That Which Is Waiting Beyond
Slowly, side by side, Rainbow Dash and Wildcard strolled through the spacious interior of the mountain sanctuary. Bard, Remna, and the others followed at a distance. To the left and right, braziers full of slowly burning embers crackled. Sporadic groups of wyverns paid their respects—both mute and non-mute—by bowing and signing to the pair as they strolled along. All eyes rested on Rainbow Dash.
"While I admittedly enjoy being placed on a pedestal," Rarity murmured, glancing about. "I do find this a tad bit... awkward."
"Yeah, Dashie." Pinkie Pie nodded. "Did you have to deal with this before from Khao and her Herald, only ten times as worse?"
"That was way different, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash muttered as she marched forward. "Khao and her fellow cultists were obsessed. They sacrificed life and limb just to get me on my way."
"And this is different how?" Rarity remarked.
Rainbow paled slightly. Her ears folded back as she glanced over her shoulder at the likes of Logan, Flynn, and Ariel. "Yeesh... don't friggin' say stuff like that, Rarity..."
Wildcard glanced at Rainbow.
Rainbow saw her reflection in his goggles. She gulped. "You've... always been about protecting me, eh, big guy?"
Wildcard bore a calm smile.
Rainbow exhaled with a shudder. "I guess that's not really changed. Still..." Her eyes fell on the griffon's prosthetic—where his Odrsjot band was concealed beneath metal and mana. "The fact that you've been waiting all this time for the dots to connect simply blows my mind."
Wildcard shrugged, shuffling forward.
"He's been waiting a long time, most certainly, Rainbow," Twilight said. "But I don't think he's been waiting all his life."
"What makes you say that, darling?" Rarity remarked.
"I can't be the only one who assumes that there's more to Wildcard's life than what's on the surface," Twilight remarked. "There's depth to his past as well as to his motivations. I think this—all of this—is something that's manifested itself rather recently."
"You mean he wasn't always a badflank butt-kicking no talkie griffon?" Pinkie chirped.
"What I mean is that being a part of the Herald is something that likely happened only recently," Twilight said. "Probably gave him a second chance... along with Bard." She swallowed. "Thus, his fierce loyalty to his partners... both in the Desperadoes and the Job Squad."
"But if Bard means so much to him, then how come he's not a member of the Herald?" Fluttershy asked.
The other ghostly mares exchanged glances.
"Don't you find that strange that the poor stallion's left out?" Fluttershy said.
"Maybe he's just shy about showing off his rainbow friend bracelet!" Pinkie suggested. "He could be Mister Seven!"
"I don't think so, Pinkie." Fluttershy shook her head. "I think this seventh member of the Herald lies before us."
"You mean the Mountain Matron?" Rarity hummed.
As this was spoken, Wildcard and Rainbow Dash reached the bottom of a steep set of wooden stairs. They led up into the utmost tier of the sanctuary: a building raised on pillars that stood as a solid wing apart from the rest of the wyvern palace. It was especially dark here, and even the temperature dropped in the noticeable absence of braziers and torches. An invisible line of reverance held the wyverns at bay. Wildcard and his companions stepped no further. Instead, they stood in place and looked at Rainbow Dash with a patient gaze.
Rainbow hesitated slightly. "I don't suppose there's any chance we can turn this into a convention, huh?"
Wildcard slowly shook his head. His flesh-and-metal talons raised into the air, twirling and signing.
From afar, Flynn interpreted: "'The Mountain Matron has been waiting a long time for this moment.'"
"'Don't be afraid,'" Ariel added. "'She's simply the meditative type, and seeing the Austraeoh alone will benefit the two of you greatly.'"
Wildcard added a few more words.
"'At least for the time being, Rrainbow one,'" Kepler said with a smile. "'Then shall we all commune as a trried and trrue grroup laterr...'"
Rarity leaned in. "Anypony notice how Remna never translates for her very own protege?"
Rainbow stole a glance at the bounty hunter.
Remna seemed distracted. Fidgeting, the violet mare gazed out towards cold gray daylight.
Rainbow blinked. She took one last glance at Bard. For the moment, the two looked and felt gloriously identical: a pair of confused idiots stuck in the middle of precarious heraldry. Rainbow removed by winkest link by stepping forward... and ascending the dark wooden steps towards her destination.
Wildcard and the rest of his companions looked on in silence.
"This isn't ominous or anything," Pinkie cooed.
"It's okay, everypony," Fluttershy said. "Just relax."
"How can you say that?" Pinkie whimpered.
Fluttershy bore a calm smile. "Because I have every reason to believe that these are Rainbow's friends. This isn't some sort of wicked trap." She pointed up the dark stairwell. "There is indeed somepony waiting for us in the lofty wing."
"Oh yeah?"
"And..." Fluttershy fidgeted slightly. "...the life sign is faint. Whoever or whatever it is, I doubt they'd present too much of a threat to Rainbow Dash... or anypony else for that matter."
"I'll count that as a good sign." Rainbow looked to her right. She saw a distracted expression on Twilight's lavender muzzle. "Egghead?"
"Hmmm?" Twilight snapped out of it, glancing back.
Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Something concerning you about what's ahead?"
"Well... no, not exactly." The mare nevertheless fidgeted. "But where Fluttershy is feeling something weak..."
"...you're feeling something strong?"
Twilight gulped. "More like... something that was once strong. It's... not a sensation I've ever felt before."
"Well, that's reassuring," Rarity grumbled, staring ahead. "For what it's worth, everything ahead of us is old, wooden, and decidedly decrepit. If someone or something wanted to spring a trap, this would be a poor place to do it—at least where the Austraeoh's concerned."
"And nothing on me is twitching!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'd say listen to Fluttershy, Rainbow! Go on ahead and check it out!"
Rainbow gulped. "Not sure there's any point in pretending to back down right now even if I wanted to." She strolled up into shadows. Her hoofsteps echoed all around her as she ascended into the dusty haven. "Gosh dang... the older this stuff gets in preparation for my arrival, the weirder I feel..."
"I'd say cherish it, darling, but I'm not sure how I would in your position," Rarity said.
"Jee, thanks, Rarity."
"Shhhh..." Fluttershy insisted as the group was covered completely in darkness. "We're... we're in her presence."
"Whose?" Pinkie asked.
"I sense her too." Twilight said. She and Fluttershy hovered above Rainbow, pivoting towards the far end of a dusty room.
Together, they peered past piles upon piles of books, scrolls, maps, artifacts, and rolled-up tapestries. The windows were dim. Each slitted set of blinds had been pivoted so that they turned opaque, blocking out all but a few slivers of sunlight. Rainbow imagined that—had she lived there all her life—she'd grow accustomed to the darkness, but not to the isolation. It was deathly still in that wing; every shuffling step she took sounded off with cataclysmic vibration. Clouds of dust rose and fell with each trotting motion of her legs. Only once she was fully immersed in the shadows of the place did she catch sight of shapes dangling from the ceiling. They resembled ornate reconstructions of birds, dragons, and wyverns—only crafted from tightly folded sheets of paper. The familiarity was not lost to the pegasus. Before she could say anything, however, she caught sight of Fluttershy and Twilight pointing towards the far end of the room.
Rainbow Dash craned her neck for a better look.
Something was alive in that chamber, albeit barely. Rainbow heard ragged breaths, spaced out and laborious. Something shuddered, undulated with each inhalation and exhalation. At last, she caught sight of a long, narrow stalk. It was a horn, she guessed, although it was wrapped ten times over in something: rags? Wool? Twine? Tapering bands waved in the dusty air with each bob of an obscured elder's head.
Then, just as Rainbow was approaching the visible horizon, she heard a cold, deep voice resonating across the forest of tomes and artifacts: "What is beyond?"
Rainbow scuffled to a stop. She and her ghostly friends blinked.
"... ... ...I'm sorry?" Rainbow murmured.
The horn moved. Its owner was standing up, and Rainbow could already tell it was somepony far... far taller than herself.
"What is beyond, my little pony?"
"Uhm..." Rainbow shifted slightly, eyes darting. "Beyond what?"
A pair of violet eyes peered out of the darkness. There was a brief flicker of light, a hidden fire. "Death, of course."
Rainbow stared back. She leaned to the left... then to the right. "I... uhm..." A shrug. "I dunno. I mean, who does?"
"Ignorance is a poor color for you." The figure shuffled closer, slowly navigating a sea of ancient detritus that separated the two of them. "A pony who has traveled the lengths that you have would be quite acquainted with death. It's a flavor that lingers, a stain that refuses to go away. Now, meditate calmly, and answer me again."
Rarity and Pinkie squinted at one another. They turned to gawk at Rainbow.
The pegasus was busy shuddering. "I... I really haven't put much thought in it."
"Faith, perhaps?"
"Huh?"
The figure came to a stop behind a stack of books—a final barrier between the two. "If knowledge—or the lack thereof—hasn't prevented you from assaulting the bastions of your own mortality, then what—might I ask—is the impetus to your eastward lurch?"
"I... I..." Rainbow gulped. "I suppose it's b-because I know that if I just stay put, then I risk ushering an end to my friends..." Her ears twitched. "...not to mention an end to all things related to this world."
The horn swayed, its loose bandages swaying. "But was that always the spark that drew you to flame?"
Rainbow blinked. After a few seconds, her jaws clenched. "No..." She took a deep breath. "I first set out because I knew that there was no stopping my death. There was this... thing I learned about: a crazy, epic place beyond the edge of the world... something called the Midnight Armory... and I needed to get there... I wanted to get there."
"For fame? Fortune?" The voice wheezed, then collected weight: "All matters little within centuries... decades of your mortal passing."
"I... guess that's true."
"Does it matter?"
Rainbow stared for a prolonged space in time. "No," she said firmly.
"Why not?"
"Because in my last dying breath, I will have discovered first-hoof something far bigger than me beyond the edge of that which holds everypony else back... and I will fade away knowing that I conquered it." The hint of a devilish smirk. "And that's an awesome thing."
There was no response. A pair of dim, violet eyes peered through the dust of ages.
Rainbow cleared her throat. "Does that... uh... does that answer your question?"
"I knew the answer before you even arrived here," the deep voice replied. "But I needed to hear it spoken out loud by the Spark of the World." At last, she shuffled out of deeper shadow. "You see, the Queen of Frost isn't the only one testing you, Austraeoh."
Rainbow peered.
A tall, tall mare trotted to a stop before her. She was lanky, emaciated, and yet—in every other curve and shade—Rainbow could make out a faint luster in her faded blue frame. Everything about her was faded, drawn out—from the gray streaks in her midnight black mane to the wrinkles beneath her eyes. She stood on bent legs, and despite a slight wobble, she maintained a posture that was remarkably straight, rigid. Her voice—like her eyes—was full of immortal youth and wisdom that defied her invalidic condition.
"I am the last sheen of light that rests upon death's forehead," she said, her voice metallic and emotionless. "I await... for there are very few left who can. But you are not a stranger to this, Austraeoh." Her violet eyes narrowed. "You are not a stranger to many things... except the Dark Side. Alas, I am here with my Herald to assist you in this last venture, and to carry you beyond."
"Are you really their leader?" Rainbow asked. She gulped, leaning forward. "Are you really Lead Wing of the Herald of Angels?"
"Very curious vernacular." The mare tilted her raggedy horn aside. "Something Remna had said, perhaps?"
Twilight blinked.
"Uhm... no." Rainbow cleared her throat. "I met the Herald before. At least... a bunch of ponies led by 'Khao' who called themselves the Herald. They... were pretty forceful with their ideas. In their attempts to lend me a hoof, they almost brought an end to my journey altogether."
"Did they number in the dozens... hundreds?"
Rainbow nodded. "Thousands, for all I know."
"Hmmm... a tragedy." The mare blinked. "For they were truly not the Herald." She reached a hoof up to her horn and clasped an edge of the dangling rag. "Do forgive my fellow associates for keeping you in the dark, Austraeoh." Slowly, one strand at a time, she undid the bandages wrapped around her horn. "In this day and age, caution is the utmost priority. After all, her eyes are everywhere. But one can learn from such a game..."
"Game?" Rainbow blinked, her eyes locked on the mare's movements.
Suddenly, Fluttershy and Rarity sucked their breaths in.
The mare had pulled the last of the rags off, exposing a narrow horn that was porous, bent, and hollow in many visible places. Much of the alicornia had peeled off, exposing bone and nerve endings that twinkled with residual mana. "Like you, I've been wounded for my righteousness. Alas, it takes more than one stalwart soul to thwart the last barrier between here and beyond." She leaned forward, aiming her horn at Rainbow and her pendant. "Now, stay still, Austraeoh. Hopefully, this won't kill me..."
"What... uhm..." Rainbow leaned back, raising a forelimb pensively. "...what are you doing?"
"Looking into a window," she said, wincing in pain. A dull glow rippled through her horn. While this happened, a pair of bony wings stretched out from her sides.
Twilight gasped. "Rainbow, look!" A lavender hoof pointed. "She's an ali—" And in a bright FLASH of light, Twilight disappeared.
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YEP. There it is.
Probably Mortuna (I think that was her name at least). But why did she abandon the edge of the world?
oh. My.
Whitemane had an older sister. Is this her?
Man for a second I thought she was Chrysalis's sister. Now THAT would have been one doozy of a twist!
Princess Aria, is that you?
7019595
If I had to guess, I would say because of Verlax, but let's see what the next chapter holds.
I agree with Tim: It's probably Mortuana. I just checked the first chapter of Utaan, and she was also described as having a blue coat and "midnight black" mane. I guess she's been waiting all this time for Rainbow to come, which kinda sucks for her. I'm curious to see where this goes, especially with that spell at the end.
Also, I think I'm starting to get Wildcard's backstory. I think I speak for many of us when I say I think he's Jordan, whom the Talon believes to be dead, if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if he was injured and rescued by the wyverns. If he learned from them that Verlax was a fraud, that would give him very little reason to remain loyal to her. If all that's the case, I look forward to his probably inevitable reunion with the rest of the Talon, and especially Seraphimus.
7019611 Yeah, the "crooked horn" thing almost had me thinking that too!
He didn't roll an r.
Well now Mortuana has, more likely than not, reenter our story. Can't wait to see what is revealed next.
She's tall. But I wonder how tall. At least in canon, it seems alicorns are just a little bigger in average than other ponies, and Celestia is just a freak among freaks. How big was Whitemane, again?
Wow, it's been a while since we've seen her. 400,000 words or so, in fact.
Dun! Dunn!! Dunnn!!!
This chapter was cool. *Pets the chapter.* I figured it would be Mortuana.
Whoa! That was unexpected! But who's the Alicorn....?
Oh my, I started reading this chapter 12 seconds after it's posted and already there's 14 comments.Oops, misread the time stamps.
Yeah, quite a few people did see this coming I recall. Interesting that between her days guarding the Sanctum and posing as Nana Pearl, Morty still had the time to work on her Maud Pie impression.
7019874 He forgets that all the time.
7020145 Only in relation to Rainbow! And as we all know, even a two year old foal would look huge next to Rainbow.
I'm so paranoid I almost believe that it really is a trap.
Someone stands to learn a bit of humility.
Well, I was right with it being an Alicorn, still think it's whitemane's sister
I had a strong suspicion it would be an alicorn, namely whitemane's sister. Seems the years (and an encounter with Verlax) haven't been kind to her...though she's probably a good few centuries older than Whitemane.
7021238 ponies of her standing are in short supply.
7020285
Holy crap
Has it really been that long!? I guess it's about 5 months, but wow, 400k words in 5 months. Think about it: Background Pony was about this long.
I know that each book has been getting longer, but this is ridiculous
Well well well this story has been full of surprises recently
It's about time that we spoke with an alicorn. I've been wondering when we'd get anymore insight on Utaan, so I guess she's the one who's going to tell us.
Whitemane's sister, I'm guessing?
Well then. Time for some much-needed exposition
HOLY SHIT
After he left the Talon and gave up the name Jordan, I'm guessing.
That pun
Also, in before Mountain Matron is actually Verlax.
What lies beyond death? Awesomeness.
This is probably one of the very old alicorns. Probably Whitemane’s sister.
...Aria?
Her colours match the description of Whitemane's sister aight!
Yep, this sounds like Whitemane's big sis alright.
I mean, that makes him perfect to go on a journey with Loyalty itself.
Hmmmm...not suspicious at all there Remna.
YIIIIIKES. That's like having holes and open wounds on your arms. Just....freaking yuck.
ALICORN?!
OKAY!!! This fill in several gaps in my memory on what going on.