At last, the flatness of the Twilight Plains was broken—although not in the way that Rainbow Dash and her close friends had anticipated.
The arid state of the land gave way to an abundance of moisture. Sudden tributaries broke through the polished rock, winding eastward in serpentine fashion—almost as if springs of liquid erupted from the geography itself, giving birth to dozens of spontaneous rivers that rippled their way towards the cosmic horizon.
These tributaries were incredibly, insanely shallow. One's hooves could easily wade through the three-inch rippling puddles, and such was what the Herald had to do as they accompanied the wagon along its bumpy past. The high winds didn't upset the "rivers," much—mostly because of the shape of the polished rock that surrounded the rippling capillaries of water. The stone dipped in curved troughs to accomodate the tiny streams. Gradually, as the brooks grew more and more abundant, they formed entire fields of inch-thick moisture. Eventually, the group found themselves wading across shallow lake-beds lined with gravel and pebbles.
The gentle bodies of liquid reflected the starlight above—disturbed only by the movement of the Herald. The air dropped noticeably in temperature. That—combined with the gusts of wind—made for a very chilling trek.
This affected Rainbow Dash the most—seeing as she was trying very, very hard to remain perfectly still.
"Is... is it working, Your Highness?" she struggled to say.
A pulse of bright silver light emanated from a fixed point in the air just a few inches from her ruby lightning bolt pendant.
"Indeed. It appears to be, child," was Luna's response. "If what you say is true about the absence of a day cycle to interrupt our magical connection, then I should just be able to make this work."
"Make what work?"
"Shhhhh... forgive me, Rainbow Dash," Luna said. "But this is going to take a great deal of concentration on my behalf. I suggest that you speak with my sister for an extended period of time. She will have to answer your questions for the present."
Flynn whistled from where he trotted through the shallow waters beside the wagon. "That's some impressive magic. It's hard to believe that it's coming from a spell being executed halfway across the plane!"
"It's Alicorn hocus pocus," Logan muttered. "Are you really that surprised?"
"Mortuana was good at enchanting her own blood," Flynn said. "But actual gems?"
"Rrememberr, brrotherr," Kepler spoke. "That is no merre stone—but a surrviving piece of the Elements of Harrmony! It is a trried and trrue batterry of alicorrn magics! Almost like a smallerr verrsion of the Harrmonic Prrism!"
"Well, sure is prettiful and glowy!" Bard mused. "Ain't it a sight to behold, sis?" He looked aside. The Desperado blinked.
Nicole and Echo gazed straight at the silver glow, their slitted eyes wide. Echo's muzzle hung open... almost drooling.
Wildcard stepped close to Bard. He hand-signed.
Bard nodded. "Dayum straight..." His eyes narrowed. "...like moths to a flame."
Wildcard hand-signed again.
"Hell no!" Bard frowned. "I'm not gonna poke my own sister!" He kicked at Wildcard's feline flank. "Get lost, ya mangy buzzard!"
In the meantime, hovering around Rainbow...
"Ooooh!" Pinkie Pie cooed. "Shinyyyyy!"
"It most definitely is radiant," Rarity hummed. "What do you suppose that Princess Luna is doing?"
"Something to help Rainbow Dash, right?" Fluttershy remarked. "For when she meets the sarosians?"
"Twilight?" Applejack called across the ghostly group. "Yer the smart one of the bunch. Care to elaborate?"
"I'm Celestia's apprentice. Not Luna's," Twilight said. Nevertheless, she gazed at the glow while tapping her phantom chin. "Still... if I could venture to guess..."
"Please do," Applejack said with a smirk.
"...I'd say that Princess Luna is imbuing the Element of Loyalty with her spirit. Creating a magical link between her and Rainbow Dash."
"Uhm..." Fluttershy squinted. "Correct me if I'm wrong... but didn't Princess Luna already do that?"
"Right!" Rarity nodded. "At the start of Rainbow's eastward journey, if I recall the tale."
"Well, yes. But she's using the connection already established between them to intensify the spell," Twilight said. "If she's had an opportunity to do such a thing before, I suspect that the inevitability of a day cycle prevented her."
"What's it gonna do, huh?" Pinkie Pie asked, tilting her head aside. "Is it all about spooking the bat ponies we run into?"
"That's a crude way of putting it. But... in a way... I think Luna might be able to announce herself to the sarosians on this side of the plane better by intensifying her magical connection with Rainbow's pendant."
"What about the other side of the plane?" Rarity asked.
"Huh?"
"Oh... erm..." Rarity fluffed her mane, gazing aside with a nervous shudder. "Simply a random thought. I mean... if the connection over the next seventy-two hours is made strong enough... one wonders if maybe Rainbow will still be able to communicate with the Princesses while on the Dark Side of the plane..."
"I... don't think so, Rarity."
"But could it be possible?"
Rainbow glanced at her friends. Resisting the urge to tremble in the cold wind, she tilted her gaze skyward while the glow persisted. "Princess Celestia? Are you there, Your Highness?"
After a slight delay: "Indeed I am, Rainbow Dash. Forgive me for taking a while to answer. The magical leylines surrounding Ponyville are... quite erratic at the moment, to say the least."
"I-I didn't mean to mess up your concentration."
"It's quite alright. Please... I want us to take full advantage of this moment of conversation. I fear that we won't have many more opportunities in the months to come."
Rainbow Dash gulped. "Yeah. About that. What Princess Luna is doing here..." Her brow furrowed. "...my pendant is basically being super-charged with her alicorn magic, right?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. I believe her goal is to assist you in communicating with the sarosians. I, for one, think this is a very smart move."
"Yeah. Well... with the pendant being chock full of so much magic..." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "...what are the chances I'll be able to talk with Luna on the Dark Side of the plane?"
Princess Celestia's answer was swift: "There are absolutely no chances, Rainbow Dash. I am sorry, but with the absence of a moon—"
"Yeah..." Rainbow sighed as her friends hung their heads. "I sorta... figured that."
"Our alicorn magic would be quite powerful indeed on the Dark Side. However, our spells... simply cannot reach such a landscape. It is a realm bathed in chaos and darkness. The only piece of alicorn magic that persists on the Dark Side is the Harmonic Prism, and that has been locked away deep in the Midnight Armory for eons."
"So... in other words..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "...and I know I've sorta anticipated this for quite a while now, but..." She glanced skyward again. "...I'm gonna be on my own for the entire flight along the Dark Side."
"If by that you mean that you will be completely devoid of any ability to communicate with my sister and I, then the answer is most unfortunately 'yes,'" Celestia said. "Which is all the reason for us to rejoice in the allies you've made with Mortuana's Herald... not to mention Axan and your friends."
"Heh... yeah..." Rainbow smiled tiredly. "I guess I'm a lucky east horse."
"The time we have to communicate with each other is quite precious," Celestia said. "We do not look forward to the interminable period of silence any more than you do. To that extent... I have already instructed Spike to summon your closest loved ones. While Luna spends the present time further enchanting Rainbow's Element, I suspect that now would be as good a time as ever to facilitate communication between your friends and their families."
Rarity squealed, her eyes instantly tearing.
"Oh wow!" Twilight exhaled breathily. "I-I was afraid for a second there that we wouldn't h-have time!"
"Isn't that sweet?" Fluttershy said, smiling.
"Well, alright!" Applejack tilted her hat back with a smile. "I sure as heck wouldn't mind givin' it a gab with the apple folk!"
"Wooohooo! Yeah!" Pinkie Pie pumped a hoof in the air. "Bring onnnnnnnnnnnn Maud!"
Rainbow Dash smirked into the air. "Sounds like everypony's on board with that idea, Your Highness." She shivered slightly—only to have Ariel touch down and drape a cloak over her petite frame. "Whew... thanks, girl."
"Anytime," Ariel said. She blinked curiously. "Good news from the Princess?"
"Only the best," Rainbow said, warming up beneath the blanket as the glow persisted. "All things considered... things are looking up."