?"
"Hmmm?"
"You said the known universe is an expanding sphere. What's outside the sphere?"
Mortuana's wings coiled. "We do not know. Since the dawn of time, Alicorn writings have ventured to guess and philosophize on what encompasses the sphere. We have, however, recorded brief glimpses beyond inexplicable fissures that have randomly formed along the surface of the Harmonic Plains."
"Like what kind of fissures?"
"Alas, they've yielded no answers," Mortuana said. "Nothing but colorless glimpses into an inconceivable absence of data... a black abyss of thought and contemplation."
"Oh yeah?"
"We have a word for them," Mortuana explained. "'Onyx Eclipses.' My father was foaled into the purpose of studying them, hence his name. But after countless epochs of failing to come up with answers, he utilized the energy he had left and ventured into the heart of the universe. There, he met with my mother, and together they aided the alicorns who brought the Sun and Moon to this plane."
"Sounds pretty epic."
"And it only scratches the surface of the alicorns' historic mission at large." Mortuana cleared her throat. "I do apologize, Rainbow Dash. But somewhere, sometime, there was a purpose as to why I began this expository tirade...?" She brushed a hoof across the base of her bandaged horn. "...my mind—as admirable as it may seem to an inquisitive mortal—isn't quite what it used to be."
"I asked you where you believe spirits go. Like Remna's."
"Ah." Mortuana nodded. "To the Harmonic Plains, of course."
"'Of course?'"
Mortuana took a deep breath. "All alicorns—your beloved Celestia and Luna included—believe that the Harmonic Plains are the source of all harmonic energies. Thus, all forms of energy—such as the spirits that inhabit physical and organic things—are naturally drawn towards the expanding edges of the universe once their labors are complete."
"By labors, you mean...?" Rainbow leaned forward.
"Life, my little pony. Mortal... immortal..." The alicorn shook her head. "They all graze from the same valley. And once they've had their fill, they must return to the source of that which invigorated them to begin with."
"So, when all ponies die..." Rainbow blinked. "...you believe that they essentially gravitate towards the surface of the Harmonic Plains once again?"
"Or, perhaps, they journey towards a location outside the universe... and all-encompassing."
Rainbow blinked. "You don't know?"
"I may be an alicorn of death, Rainbow Dash," Mortuana said. "But I am still alive yet."
"Right..."
"In meditation, alicorns have sensed a... migration of energy... incalculably polynumerous and grand in scale... all drifting towards the furthest edges of the universe. This energy is the only thing fast enough to outscale such expansion." She shook her head again. "Because no alicorn can physically return to the Harmonic Plains anymore. But these energies... these spirits can."
"You really believe that this is what happened to Remna?" Rainbow remarked. She gulped. "What happened to all of us when we die?"
"With a few exceptions."
"Like what?"
"Well, chiefly your friends," Mortuana said. "Instead of retreating to a harmonic destination, they are anchored to you, are they not?"
Rainbow blinked. "Is... is it because of the Element?"
"I dare say it's because of something else," Mortuana remarked. "Something that exceeds the knowledge of alicornkind."
Rainbow exhaled with a shudder. "...the Austraeoh."
"Whoever created the Urohringrs not only achieved harmony," Mortuana remarked. "They mastered it. I've long been convinced that the machine world that comprises this plane incorporates a wisdom that's far too advanced for even alicorn comprehension."
"So..." Rainbow blinked. Hard. "They... may have found a way to affect the very migration of spirits?"
"Again, it is not something I can prove to you, Rainbow Dash," Mortuana said. "But I can understand why the Austraeoh would have been engineered... sculpted by the power invested in this piece of Urohringr to keep the souls of her friends anchored... especially if the spirits of the Elements of Harmony freed by the Yaerfaerda beacons are somehow required for the Austraeoh to complete her journey." Mortuana gulped visibly. "It may even be related to another... far more startling observation."
"What...?" Rainbow cocked her head to the side. "What is it?"
Mortuana turned her head, gazing at the half-sleeping Herald.
"Mortuana..." Rainbow Dash took a bold step forward. She spoke in a hushed tone. "If this is all important to the Austraeoh... then tell the Austraeoh." Her brow furrowed. "Level with me."
Mortuana slowly inhaled. She looked at Rainbow Dash. "You remember how alicorns—in meditation—can sense the transfer of energies? Including spirit energies?"
Ranbow could only nod. Her muzzle hung agape in anticipation.
Mortuana spoke slowly, firmly. "I have observed something. At first, I blamed it on the weariness of a dying mind. It won't be long until I—too—join such energies in spiritual migration. However..." Her wings coiled even tighter at her side. For a brief moment, Rainbow thought she spotted a tremble to her limbs. "I... have sensed a shift in that pattern, Rainbow Dash," Mortuana said. "The flow of this plane..." She swallowed hard, then shook her head. "It is not normal."
Rainbow's eyes twitched. "What's so abnormal about it?"
"We have been around much death as of late. At least... far more deaths than I've had the misfortune of sensing back at Wyvern Point. Over the last few years, at a growingly exponential rate, I sense as though the spirits of the deceased... have been sinking through the earth..."
"Sinking through the earth?" Rainbow blinked. "Where would they be headed exactly?"
"I cannot say..." Mortuana's muzzle lingered open. At last, she said, "Until I find out for myself, I believe... I fear that your friends aren't the only spirits being tethered to something." The alicorn bore a brief frown. "And not all things in this universe are as noble or benevolent as you."
"But... what, Mortuana?" Rainbow remarked. A few seconds later, her coat paled. She leaned back. "It's something to do with the machine world, isn't it?"
Mortuana shook her head. "I did not say that."
"You didn't have to." Rainbow clenched her jaw. "There's nothing natural about this plane, Morty. It's... it's a piece of something bigger than mortals and alicorns alike. Who's to know what the whole kitten kaboodle is really... truly capable of."
"The Austraeoh can find out."
"How?"
"Reach the Midnight Armory," Mortuana said. "Acquire the Harmonic Prism."
Rainbow sighed, rubbing a hoof over her muzzle.
"Restore harmony... and restore your friends," Mortuana said. "Perhaps then—with the Sundering undone—you will have achieved the sight that me and all my dying kind have lost."
"I swear to Luna," Rainbow muttered. "It only keeps on getting bigger and bigger."
"Such is the way of all things, my little pony."
"I... mmmff..." Rainbow swallowed down the bile rising in her throat. "Each time I learn something new... even if it's just an inkling of a new revelation... I realize how much I need ponies like the Herald." Her eyes reopened, misty. "Ponies like you."
"I cannot follow you every step of the way, Rainbow," Mortuana said. "I sincerely doubt I will even make it to the edge of this world."
"Can't you, though?" Rainbow's face was long. "Couldn't you—I dunno—use that vial of yours to put your spirit into a mortal shell and extend your life or—?"
"I'm afraid it does not work with alicorns as it does with Divines, Rainbow Dash," Mortuana said. "And even if it did..." She grasped the vial dangling from her neck. "...I doubt even this much blood is enchanted enough to accomplish such an improbable task."
"You... you don't deserve to go away so unceremoniously, Mortuana," Rainbow's voice cracked. "And me?" She sighed. "I could use all the help I can get."
"And you have it, Austraeoh," Mortuana said. "In the Herald... in your friends..." She nodded down the cavern. "...in Axan."
"Heh..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "...what does Axan have to assist me with?"
"I will give you a hint, anxious one," Mortuana remarked. "You won't find out by continuing to talk to me."
Rainbow looked up, blinking.
"There is only one soul that you must talk to to figure out Axan..."
Rainbow clenched her jaw. "I was afraid you were going to say that."