//------------------------------// // Back to Regularly Scheduled Batponies // Story: Utaan // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Xarchellus waved a wrinkly hoof, beckoning Enix over. As the Nightblood warrior joined her side, the Maria Matriarch spoke in hushed whispers. All the while, her good eye was trained on Rainbow, Echo, and the rest. Nicole and Bard glanced about nervously. "It would appear..." Remna thought out loud. "...that we have caught their attention." "And how." Rainbow nodded. She leaned aside to her ghostly companions. "Twilight... uhhhh... care to explain what just happened?" "Well, Rainbow, the way I see it..." Twilight Sparkle gestured. "Sarosians are quite literally the foals of Princess Luna." "For real? I thought that was just a turn of phrase." "No, there's a great deal of legitimate truth to it." Twilight gulped. "You see—as the legend goes—Princess Luna was the first equine being on this plane to experience dreaming, and she made it her gift to all mortalkind in addition to the moon. Something in the essence of dreams was discovered. A consciousness... perhaps belonging to the lost spirits of mortals who couldn't make it to the Harmonic Plains." "Oh jeez. Not that again." "Shhhh!" Twilight insisted. "This is serious, Rainbow! Basically... Luna communicated with these spirits and found a common kinship. They helped her sculpt the first dreams that were shared with mortal kind. However, these spirits were lacking in harmonic balance or a moral center, and Luna figured that if they were left in their nebulous state then they would become living nightmares—the likes of which the frail mortal minds of early Equestria couldn't handle. So—to help everypony in existence—Princess Luna conjured a physical vessel for these spirits, and that produced the first generation of sarosians." "And they've been dedicated to Princess Luna ever since." "Exactly." Rainbow nodded. "That's pretty badflank." "What's pretty badflank?" Echo droned aside. "Me? You're welcome very much." Rainbow gestured aside. "Twilight was just telling me how you and every other sarosian originated from one of Princess Luna's primordial dreams." "Oh really?" Echo's fangs flashed. "Was it a wet one? Cuz it might explain why we're all so dead sexy." "... ... ..." Rainbow stared. "Is there even a stallion beneath all that fur? Or is it all slime?" "Anyways, Rainbow," Twilight interrupted, "Each and every sarosian to this day shares a common bond with Princess Luna. They're of the same essence." "Since she used her magic to conjure them into the physical realm..." "Exactly! So... then..." Twilight pointed excitedly at Rainbow's pendant. "If the Element of Loyalty is super-charged with Princess Luna's harmonic energies in order to facilitate her communication..." "Then it must have a resounding impact on any sarosian who comes into contact with it!" Rarity added. "Why, that's proper brilliant, don't you think?!" "Yes!" Twilight grinned wide. "Any sarosian not harmonically attuned to the enchantment would be naturally repelled! So when Echo violently struck the pendant, it created feedback that—no doubt—every sarosian here in Bleak's Plummet felt within the core of their being!" "Including the Maria Matriarch," Fluttershy said. "Uh huh!" "Wow, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash smiled. "That's pretty snazzy." Twilight folded her forelimbs with a proud smile. "Just stating what I've objectively observed!" "No, I mean the fact that you just used the term 'super-charged.'" Rainbow giggled raspily. "I'm proud, Twi." Twilight sighed. "Yes, well..." "Seems like I'm rubbing off on you quite a bit." "Uhm..." Bard leaned in. "As much as I hate to interrupt what must be a rollickin' good conversation... but we're still tarheel deep in underwater batland here..." "Does anypony hear what they're talking about?" Remna asked, eyes locked on Enix and Xarchellus. "I bet AJ does!" Pinkie Pie said, pointing. Rainbow squinted. A familiar orange figure hovered at the end of her anchorage. After listening in on the two, Applejack floated back towards Rainbow. "Seems like you've got them mighty convinced, Sugarcube," the ghostly farm mare said. "That old pony—the Matriarch—she done seen the light, if ya catch my drift." "Uhhhhh..." Rainbow murmured aside. "Applejack's telling me that we've made an impact on the sarosian leader here." "You mean I blew their minds just now," Echo murmured. "Shhhh!" Rainbow glanced aside. "AJ?" "One thang's for sure," Applejack remarked. "Their wrinkly leader ain't fixin' to have us skinned alive no more. She may not yet be quite as on board as that 'Enix' lady, but somethin' tells me that that's about to change." "I think we may have just won Xarchellus' trust," Rainbow whispered aside. "Or at least we're about to." "So, in other words, I was right," Echo grunted. "I blew their minds." "Echo..." Rainbow sighed. "Shhh!" Nicole squeaked, pointing. "They're about to say something, guys!" Enix drifted aside. Hobbling with the cane, Xarchellus approached the edge of the stage. She gazed down at Rainbow Dash, her one good eye narrowing. "If you are indeed the Blood of Luna... then why have you abandoned her?" Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Abandoned her?" "What brings you so far from the throne of the Mother of Nightmares?" "Okay... let's make one thing clear..." Rainbow gestured with her feathertips. "She's not the 'Mother of Nightmares' anymore. Yes, Nightmare Moon was freed from her lunar imprisonment... but then Princess Luna was freed from the Nightmare as well." She squirmed, glanced aside at Twilight, then back at the elder. "Just like the first sarosians were so many eons ago." A breathy murmur rolled through the leafy-eared crowd. Xarchellus took a deep breath. "And the Solar Betrayal." "Who... Princess Celestia?" Rainbow Dash's jaw tightened. "Y'know, she never liked what she had to do to keep Equestria safe from Nightmare Moon. I bet it's hard to believe any of this—especially since you and all of your ancestors have known nothing but protecting the interests of the Lunar Army. But... you've gotta believe me. The Regal Sisters have made up." Rainbow slowly shook her head. "Luna and Celestia have no more gripes with one another. The war... your war ended years ago." She gulped. "The Vigil is over." More murmurs—some of them angry. Nicole winced, staying closed to Bard. Remna watched with steely eyes. "If the Vigil is no longer required..." Xarchellus leaned on her cane. "...then who controls the heavens?" "Get this." Rainbow smirked. "Because of a bunch of crazy circumstances, Princess Celestia had to give up her control of the Sun in order to contain a chaotic rift in the heart of Equestria. And guess who was hoofed the task of looking over both the night and the day? Your very own Matriarch—Princess Luna! She's in control of both the sun and moon... and she's taken on that task with great humility and strength and wisdom and—" "You mean to say that the Mother of Nightmares finally has control of the sun?" Xarchellus' muzzle hung open. "And she has chosen not to create eternal night?" "Well... yeah..." Rainbow blinked. "That's just it. Luna desires peace. And to maintain peace, you gotta maintain equilibrium." She swallowed. "She's the steward of her sister's throne—nothing more. And when the time comes that Celestia can take control of the sun again, Luna will happily give it back to her. They are the regal sisters of Equestria, after all." "She speaks the truth, Maria Matriarch," Enix spoke up. "I, myself, have spoken with the Maiden of the Moon. I have felt her voice resonating through me—just as you felt her presence a few moments ago." She waved a scarred hoof. "All of the righteous hatred is gone... instead replaced by a noble strength. It... resembles the Matriarch written of in the Book of Saros. I... I cannot remember a time in my life when I was more certain of something." "Hmmmm..." Xarchellus nodded, nevertheless sighing. "I am nevertheless burdened by my task as Matriarch. I cannot afford certainty." Her good eye rested on Rainbow again. "I still do not feel as though my question has been answered. Why would the Blood of Luna be so far removed from the source of her blessing?" Rainbow stood up straight. "Because I'm on a journey, ma'am." "A journey?" "A mission... and one that's far more important than even the ancient wars between the Solar and Lunar forces." Her eyes darted up. Through the ceiling, she spotted the flicker of Yaerfaerda somewhere far above the waves. "One that involves the fate of this whole world... and perhaps even other worlds just like it. Princess Luna is—and has been—my guide in all of this. Because of her blessing—and this pendant—I am still alive to perform this journey... although barely." Her ears drooped slightly. "I am here solely because I need your guys' help in getting to the edge of the world. From then on, my friends and I are on our own. But to get there, I need the blessing of not just Luna—but of the humble creatures she foaled into being." Xarchellus glanced at Enix, then back at Rainbow. "And just how would we go about assisting you on this... 'journey?'" "I'd be more than happy to talk your ear off about it. Or..." Rainbow smirked. "...you can take a brave leap yourself—you and your cane—and come with me to the surface... into the moonlight..." Her eyes narrowed. "And you can ask the Matriarch herself." Enix looked pointedly at Xarchellus. Every fanged pony, warrior, and servant in the room stood—holding their breaths. Pinkie Pie glanced back and forth. She gritted her teeth. "Mrmmmmmfff... for Pete's sake... I can just hear all of the ellipses bouncing off the walls of this place!"