//------------------------------//
// When the Last Beacon Sinks 
// Story: Utaan 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"Whoah, dayum!"

"Quick!  Before the air sucks us up!"

"H'lynna wyln'ym w'jynna!  H'lemmna!"

"Jeez!  Look at it go!"

"No time to sight-see!  Careful with her wings—"

"Relax, Ariel.  We got her.  Dubya?"

"... ... ..."

"Incoming!"

"Whoah!  What the Hell did y'all do?!"

"Haven't the faintest clue!  One second, Rainbow here was sucked into that gul'durn thang.  The next thing we knew, she was bein' spat out like a sunflower seed!  Good thang Dubya swooped down and caught her in the nick of time!"

"How come he wasn't sucked away by the wind this time?"

"Guess it died down!  On account of... well, I-I mean just look at it!"

"Incredible..."

"What about Rainbow Dash?!"

"The Blood of Luna.  She lives?"

"Everryone!  Move yourrselves aside!  Allow me a closerr look!"

"Move your flanks!  Let the wyvern have a look-see!"

"The Austraeoh... what did you mortals do?!"

"Didn't you hear me, Remna?  I done toldja that the golden tower sucked her inside and—"

"Shhhh!  Silence, brrotherrs and sisterrs!  She brreathes!"

"Mmmmm... R-Rainbow Dash?"

"It's okay, Ariel.  Look.  See?  Her eyes are opening!  She's okay!"

"Oh, thank Goddess..."

"Rrainbow one?  Can you see me?  Arre you consciously awarre of what's going on?"

Rainbow's lips parted.  Her eyelashes fluttered... then fluttered some more.

The clouds above parted slowly.  Starlight peeked down at her.  A golden light... streaming...

"Rainbow Dash?  Child, are you there?"

"Stay tuned, Yer Majesty.  We... uh... we're tryin' to figure out what's goin' on ourselves."

"Is she in one piece?"

"Hard to say.  Enix?  Could ya tell yer midnighter friends to give us some space?"

"I do not understand.  How did she make the tower sink?"

Rainbow Dash blinked.  She became aware of a torrent of water rushing just out of view.

"Mmmmrmfff..."  With a tiny trilling sound, Rainbow Dash sat up.

"Now now..."  A wyvern's claw pressed her gently back down to the Stardust's deck.  "Rrest easy, my frriend.  At least until we've made a prroperr assessment—"

Gnashing her teeth, Rainbow strongly resisted Kepler's gesture.  She sat up, blinking off the port side of the vessel.

There was something missing from the ocean.

Rainbow blinked.  With a single flap of her wings, she planted herself up on her hooves—forcing Kepler, Flynn, and Logan to jump back with a gasp.  Ariel, Remna, and Bard watched worriedly as she trotted up to the deck's edge.  The sound of rushing water grew louder and louder.  At last, Enix and her trusty wingmates shuffled aside—revealing a bubbling sea-within-a-sea beyond the hull of the Stardust.

The ghostly figures of Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy flew in closer.  "Rainbow?"  Twilight gulped.  "Rainbow, can you hear us?"

Rainbow ignored them, staring out into the tempestuous waters.

It was just in time to spot the shiny summit of the golden tower sinking beneath the waves.  Frothing waters boiled in a wavering circle around the scene.  Within seconds, the entire structure had sank completely.  The Stardust and Bleakweed vessels kept a safe distance.

"Austraeoh...?"  Remna asked, craning her neck.

"You entered the tower," Enix murmured, her scarred jaw hanging agape.  "And now... it vanishes... as if on command."  She and her fellow batponies let loose feeble squeaks, eyeslits blinking.  "Just what are you, Rainbow Dash?"

Remna stepped closer.  "What happened in there?"

Rainbow Dash didn't answer.  She found herself staring past her friends... past the sinking gold light of the tower.

There was a separate gold light.  It hung over the waters like a curtain... draping eastward, curving southward, rolling towards the edge of the world.

Rainbow's lips pursed.  The Element of Loyalty glinted as it hung from her neck.

The gold light lingered—far softer than Yaerfaerda—but ever present... ever lulling.

"Rainbow Dash...?" Luna's voice echoed with undeniable concern.

Remna glanced at the mare, then at the seas where she was gazing.  "... ... ...what is it that you see, Austraeoh?"

Rainbow's ghostly friends exchanged confused glances.

The Herald leaned in from a distance, breathless.

Rainbow exhaled.  Hypnotically, she bore a devilish smirk.  "Of course..."

Wings spread.

Wildcard whistled shrilly.

Logan raised a hoof.  "Wait a tick—"

FWOOOSH!  Rainbow ascended in a prismatic blur, sailing off the Stardust's port side.

Remna blinked.

Ariel and Flynn gasped.

"Hmmm..."  Enix glanced at the other ponies.  "...does she normally do this?"

"Herald—!"  Bard shouted.

"On it!" Ariel shouted.  Swooooooosh!  She shot up like a comet, followed shortly by Wildcard.

Gnashing his teeth, Bard galloped and joined the others.  Enix let loose a few articulate shrieks and lifted off, accompanied by two wingmates.

"Okay..."  Flynn paced and paced, pulling at what was left of his mane.  "Will somepony please tell me what the Hell is going on here?!"

"It's finally happened," Logan droned.  "She's flipped her lid."

"Why now of all times?!"  Flynn gaped at Kepler.  "Smarty McWyvern!  You've got any clues?!"

Kepler shrugged.  "I cannot fathom."  He smiled through his tusks.  "Most glorrious..."

"Rrrrgh... seriously?!  That's your description of everything!"

While the rest of the Herald bickered in the background, Remna remained situated patiently in place.  She watched the prismatic figure along the horizon with scrutinous eyes, her violet eyes twitching to the last bubbles erupting off the ship's hull.