Rainbow Dash stepped outside the barn, and immediately she felt as though fireworks were going off. She flinched—only to remember that fireworks weren't dead silent... nor creepily frozen in cold blue motion. She tilted her head up; her eyes instantly filled with stars. Not just a gentle smattering of constellations, but an entire tempest of cosmic swirls and galactic nebulae glimmered above her. Her mind instantly went to the visions she experienced when touching the machine world's beacons and their flames. However, this felt a great deal more mind-numbing, perhaps due to the fact that she was presently standing on dry earth. The surreality of the moment was compounded by sheer reality, and it sent her head reeling... even though she was standing perfectly still.
"Sure is purdy, huh?" Applejack remarked with a proud waggle of her eyes. She floated through the front of the barn and levitated beside Rainbow. "I must have spent hours just gawkin' at them." She whistled. "I'm tellin' ya... I've seen all sorts of magic: alicorn, chaotic, harmonic... but this sure takes the cake. And it's all natural! The ponies who live here see this every day and night—'cuz it's all the same to them! Like... it must be all they know! Heh... can you even imagine that, Rainbow?"
Rainbow blinked. She had to turn around three times before she finally found the flickering image of Yaerfaerda. It loomed off in the distance—how far, Rainbow couldn't even pretend guess, but she took note of an unmistakably black layer of emptiness looming just above the visible horizon.
With a deep breath, Rainbow turned until her back was to Yaerfaerda. Now that she knew where west was, she attempted surveying its horizon. However, several tall mountain ranges loomed, descending from the central heart of the Rohbredden continent. The sharp ridges—combined with thick forests—doubled the shadows of the fertile valley. Nevertheless—if Rainbow squinted very hard—she could detect an umistakable line of glowing gray light hugging the very peaks and plateaus. She had to tilt the center of her vision slightly away from the summits in order to detect the aura, and even then it was a faint twinkle at best.
"Not... quite the reaction I was expectin'," Applejack said after several seconds of dull silence. She tilted her hat back with a smirk. "I've been gone for far too dang long. Reckon t'ain't much that surprises you no more, Rainbow."
"Do you... uhhhh..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"Hah!" Applejack chuckled. "If that hasn't been the question of the hour since we landed here?"
Rainbow pivoted towards her. "Well, do ya?"
"Ahem..." Applejack pivoted and pointed to the center of the farm. "Take a gander."
Rainbow Dash's eyes traveled up a tall metal pole. At its lofty top, five crystals were erected at a forty-five degree angle, descending from the western horizon. The secondmost crystal to the west was glowing. The other four were dim.
"... ... ...what in the hay am I even staring at?" Rainbow's voice cracked.
"It's supposed to be some sort of fancy ancient method for tellin' the time of day," Applejack explained. "Darned if I have any idea how the thang works," she said with a shrug. "But a while ago, Twilight visited me in the barn, and she said that the Herald said that it was 'eight in the morning.' Since then, the glowing crystal switched from the first to the second one." Applejack coughed. "Reckon that was a few hours ago."
"Huh..." Rainbow Dash turned around, gazing at numerous wooden structures. It was a remarkably dense farm, with multiple barns, silos, and woodsheds. "This place kinda makes Sweet Apple Acres look like a hoofball field."
"Ain't a one family farm, I dun think," Applejack said. "Or else, it's gotta be one mighty huge family." She gazed around along with Rainbow Dash. "Takin' into consideration all the equipment they've got—and places for storin' 'em—I'd venture to guess that no less than thirty ponies work these fields."
"Fields?" Rainbow Dash blinked hard. "What fields?"
"Well... t'ain't orchards either..." Applejack shrugged. "See for yerself." She pointed due north.
Rainbow pivoted around. North of the field where they stood, she spotted a tightly fenced-in area filled with wooden poles and staves. Smaller wooden slats pressed against the bases of the structures, giving them extra support. In the meantime, long stringy vines dangled between the poles, and thick shoots spiraled their way down the lengths—just stopping at the ground. Every so often, bulbous growths hung off the shoots, and Rainbow could have sworn she detected a faint luminescent glow to each of the objects.
"Is... is it a fruit?" Rainbow exhaled. "Almost looks like a vineyard."
"Those ain't grapes, I tell you what," Applejack said, shaking her head. "They look like potatoes and they smell like... well... fertilizer."
"Huh?" Rainbow sniffed the air... then sniffed again. "But I don't smell anything rank—"
"Wait for it..."
Rainbow's brow furrowed in confusion. Then—as soon as her lungs exhaled after the last sniff—she felt her senses shuddering from the inside out, as if a ball of garlic and onion had exploded in the center of her skull. "Aaagh!"
"Heheheh..." Applejack guffawed. "Sorry, sugarcube! Shoulda warned you sooner..."
"Geeeeeughhhh..." Rainbow clamped two hooves over her nose. "Luna on a bike! What are they growing here? Goblin poop?"
"Errrrr... what's a goblin?"
Rainbow ignored that. "Seriously. If this is what Johnn—er... Bard grew up around, then no wonder he could trot the platforms of Rust without batting an eye!"
"Twilight says the smell is caused by some sort of free-floating spores. Enchanted spores, to be precise." Applejack gulped. "That would make sense, wouldn't it? For them to be farmin' some super special fungus out here? I mean, the sun doesn't exactly rise or fall."
"Yeah... what's up with that?" Rainbow's eyes crossed. "Or down with that."
"It spooked me somethin' awful when I first saw it happen. When we was all rollin' east right after that Frostknife business, it felt as though the days were gettin' dimmer and dimmer. I assumed at first that it was some sort of miserable overcast—like the skies here are normally cloudy or some-such. But then... after the first night followin' yer fitful spell... no mornin' sun rose. We had no idea what was goin' on until we overhead a conversation between the Herald. Whatshisname... the unicorn feller with the bald spot—"
"Flynn."
"Right! He says we had just passed through the 'solar penumbra' and that from here on out—in these here Twilight Lands—the earth dun get direct sunlight. It's always dark like this in just a sliver of the prefectures. The surroundin' seas too."
"Wild." Rainbow Dash blinked. "I always sorta knew it was like this so far from Equestria, but I never thought it'd look the way it does." She tilted her head up. "I mean... have you seen so many stars?"
"It feels like more than usual, right?"
"Stole the words right out from my muzzle."
Applejack nodded. "Supposedly it's because there ain't no magic—harmonic or chaotic—to obscure the sky no more."
Rainbow blinked. "Huh?"
"I know, right? Twilight was tryin' to explain it to us all," Applejack said. "Accordin' to her, the alicorn magic behind Celestia's solar spell is more like a bedsheet that sorta... spreads over this plain and projects the sun across its center fabric in a sweepin' motion. Meanin'... the sun and the daylight are both one in the same, ya hear? But Celestia could only spread that bedsheet so far, and when you trot outside it, then you see a night's sky with almost no harmonic energy whatsoever, cuz it ain't over yer head no more."
"So... there's... uhhhh..." Rainbow blinked. "No more 'bedsheet.' So... like... nothing left to absorb the natural starlight beyond?"
"Eeyup!" Applejack nodded, staring at the sky again. "We're lookin' at the heavens as they've always truly been... even before ponies and alicorns walked this earth." She sighed, smiling slightly. "I'd be lyin' if I said it wasn't bedazzlin'."
"Almost too bedazzling," Rainbow Dash said. "I almost wish I didn't wake up to it."
"Gave ya quite the start, didn't it?"
"You could say that again." Rainbow gulped, turning to face a bright pale orb above. "At least we still have Luna's moon—" The mare froze in place, eyes wide. "...!" She grasped her pendant in both hooves.
"Whoah!" Applejack jumped at the sudden, jerking movement. "What's the matter?"
"Please... oh please oh please..." Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth, aiming her pendant straight at the lunar body in the sky.
Applejack blinked. "Tryin' to contact the Princess?"
"Guh!" Rainbow Dash slumped on her haunches, frowning. "Dang it! I can never tell when it's fully... full or not!"
"Heheh..." Applejack instinctively tried patting Rainbow's shoulder, only for her hoof to phase through. "Dun sweat it, darlin'. I had a conversation with Twilight about it earlier. She guesses that it's another day and a half before the moon can catch the enchantment in yer Element."
"Yeah... and... like..." Rainbow pouted. "When are we gonna tell that it's been thirty-six hours? I'd hate to miss Luna for the last opportunity I have before crossing over."
"Oh, I dun think you'll have much of a problem with that."
Rainbow squinted at Applejack. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well... accordin' to the Herald... the moon is always out in this part of the world."
"Huh?"
"No kiddin'!" Applejack exclaimed. "So long as it ain't a full moon, you can feel moonlight from anywhere in the Twilight Lands." She smirked. "We're past the edge of the 'bedsheet,' remember?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Just think about it..."
So Rainbow Dash did. And when the realization hit, she gasped. "I... I-I can talk to Princess Luna nonstop for three whole days!"
"Cuz there ain't no days, sugarcube!" Applejack chuckled. "How's that for good news for once?"
Rainbow bore a stupid smile. Before she could produce an even stupider giggle—
—she heard a pair of familiar voices wafting over from the north edge of the farm.
"Are you sure about this, darling?" Rarity's voice accompanied the starlight. "I'm certain it was just our imagination."
"It has to be Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy exclaimed, a rising burst of excitement in her voice. "I felt our anchorage shifting!"
"Fluttershy doesn't know how right she is!" Pinkie stuck her tongue out. "My bladder vibrated. That means Dashie's finally woken up!"
"Wait..." Twilight squinted. "Your bladder—?" The unicorn's eyes widened upon seeing a familiar blue shape. "Rainbow Dash!"
"Oh Rainbow!" Fluttershy squee'd. "You're up!"
"Smashing, darling!"
"Heeheeeeeee!" Pinkie Pie smiled with her eyes happily shut. "Told yaaaaaaa!"
Several pastel colored spectres converged in the center of the ranch.
"This is so great!"
"Look at her! All the shivers are gone!"
"How ya feeling, Dashie?"
"Was... was it the nightmares? They seemed to have been getting worse and worse."
"You had us so worried."
"The Herald's taking it pretty well. They're off lending a hoof to the locals."
"You should go see them, Rainbow. They'll be mighty happy to know yer in one piece."
"Or just go and take a look around! This farm is absolutely fascinating!"
"Twilight's right! They have cattle here... with glowing horns!"
"Personally, I'm not a fan of the smell, but this place does have a modicum of rustic charm."
"And the grass here is blue! Literally blue!"
"It's not blue, Pinkie Pie. If anything, that's the dew reflecting starlight—"
"Uh. How can you have dew without mornings, Twilight? Duhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Oh gosh... did Applejack show you, Rainbow Dash?! The skies here are absolutely incredible! The constellations are like nothing I've ever seen! Just... just a day spent here alone is enough to completely rewrite what we know about observational astronomy!"
"Twilight, we're a stone's throw from the end of the world and all ya can think of is more books!"
"Can you blame me?! After all the horrible things we've witnessed, would it kill a good student to dream?"
"I'm more curious about they're farmin' this weird fungal stuff. It is a fungus, ain't it?"
"Certainly smells like the fungus that used to grow outside my cottage."
"Perhaps Echo would know. Didn't he go off with whastherface—Bard's sister to go harvest the stuff?"
"I don't reckon that's really Bard's sister."
"Don't be silly! Everyone here is Bard's brother or sister!"
"Which is precisely why I dun buy that they're all actually his brothers and sisters! I just think they all work on the farm for farmin's sake... which is fine in my book."
"But just what are they harvesting, then?"
"Whatever it is, I don't think it's edible."
"I would certainly hope not! If I smelled this from the party tables at a social gathering, I would positively puke!"
"Yer gettin' a nose-full of it right here and now, Rare-Rare, and we don't see ya pukin'."
"It was a hyperbole, darling. I know you've been in a ghostly coma for over a year, but please..."
"I know a thing or two about pukin'!"
"That isn't the crux of the argument—guh—I swear, you're worse than Pinkie Pie."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it, Pinkie. We're all friends here."
"Yeah... this is like a big, never-ending sleepover! Only with lots of windigoes and suffering ponies!"
"Pinkie, must you...?"
"Hah! Come to thank of it, Rarity never did enjoy havin' a sleepover with me around! Hah!"
"That is most untrue! I came around in the end, did I not?"
"Hey! Remember the time I jumped on the bed and you went flyin' across Twilight's bedroom!"
"Heeheeheehee!"
"Hard for me to regret..."
"Wow, Applejack. You actually did that to Rarity?"
"Heh... yeahhhhh... we've come a long way, haven't we? Still, feels almost like yesterday."
"That's because it was yesterday, darling. It was only a few months before Discord arrived. Granted, it wasn't Rainbow's yesterday."
"Let's all focus, girls."
"Focus on what, Twi?"
"Shhhh. We've enjoyed our break, Pinkie. Now it's time to reconnect with Rainbow and the Herald." Twilight Sparkle turned to face Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow? Just how are you feeling? Please, tell us everything."
Rainbow Dash was busy staring at the girls... staring as they talked... staring as they laughed... staring as they argued. A fragile smile hung off her muzzle, and her eyes grew increasingly misty.
Twilight blinked. "Rainbow?"
"Mmmm... yeah... the Herald..." Rainbow Dash sniffled. She rubbed her eyes dry. "Sorry. Just... once upon a time, you were all dead... y'know? And now..." She choked on her breath as she strengthened her grin. "You're not dead. Well... you know what I mean. You're all here." A shudder. "Guess I'm... still trying to get over the fact that I was without you guys for s-so long..." Her voice squeaked on the edge of a sob.
Rarity and Fluttershy were already crying a little. The group drifted closer, surrounding Rainbow with eyes and color.
"Fret no more, my dear," Rarity said breathily. "We're never leaving your side again."
"You've done so much for us, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said. "We promise to help you with the rest of your journey."
"Believe me." Applejack smirked. "Nopony deserves a hug any more than you."
"Yeah..." Rainbow nodded. She exhaled heavily. "Guess that's the next thing we gotta work on, huh?"
"Let's meet up with Bard and the rest of your friends," Fluttershy said. "They've been waiting for you to get better. I think that would be the right thing to do next."
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded. "I think you're right."
Silence.
Pinkie Pie looked all around, growing more and more antsy. "I can't take it anymore!!!" She spun and pounced on Twilight.
"Aaack!" Twilight flailed in her embrace. "Pinkie—?!"
"I had to hug someponyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Pinkie moaned into Twilight's mane. "Be my little Dashie for a while!"
"Guh... but I'm not—ugh!" Twilight rolled her eyes. "Applejack, do something!"
"I've got my hat, darlin'." Applejack winked. "But not my lasso. Sorry, but yer all Pinkie's."
Fluttershy giggled.
"Ugh... fine." Twilight sighed as Pinkie dangled from her neck and shoulders. "Rainbow...?"
"Right..." Rainbow suppressed a chuckle, flying north over the shiny fields. "Herald, ahoy."
"So they've gotten better?" Rarity asked, hovering alongside Rainbow. "The dreams, I mean...?"
"I... think so," Rainbow managed to say. She focused on a bustle of activity a few dozen meters ahead. "I mean... I was always in and out during that last... uh... episode I had." She cleared her throat. Her pendant glistened with starlight. "But I was having visions... lots of visions. And... uh... the last few times they were... pretty peaceful. And looking back? It... like... feels as though they were growing less and less nightmarish."
"Like you were getting used to them?" Twilight asked. "Or just that they were going away?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Do you remember any specific details?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, I remember that last vision," Rainbow said. "I was at Ponyville. At the sarcophagus."
Applejack's eyes squinted. "Sarcophagus?"
"Errr..."
Twilight interjected: "Princess Celestia had a massive arcane shield erected around the center of Ponyville. At the location of Discord's death, a terrible chaos rift appeared."
"Oh yeah. I remember y'all tellin' me about that. But..." Applejack's brow furrowed. "They built a big ol' box around it?"
"More or less. From the outside, it looks like a tall building... or obelisk. Inside, there is an interior large enough to house the rift. Ever since the chaos energy erupted, Princess Celestia has chosen to station herself there." Twilight shuddered slightly. "She's... been using all her harmony magic to contain the rift. It requires deep focus and concentration. She can talk to other ponies, give orders and the like... but she can't leave that very spot."
"Ohhhhhhh... so that's why Princess Luna is workin' both the sun and moon."
"Right." Twilight nodded. "And Celestia will have to dedicate herself to containing the rift for years... lifetimes." She looked at their anchor. "Unless Rainbow is able to return with the Harmonic Prism."
"That's one of the major reasons why we're trying to get to the Midnight Armory on the dreadful dark side," Rarity said with a shudder. "That's where the ancient alicorns left the Prism. In theory, it should be enough to eliminate the rift."
"As well as restore balance to Urohringr," Fluttershy added. "At least, that's according to the Austraeoh lore we've discovered."
"Funny..." Pinkie Pie made a face. "When you think about it, the chaos rift in the center of Ponyville is the last place any of us would describe as 'peaceful.' I mean... considering that it's super nasty and we all croaked there and stuff."
"What are you attempting to get at, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Just that Dashie says she had a 'peaceful vision' of that place!" Pinkie Pie blinked. "Isn't that a little eggs and moronic?"
"That's oxymoronic," Twilight corrected.
"Never needed the stuff!" Pinkie grinned. "I've been pimple-free for years!"
"No, Pinkie, that's... ugh..."
"Believe me, girls," Rainbow murmured. "I don't get it either. But I'm telling you—I felt really at peace in the last few visions... even though they included the rift."
"Most curious. I wonder if the Herald will have any ideas as to what's happening to you."
"Are any of them telepathic, egghead?"
"You know what I mean, Rainbow." Twilight smirked. "Perhaps Kepler will remember something from his reading back at the sanctuary."
"Which one is Kepler again?" Applejack asked.
"The horrid-looking bat lion," Rarity said. "With bifocals and exquisite manners."
"Come to think of it, with features that specific, I wonder why I even asked to begin with..."
"Hey!" Pinkie pointed at the group ahead. "There they are!"
"What are they doing?" Fluttershy asked, craning their neck.
"Raisin' a barn!" Applejack beamed, tilting her head back. "Yeeee-ha! Now this is more my speed!"
Rainbow Dash slowed her glide into a gentle hover. She flapped her wings, staring down at her friends. Logan, Ariel, Flynn, Wildcard, Kepler—even Remna were all helping Bard and a bunch of unfamiliar ponies in lifting the southern face of a partially-constructed building frame.
"Y'all almost got it!" Bard grunted, gripping a rope in his fetlocks. Several other stallions and mares grouped up behind him, yanking the rope back. The Desperado flapped his wings, pulling harder. "One more heave! Three... two... one... Heave!"
With mutual grunts, the group effortlessly lifted the side into place.
"And there!" Bard motioned to the side. "Fliers! Take wing and set it in place!"
"You heard the musician!" Ariel and Wildcard took off, joining other griffons and pegasi as brought shared hammers and nails, fastening the building face, plank by plank.
Meanwhile, those on the ground lifted long slender beams, setting them against the face at right angles to steady it while those in the air fastened the vertical boards.
Before long, the framework was complete, and Bard waved his hat with a pronounced cheer. "Boo-ya! That's how you get it done!" Wildcard flew up to his side, and the two shared a hoof-bump. "See? This is what happens when morons and double-morons get together."
The air filled with chuckles.
Applejack smirked aside at Rainbow Dash. "I gotsta say... I'm really likin' this Bard feller."
"You would," Rainbow murmured, lips curved.
"Whew-wee, Johnny!" A griffon said, hovering at his side. "Nopony can manage a good barn-raising quite like you. We've missed having you around the ranch, bro."
"Ehhhh..." Bard placed his hat back on. "Thanks, Ray. But... as much as I'd like to believe that..."
The griffon waved a claw. "Give Blue some slack, Johnny. He's only cantankerous because he's old."
Bard exhaled through a frown. "That was his excuse ten years ago, Ray. Let's not mince words. He's not changed and he ain't ever gonna..."
"You've only been back for a fivelight," Ray said. "Give him a chance to show you what he's capable of."
"I've seen it. Believe me." Bard gulped. "But it dun matter. I ain't meanin' to stay long."
n
"Awwwwwww..." A dark-coated unicorn pouted from where she stood below. "But you just got here, Johnny."
"Reckon so, Kelly," Bard replied. "But I've got places to be."
"Like where?" Another pony—a pegasus—asked. "It's dangerous out on the road. Haven't ya heard what's gone down in Frostknife?"
"There are windigoes everywhere!" Kelly exclaimed. Her horn glowed with timid fright. "You're safe here on the ranch! You always were!"
"Yeah, bro," Ray said with a beaked grin. "We've got plenty of barns for shelter." He winked a hawkeye. "Even more, at this rate, thanks to you."
More chuckles.
"Let's... not get into it," Bard said with a sigh. "As soon as Rainbow's up, I gotta discuss with Dubya and my other friends here about takin' off."
"Nicole's gonna hate you, ya know that," said the nearby pegasus. He smirked. "You and her haven't chatted much since you got here."
"I know, James." Bard nodded. "But she's the sentimental type, which is why I ain't aimin' to put her hopes up."
"Just who is this Rainbow Dash you're in such a tizzy about, anyways?"
"Ask her yourself," Remna grunted, eyes to the sky. "The Austraeoh wakes."
"Huh?"
"Rainbow Dash!" Ariel gasped. Swoooooosh! She crossed the distance in a gray blink, hugging Rainbow tight. "You're up! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Heheheh..." Rainbow Dash patted Ariel's shoulder. "Easy, girl. Don't squeeze the awesomeness out of me."
"Yeesh..." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Friendly, much?"
Fluttershy laughed nervously.
"Mmmmfff..." Rainbow slipped out of Ariel's grasp. "You have no idea."
"Huh?" Ariel blinked.
"Errr... h-hey, Herald!" Rainbow Dash touched down beside the barn. "How's it hoofin'?"
"Damn!" Logan kicked a clump of soil, frowning. "I could have sworn she'd be out of it even longer!"
Flynn grinned. "Pay up, Big Show. You owe me twenty bits at least."
"Mrmmfffnngh..." Logan grumbled. "My pockets are empty. I'll pay you once we're done saving the world."
"Really?" Rainbow's eyes were dull-edged. "That's all I get?"
"Well, I hugged you, didn't I?" Ariel pouted.
"It is a wonderrful blessing to see you up and about, Rrainbow one," spoke the wyvern in the crowd. He smiled through his tusks and adjusted his glasses. "In a countrry with no sun, you and you alone brring forrth the dawn."
"Thanks as always, Kepler."
Wildcard landed at Rainbow's side. With a smirk, he offered his metal fist.
Rainbow bumped it while turning to look at the group as a whole. "Spell's over... at least I think so. I... uh... I-I'm sorry to have given you such a fright." She cleared her throat. "Whatever took control of me, it's done doing its worst."
"You're certain about that?" Remna asked, trotting closer. "In all the time that I've observed you, I never saw you suffer that much."
"Not even in the Xonans' Sacred Hold?" Rainbow asked. "Or before I cleared the chaos monsters from Amulek?"
"No." Remna shook her head. "But of course, I was never quite this close then."
"Yeesh..." Applejack rubbed her head. "All these names. It's so dang hard to catch up."
Twilight patted her shoulder. "You'll get used to it. I promise."
"If y'all say so..."
Remna spoke to Rainbow Dash: "This recent episode had you consumed for days." Her violet brow furrowed. "For a moment there, I was worried for the fate of Urohringr."
"Jee, thanks." Rainbow Dash took a breath. "Whatever the case, I should be thanking you, Axan."
Remna arched an eyebrow. "What for?"
"Well, we're still here, aren't we?"
Remna merely stared.
Rainbow leaned in, smirking as she whispered: "You didn't go all flankhole and force the Herald to the dark side while I was under." She patted Remna's side. "So... congrats on letting Bard and the Herald do what they knew was best for me and the group."
Remna cleared her throat. "Dwelling on the wise words of Mortuana, I figured she would have done the same."
"Or maybe you just had hope."
"Huh?"
"That I would come out of it because I'm the Austraeoh and stuff. That's having faith. Just the right amount of it... not the crazy kind."
Remna exhaled through her nostrils. "I feel as though you have only woken up to cause me more confusion."
"It's alright, girl," Rainbow said, trotting around. "It'll come to you eventually."
"Just as all the secrets of Urohringr have come to you?"
"Hey. I'm awesome. Let me work on it."
Flynn shuffled up. "You're really doing better, then?"
Rainbow blinked. "What? You won your bet, didn't you?"
Flynn smiled, shaking his head. "I'm just making sure you're okay. It's strange... you think? That you would suffer such a horrible attack right after making contact with Yaerfaerda?"
"Perhaps." Rainbow shrugged. "Perhaps not. There's only so much I know and so much I don't know."
"Perrhaps Utaan is dirrectly rrelated..."
Rainbow turned to face Kepler. "Huh?"
The wyvern gestured. "Well, it was spoken in yourr penultimate vision, was it not?" He blinked behind his spectacles. "Maybe the spirrits of Urrohrringrr who have visited you afterr each beacon is attempting to prrophesy a trransforrmation?"
"Ugh... I hope not," Rainbow said, shuddering. "I've done enough of that as of late."
"I kinda wanna see this transformation!" Applejack said.
"Trust me," Twilight spoke, shaking her head. "You don't."
Applejack blinked. "Well, alright then."
Wildcard hand-signaled.
Ariel interpreted: "'Perhaps we can talk about this all later.'"
"I agree." Rainbow nodded. "It's too easy to be distracted in the middle of a smelly fungus farm." She smiled, turning to face Bard. "So... who the heck and where the heck?"
"Heh... sure thang." Bard touched down, tipping his hat. "Lemme introduce ya, Rainbow." He placed a hoof on a griffon's shoulder. "This here is my brother Ray."
"Hello... Rainbow." The griffon in question tilted his head aside. He smirked. "I can see where you got your name."
"Er... yeah..." Rainbow's eyes bounced between Bard and Ray. "I'm trying to figure out where you got your... beak."
Bard merely chuckled and trotted over towards a unicorn and pegasus. "This lil' darlin' is my sister Kelly."
"Hello." The unicorn curtsied.
"And this here is James."
The pegasus bowed. "Secondlight's blessing."
Bard pointed at the multiple ponies and griffons surrounding them. "Those are my brothers Michael and Steven. Those over yonder are Tamara and Rachel. That's Matthew. Emily. Nicole's off doin' farmwork on the other side of the ranch. And..." He looked all around. "I'm sure Marie's around here somewhere..."
"Mighty-interestin' names," Applejack said.
"Yeahhhh..." Pinkie squinted. "They're not very... ... ...horsie."
"Eheh..." Bard tipped his hat back, feeling Rainbow's eyes plastered on him. "We ain't all related by blood, of course."
"Ah..." Rainbow nodded. "I was starting to wonder."
"Everypony who lives on Blue's half of the fields is adopted," James explained, coiling his wings at his side. "That's... the easiest way of explaining it."
"Back when Blue's wife was still alive, the farmhouse served as a kind of foster home." Kelly cleared her throat. "Guess we... all decided this family was way better than anything else that the rest of Rohbredden could offer."
"Dang straight!" Ray nodded with a grin.
"And who would want to live anywhere else anyways?!" James gestured at the sky. "We've got the kind of sky the rest of the Seven Seas could only envy!"
"All the hours in the day for work or play!" Ray added.
"Heehee... yeah..." Kelly grinned. "And the family keeps growing bigger and bigger too. Take Mike, for example!" She turned to smile at another griffon across the way. "He and Delilah from the Smith farm to the north are going to inherit this barn."
"Heh... yeah..." Mike chuckled from afar. "And you and Roger from the Hampton fields are going to inherit the mountains."
James chuckled. "You both certainly shout enough to reach the peaks."
The rest chuckled while Kelly blushed, kicking at the dirt.
"Knock it off," she muttered, ears red.
"As we see it, the whole constellations are ours," Ray said. He brought a talon around Bard, side-hugging him. "And having Johnny back makes things extra-perfect."
"Shucks... enough of that, now," Bard said with a sigh, though he smiled. "I've got important business to attend to, remember? This is only a temporary visit."
"Awwwwwwww..." Kelly moaned. "But Johnnyyyyyyy..."
"Dun you use that tone with me, lil' missy. It's pullin' on the heartstrings enough just hearin' ya after all these years!"
"Then maybe it'll work! Please say you'll stay with us this time! Pleeeeeeeease."
As the "siblings" went on, Rainbow glanced aside at her marefriends. She caught Applejack squinting, her freckles hidden beneath tightening face muscles.
Twilight also noticed it. "What's the matter?" she asked.
"Mmmmmmm..." Applejack inhaled. "I dunno yet."
"Huh?"
Applejack scratched her chin. "Just... somethin' off about these folks... about this whole place."
"But it's a ranch, AJ!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Y'know... a farm?! 'Moo' goes the cow and all that stuff!"
"Still... I ain't quite so sure about any of this..."
Before Rainbow could say anything—
"Y'all are really quick to welcome ol' Johnny back in open hooves," muttered a deep voice from beyond the nearby fenceline. Heavy hoofsteps announced the presence of a tall, muscular shape. "Considerin' that he was just as quick to ditch us when we needed him most."
"Whoah!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Did somepony order an elephant?"
Bard sighed. Rolling his eyes, he turned about in a slump. "Howdy, Tim."
"Howdy yerself, Johnny." Facing the newly raised barn was a large stallion with a tattered blonde mane and matching tail. Unshorn fetlocks supported thick legs and an even thicker neck. The horse's coat was probably once a spectacle of gold silk, but had since been marred by years and years of rough farmwork, labor, and no small amount of scuffles. "Or did you even bother to keep that after skippin' town?"
"Tim... can we not?" Kelly moaned, waving a hoof. "It's an amazing thing just having him back. Look at all the stuff we got done?"
"Yeah, and without you to boot," Ray added.
"And already he's shiftin' the wind in this family," Tim grumbled. He twisted his mouth muscles, and Rainbow spotted a stalk of hay sticking out from between two massive molars. "Well, t'ain't no surprise to me. He already came thunderin' on our doorstep with a heapin' army of noponies." He gestured at the Herald. "Was it enough that he bullied an old stallion like Blue that he's gotta push my brothers and sisters around as well?"
"He didn't push us into doing anything, Tim!" James exclaimed. "He and his buddies here offered to help. If you ask me, that's no 'army.' That's just decent folk."
"And Nicole saw what went down the other day at the west entrance," Kelly said. "She says that Blue attempted giving Johnny the third degree. Now what kind of a welcome is that?"
"The only one that varmint deserves," Tim said, staring daggers at Bard. "In fact, it's a mite bit too soft a reception. A shame I wasn't there to do what Blue should have."
Bard rolled his eyes and smirked venomously. "It's nice seein' you too, Tim. How's the outhouse cockroach of the week? Or are ya still a bachelor?"
"Mrmmfff..." Tim spat his haystalk out, then cracked his neck muscles. "You wanna have a go? I'll whoop ya from here to kingdom come usin' just my rear left leg."
"Quite an upgrade from scratchin' yer balls," Bard grunted.
"More like the other way 'round, if ya ask me."
"Stop it!" Kelly stood between them, holding her hooves out. "For Goddess' sake! You're both brothers!"
"He ain't no brother of mine," Tim hissed, glaring. "And y'all are shamin' this ground by lettin' him share our fivelights." His eyes narrowed. "None of ya saw what he did before gallopin' off. Not like I did. He's a coward... and all the fools who hang out with him are cowards. Why else would he even be back here in the first place? Y'all heard the couriers. The Queen's dead and windigoes are everywhere. Johnny's only makin' a stop here 'cuz he's fleein' for his life." He spat on the ground just a few inches before Tim's hooves. "How's that for outhouse cockroaches, ya shitheap."
Bard sighed. "Learn a new tune already, Tim."
"Yer one to speak. Nothin' but a big steamin' pile of untalented manure, just like his grandpappy. Ol' Blue only adopted him out of pity for what happened to his folks. You ask me—they probably died as soon as they heard him sing. Is that what you do out beyond the Twilight Lands, Johnny? Ya sing ponies to death and call it 'bounty huntin'?"
Swoooosh! Wildcard flew to a grinding stop in front of Tim, angrily staring the stallion down.
Tim leaned back, but the frown remained on his face. He looked past Wildcard's headcrest. "Is yer homin' pigeon tryin' to intimidate me, Johnny? If so, you'd better tell him to ditch the goofy fart-goggles."
"Give it a rest, Dubya," Bard exhaled, waving a hoof. "There's tons of mold all across this here farm that's worth more bits than he'll ever be."
"Goddess. Even yer insults suck ass." Tim snorted, turning tail. "Blue may not be able to whoop you like he used to, but so long as I'm here, you can bet this ain't no home for you. Dun matter what the rest of the family thinks. You gave up this place a long... long time ago." He trotted off. "The barn's yers, but only for another fivelight. If yer not gone by first crystal... there's gonna be some hurtin'."
"Dun worry..." Bard's nostrils flared as the large pony trotted off. "We ain't aimin' to stay long."
Silence.
Logan smirked aside at the others. "I kinda like him."
"Eugh..." Ariel tossed her mane and frowned at him. "Really?"
"Well, aside from insulting Bard, calling us all cowards, and threatening to commit fratricide..." Logan shrugged. "The guy's got balls."
"Yeah." Flynn coughed. "If he was standing an inch taller, we all could probably see 'em."
Bard, meanwhile, stood with his head hung. Wildcard walked over to his side and placed an anxious talon on his shoulder.
"I'm fine, Dubya..." Bard rubbed the back of his head. "All thangs considered... it's goin' better than I expected."
"Do we even want to know what you expected?" Ariel exclaimed.
"I'm sorry about Tim, Johnny," Kelly said. "He's usually very nice. Erm... at least to us." She smiled nervously. "He helps with our chores. He's the single hardest worker on the farm."
"He looks after Blue," James muttered. "A lot."
"Yeah... he always did favor ol' Blue," Bard said, nodding. "Then again... Blue always seemed to favor him."
"What... do you think makes him so ticked off at you, Johnny?" Ray asked.
"Yeah... what could he have 'seen' that we didn't on the day you first left?" James trotted up. "I mean... it isn't beyond Tim to confuse things."
"Yeah." Another pony chuckled. "His muscle is where his brain is."
The air filled with chuckles.
"Still... there had to have been something." James cleared his throat. "Won't you ever tell us? We... might not get a second chance."
Bard took a deep breath. "Y'all know enough."
"Please, Johnny," Kelly insisted. "You're our brother."
"The first one adopted, no less," Ray added.
Bard glanced at the siblings. "Y'all happy here?"
They exchanged glances, then nodded at him.
Bard took a deep breath. "What happened between Blue and me is our business, nopony else's. I thought I carried a major heap of that business with me when I flew into the daylight. But—as I can see—most of that was left here... dumped off like garbage." He sighed. "I'm mighty sorry for it... and even sorrier that I can't fix it. But if y'all aren't even remotely as cross over it as myself or even Tim... then... well... maybe it's best that it stay that way."
The farmers fumbled for words, but nopony produced anything to argue with the stallion.
"Now, we done set the framework for this here barn," Bard said, gesturing at the structure beside him. "I ain't fixin' to get anything wrecked. So... pardon me while I discuss a few thangs with my friends here. I promise to have a few good words with each and every one of y'all before we leave... but we must be skedaddlin' soon."
"Awwwwwwww..."
"We understand, Johnny."
"Whatever happens... it's been so... so good seeing you again."
"Would you consider having dinner with us at the culmination of fivelights?" Ray asked, smiling. "With the family? Like old times?"
"I promise that I'll think about it."
"Heh... and I promise that that's good enough. Either way, we'll have extra food prepared for you, Rainbow, and your friends."
"Much obliged." Bard tipped his chat, trotting over towards Remna. "Shall we dance?"
"Personally, I'd much rather wait and see you and your larger relative perform mortal combat," the mare said.
"I'll take that as a 'maybe.'" Bard whistled past Remna. "Alright, y'all. Time for some real work! Puttin' our heads together and plannin' our trip to the edge!"
"I do believe that some of us arre missing," Kepler remarked.
"Yeah..." Ariel placed her hooves on her hips. "Just where is leaf-ears?"
"Hey Echo!" Logan shouted.
"That's not going to work," Flynn muttered.
"Yeah..." Logan smiled. "But the midnighter's name is—"
"Yes, I got the joke!" Flynn growled.
"Dubya..." Bard gestured. "Go see if you can fetch the fanged varmint, will ya? It's time we had a Job Squad meeting."
But before Wildcard could fly to action—
"What say..." Rainbow Dash spread her wings. "I go and fetch the sarosian?"
Bard looked up, blinking. "But... ain'tcha tired from... bein' tired?"
"I want to get a proper idea of my surroundings," Rainbow said. "I've got a lot to catch up on. Not to mention—" She flapped her wings harder. "—I've gotta get these babies some exercise."
Bard blinked. He eventually nodded. "Well, alrighty." He pointed. "But Dubya's goin' with you. It's mighty dark in these lands. I'd hate for ya to fly straight into a tree or a windmill."
"Thanks, Dad."
"Ugh... seriously. Don't start with that shiet."
"Heheh..." Rainbow took off. Wildcard flew alongside her. As the two began gliding in a circular formation—searching the grounds below for Echo—Rainbow noticed Applejack's slack figure as she floated after her anchor. "Okay... what's biting at you? For realsies."
Applejack sighed. "I... I can't quite put my hoof on it."
"Put your hoof on what?" Twilight asked.
"Just be natural about it, AJ," Pinkie Pie said. "Let it flow through you." She stuck her tongue out. "It's what I do!"
"Can somepony please explain to me what we're even talking about?" Rarity remarked.
"I'm just as confused as Rarity for once," Twilight said.
Rarity blinked. "'For once?'"
"Just be straight with us, Applejack," Fluttershy said. "You always are."
"Well... alright... but it's gonna sound mighty strange." Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash. "They're lyin'."
"Lying?"
"Eeyup."
"Uhm... who's lying?"
"All of 'em," Applejack explained. "Kelly. James. The griffon. Even Bard!"
"Bard?" Fluttershy squeaked.
"About what, pray tell?" Rarity asked.
"I... can't rightly say," Applejack remarked. "But the last few times they've opened their mouths... they haven't been honest. Not to each other..." She swallowed. "...and not to themselves."
"Why would Bard—the Desperado who's saved Rainbow's life multiple times alongside Wildcard, the Job Squad, and the Herald—be lying to us?" Twilight exclaimed.
"I can't explain it... not the 'why' nor the 'how.' All I know is... he ain't bein' honest," Applejack said.
"You... sense this?" Rarity remarked.
Applejack nodded. "Granted, I've always had a knack for readin' ponies."
"You and I were wrong about Zecora!" Pinkie said.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "With a few exceptions, yes. But this? This is different." Applejack gulped. "It's like somethin' in my spirit is a-buzzin' whenever somepony is bein' untruthful-like."
"See!" Pinkie grinned. "I told you to let it flow through you!"
"Could that be Applejack's gift?" Rarity remarked, staring at Twilight as they glided in circles. "To ascertain when another pony is lying or not?"
"I... suppose it's possible," Twilight remarked. "You and I and Fluttershy have had inexplicably strange senses since we came back. And Pinkie's are the strangest of all."
Pinkie Pie giggled triumphantly.
"But this..." Twilight swallowed. "This brings things to a whole 'nother level."
Rainbow Dash glanced aside at Wildcard. He then leaned in to whisper at Applejack. "You sure about what you're feeling?"
"Definitely." Applejack nodded. "Especially since... y'know... it's changed."
"What's changed?"
"Take Bard. He was tellin' the truth before we got here. Suddenly... he's all reserved, and everythang he's sayin' is... tryin' to cover somethin' up."
"So... perhaps..." Fluttershy fidgeted. "...there's more to what's happened between him and this 'Blue' character than he's telling his brothers and sisters?" She bit her lip. "Than he's telling us."
"I'm afraid so." Applejack nodded. "In fact... if you ask me... the only pony back there who was tellin' the truth was this rude 'Tim' feller."
Twilight and Rarity exchanged glances.
Rainbow sighed. "Let's just find Echo and figure out what we're doing next with the Herald." She gulped. "While it's been a blessing... the less time we spend here, the better." She shook her head. "And it's not the smell."
Wildcard glanced at her curiously, but said nothing.
They continued their casual search in a tense new silence.