Leave it Behind
***
Equestria
***
“So uh, is that what this is then?” Applejack asked, picking up the sword in her hooves and turning it over.
“Yep.” Rainbow nodded, smiling slightly. “Most other Space Marines would have probably tried to kill us as soon as the common foe was gone, yet the Blood Ravens give me an awesome power sword.”
“Umm...Applejack.” Twilight whispered, making sure only the cowpony could hear. “You know that that’s a weapon right? As in something that’s killed.”
“More than just Manticores as well.” Rainbow cut in, easily picking up Twilights attempt to be subtle.
“How much more?” Applejack asked dubiously, placing the sword back down on the floor.
“Umm, quite a bit.” Rainbow said after a moment of mental calculation. “Don’t know quite how many, but it served me well.”
“Wait, so how long ago was this?” Celestia asked, making a quick deduction of her own.
“A year, eleven months, something like that? I lost track of time over the last six months.”
“What did you do for a year then?” Luna asked.
Rainbow gave a light chuckle, flexing her mechanical wing and leg.
“Well…”
***
The Celestial Ideal: Shadowhunter class escort vessel
***
Rainbow sighed as she sat at one of the large tables that stretched down the length of the ships gallery. It had been a day since they had left Verbatim VIII and the mood was expectedly high from the assembled warriors. War masks were being removed and celebrations were rocking the ship, but for some of the aspect warriors on board, this was a time of mourning.
Rainbow glanced over at Tar’nek as the Eldar bit into a large piece of fruit, the juices flowing down across his lips as the Eldar tried to force a smile at the behaviour. Now that the war mask had been removed, he was coming to grips with the death of the rest of the Swooping Hawks that had accompanied the task force. What was even worse was the fact that most of the Exarchs of the temples had been lost in the attack, and their bodies hadn’t been recovered, meaning the temples would never be revived. Saim-Hann’s population of Swooping Hawks had just plummeted from hundreds to just three, one of whom was a pony, another of whom was a triple amputee, and was awaiting medical care on the Craftworld.
“How did you sleep?” Tar’nek asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over their section of the table.
“The same nightmare again.” Rainbow muttered, looking over a piece of fruit before biting into it. “You?”
“No nightmares, but I remember talking to Kaliden.” Tar’nek replied. “It’s hard to believe he’s gone.”
“Tell me about it. Never thought that I’d outlive an Exarch.” Rainbow sighed.
“Not just the Exarch, the whole temple. We can’t keep it going with three of us.”
“Speaking of, how is Juhani?” Rainbow asked. “I haven’t been able to find her since we left.”
“A bit broken, but I’ll live.” Juhani chuckled, moving over towards the pair.
The Eldar sword master had been hit even harder than Rainbow had in the drop assault, and Rainbow wondered how she had taken the loss of so many of her limbs so well. Both of her legs were completely gone, leaving her with a neatly sealed scar at her waist, while another series of sutures sealed the wound at the elbow of her left arm. Rainbow guessed that at the very least, Juhani could be glad that she still had her right hand and arm, meaning that after she got her prosthetics, she would still be able to wield her sword with her own flesh and blood. However, whereas Rainbow had been given a prosthetic quickly, allowing her to walk, if not fly, Juhani had no such luck. She would have to wait until she got back to Saim-Hann to walk again, and so was confined to a small skimmer chair.
“Where have you been?” Rainbow asked, moving over on the bench so that Juhani could float over to the end of the table, looking at the pair.
“I’ve been retreating into the dreamscape.” Juhani said dismissively. “Helped me to see that my problems could have been worse. Could have lost this as well.” She chuckled, flexing the fingers on her right hand. I heard you had an interesting coping mechanism Rainbow. Befriend a human and spearhead the final assault. Sounds like quite a workout.”
“Educational at least.” Rainbow shot back with a slight grin of her own. Juhani was having a surprising effect on Rainbow and Tar’nek, and already her chipper attitude towards the mission was rubbing off on the pair, somehow making the defeats they suffered seem smaller, and the victories they secured seem even more impressive.
“Well come on mopey idiots, you want to forget something, then there’s only one way to do that.”
“Re’ka?” Tar’nek chuckled.
“Bingo. Come on Rainbow, let’s go get hammered.”
Shaking her head in exasperation, Rainbow followed the other Eldar towards the more heavily populated area of the ships gallery, to where the rest of the aspect warriors and wind riders were singing merrily. Rainbow chuckled to herself, happy that she had been found by the laid-back Eldar of Saim-Hann, rather than the up-tight forces of Alaitoc or Ulthwé.
***
“Annnnd done. You should be feeling the system coming on line any second….” A bone singer said, stepping back from Rainbow.
“Argh, it burns.” Rainbow shouted indignantly, but couldn’t help but laugh as the burning sensation faded away, leaving a much more familiar sensation.
Slowly, Rainbow climbed off the table she had been lying on for the last hour and a half, placing her hooves on the floor before looking at her back, seeing the handiwork of the Bone Singer for the first time. To say she was happy would have been as much an understatement as saying Twilight had a little bit of a nerd.
***
Equestria
***
“Hey, I’m not a nerd. I am a scholar.” Twilight cut in indignantly.
“There’s a difference?” Rainbow asked, a grin creeping onto her face.
“A nerd is overly analytical, socially awkward, and-oh Celestia I’m a nerd.” Twilight finished weakly.
“Meh, it’s not that big a deal. Being a nerd can be pretty awesome. A nerd gave me this,” she shook her back leg, “and a nerd gave me back my flight. Nerds are almost as cool as me in my books.”
A smile spread across Twilights face as she contemplated what Rainbow had said. Matching the purple Unicorns grin, Rainbow launched back into the story.
***
Saim-Hann
***
“I can feel it.” Rainbow squee’d excitedly, moving the new limb on her back.
Her current prosthetic leg had no feeling in it, meaning she could slap it around easily without any fear of being crippled by pain, but this new wing felt almost exactly how her old flesh and blood wing had felt. She realised that she would have to be as careful with this as she was with her organic wing. More so, considering what had happened to the old one.
“That’s because Wraithbone circuits now run directly from your wing and the ports in your side to your brain, re-writing the destroyed nerves to trick them into believing that the prosthetic is your old wing, meaning nerves can now receive signals from it.” The Bone Singer explained.
***
Equestria
***
“What did I tell you? Nerds rule.” Rainbow chuckled, booping Twilights nose lightly.
“So you can feel this then?” Pinkie asked, grabbing Rainbows left wing.
“Yes, although that may be because it’s the wrong wing.” Rainbow laughed.
“Ooh, how about this?” She asked, changing her grip to her other wing.
“Also yes. Not quite like normal, but close enough.”
“So can y’all feel yer leg as well?” Applejack asked, poking Rainbow rear prosthetic.
“Nope. Elda tech may be good, but human tech is just too far behind them, you can’t interface between them. It was either get a new leg or deal with not having a feeling in it anymore. You can guess which one I chose.”
***
Saim-Hann
***
“Now then, let’s have a look at this.” The Bone Singer said, carefully running a hand along Rainbow back leg, trying to get her to lift it.
“Whoa, what are you doing?” Rainbow asked, snatching the leg away from the prying hands of the Bone Singer.
“I was examining what the humans had ruined so I know what to do to bring it into line with your wing.” The Bone Singer explained.
“You want to replace it?” Rainbow asked uncertainly.
“Yes.” The Bone Singer said slowly, as if she was saying the simplest thing in the world to someone with learning disabilities. “Human technology is barbaric and blunt, no matter what they may think about it being advanced. A leg made of pure Wraithbone will be lighter, be able to move faster, be stronger, have regenerative properties, and more importantly, allow you to feel it. In every way an improvement over the crude leg you have now.”
“Except for sentimental value.” Rainbow pointed out.
“It’s a leg Rainbow.” The Bone Singer pointed out.
“It was a gift, something that’s more important than function in a lot of ways.” Rainbow shot back.
“I’m sure you’ll change that idea after it fails you in combat.”
“This thing went to hell and back with me and survived. I think it can survive most things.”
“You’re serious about keeping this ‘thing’ aren’t you?” The Bone Singer relented.
“I am yes, even if it means I won’t ever feel my leg again.” Rainbow nodded.
“At least allow me to help you make it better.” The Bone Singer reasoned. “I won’t change it, but I can upgrade it slightly. It will still be the same leg, just better.”
“Upgrade it how?”
“Remove the adamantine plates that protect it, replace them with Wraithbone armour and colour it Cyan to make it look more like your own flesh. It will still be clear that it isn’t under close examination, but at a glance it will pass.”
“I can live with that.” Rainbow nodded, before hopping back onto the operating table.
“It may be easier if I remove the leg and work on it properly.” The Bone Singer suggested.
“If you can remove it then be my guest.” Rainbow nodded. “Just make sure you give me back the same leg. If I can suddenly feel it, I’ll come for your head.”
“Of course.” The Bone Singer smiled, before moving closer to Rainbows leg. “Now, watch closely, as far as I can see this should be easy to remove. You may even be able to do it yourself, the same with your wing.”
“That sounds good.” Rainbow nodded, watching intently as the Bone Singer removed her leg, taking the limb away as she left the room.
She couldn’t quite describe the feeling of watching as someone took your leg off your body and walked away with it. Leaning back, Rainbow rested her head on the table. She didn’t want to go to sleep, but she could still relax for a bit. Tonight would be a different story of course.
***
“And that’s all she wrote.” The Bone Singer said, carefully placing Rainbows leg back into the leg port and reattaching it.
Giving it a few experimental turns, Rainbow nodded as she looked down at the improved limb. It was still the same underneath, but now it looked more like the Eldar tech that made up her wing, and she couldn’t deny the fact that it was lighter than it had been with the metal armour. She felt slightly guilty that she had done anything to change Goge’s gift to her, but she was sure that he would understand were he here.
“Thank you.” Rainbow smiled, offering her hoof to the Bone Singer.
“No trouble.” The Bone Singer smiled back, taking the proffered hoof and shaking it lightly. “Your friend Juhani should be out of surgery and is waiting with Tar’nek just outside.”
Smiling, Rainbow opened the door, walking back though the healing shrine and emerging into the central courtyard of the building, catching sight of Tar’nek and Juhani instantly. Juhani was still smiling, her grin getting even bigger as she flexed her new limbs. By the looks of things, Juhani had taken a different philosophy to Rainbow when it came to disguising the new prosthetics, and was proudly sporting a par of skeletal looking legs and an equally spindly looking arm. While Rainbow doubted they would be able to take much punishment when compared to her own replacements, she knew that if they were designed like that, they would be faster by a country mile, which would suit the sword master just fine.
“Looking pretty fly there Rainbow.” Juhani laughed.
“Get some meat on those bones.” Rainbow shot back, before concentrating on her new wing. It was easy to feel and control, and soon Rainbow got the hang of it. Buzzing hard, the new wing served her well, and Rainbow took off, leaving the ground behind her.
“Oh yeah baby, I’m back.” Rainbow whooped, doing a quick loop. Right now, she was unable to think of anything else, too engrossed in having the ability of flight returned to her.
Eventually however, she had to return to the earth, and looked between the two Eldar, her own smile fading as she saw that the others had taken on a more serious expression.
“We’re returning to the temple.” Tar’nek informed her. “We’ve already replaced the armour there, and we’ll be performing the ritual of closure. Before that though, we need to make use of the facilities to perform a check on your mental health Rainbow, I have a friend meeting us there.”
Nodding, Rainbow closed her wings back to her body, following her earth bound friends out of the Healing Shrine, looking up at the expansive void beyond the bubble-like shield that protected Saim-Hann. The defence fleet was floating along gracefully beside the gargantuan life ship. Rainbow thought that she could make out the Celestial Ideal amongst the other ships, the escort vessel hugging as close to the Craftworld as the helmsman dared, being within spitting distance in astrological logical terms.
Boarding one of the Craftworld’s many transit systems, the trio shot towards the district of Khaine, finally reaching the entrance to the Shrine of the Floating Assault. Rainbow looked upon the temple and sighed, remembering the first time she had stood in front of its massive gates, hoping to find some way of curbing the memories of Hannibal that had plagued her then. Now, as before, she was standing with Tar’nek, and was trying to find some way to fix her current mental health after the daemonic attack. The Shrine however was not in the same condition as before.
While the Wraithbone was usually a stark bright white colour, shining like a beacon for the rest of Eldarkind to follow to victory, the structure seemed to be taking on a much darker tone, almost as if it was mourning the loss of so many of its members. Rainbow assumed that if she went to other temples belonging to Swooping Hawks, she would find a very similar situation there as well.
“What’s happened to it?” Rainbow asked softly.
“It’s dying.” Juhani said softly, running her new bionic hand over the surface of the temple.
“It will get darker until it is nothing more than a black spot on the Craftworld. Once we seal it, it will remain that way until an Eldar fated to become the Exarch of the Floating Assault finds Kaliden’s armour. Considering the fact that it’s lost…” Tar’nek trailed off.
“Are we going inside?” Rainbow asked.
“I told my friend we would wait for her outside the temple. Getting in to one of these without being a warrior of the temple or being with a warrior of the temple is hard.” Tar’nek replied.
“And I’m grateful.” A female called out, causing Rainbow and the others to turn and look at the new comer.
She was a short, for an Eldar he top of her head only just Tar’nek’s eye level. Her long ginger hair was tied tightly in a top knot, before flowing down her back in one continuous braid. If it had been unfurled and allowed to flow naturally, Rainbow assumed it would be brushing the floor right now. Her bright electric blue eyes were darting between the three Swooping Hawks, unceasing as they scanned the area.
“Anira. It’s good to see you again.” Tar’nek said, moving forward to embrace the Eldar, before breaking off the hug and turning to face the others. “Juhani, Rainbow dash, allow me to introduce you to Warlock Anira Isenurin, a member of my Windrider clan Nar’bok. Anira, this is Juhani and Rainbow Dash, the last members of the Temple of the Floating Assault alongside myself.”
“It’s a pleasure.” Anira nodded, before looking at the temple. “It’s a shame to see something so noble suffer such a fate. But anyway, I believe you asked me here for more than just reminiscing about old times Tar’nek.”
“I did.” Tar’nek nodded, before pointing at Rainbow. “She has a problem, more than she knows, and I don’t know the extent of it. As of yet, it hasn’t manifested as anything other than a recurring nightmare, but I don’t want it getting any worse.”
“Let’s get started then.” Anira said, glancing down at Rainbow and smiling, before looking back at Tar’nek. “The Dreaming halls?”
“Follow me.” Juhani cut in, before turning and walking into the Shrine, the doors swinging open as she approached, sensing that she belonged here.
Quickly following after Juhani, Anira darted inside the temple, looking around at the towering structure. The inside was hardly fairing any better than the outside, and already the walls were losing the shine they had had the last time Rainbow had set hoof here.
“A bit different than the shrines of the Avengers.” Anira noted as they walked.
“That’s because we’re awesome.” Rainbow grinned.
“Precisely.” Juhani chuckled, stopping outside of a familiar room. “Anyway, here’s the hall of dreams.”
With that, Juhani turned and walked deeper into the temple, heading towards the armoury where Tar’nek had headed off to, leaving Anira and Rainbow to enter the room alone. Unlike the rest of the temple, this place still look as it had when Makhutar had trained her in the art of the dreamer before her final test all those months ago.
“Before we start, we need to get to know each other, or rather we need to build up a mutual trust.” Anira informed her, closing the doors to the hall behind her and walking towards one of the soft cushion like sections of the floor, taking up a cross-legged position atop it and gesturing for Rainbow to do the same. “This will facilitate the communication our minds will be able to experience, and allow me to ascertain what the exact problem is.”
“No pressure then?” Rainbow chuckled weakly, taking a seat beside Anira. “Where do I start?”
“Tell me of your life before Hannibal, before you learnt of the wars that were waged every day in this galaxy.” Anira offered.
“Ok then.” Rainbow said slowly, thinking for a second, before launching into an explanation.
“I was born in Cloudsdale, never had a very good relationship with my mum, but my dad was awesome, I remember him taking me to see the announcement for the Equestrian Games, sad day that. Erm, I moved to Ponyville after I finished Flight School after Fluttershy told me all about it, and how there was an opening on the weather team. Made a house, ranked up until I was head of the weather team, and then life stagnated for a few years until I met Twilight and found out I was an Element of Harmony.”
“That’s good, very good.” Anira nodded. “Now, how about something slightly more recent, the weeks leading up to your disappearance.”
“Oh that’s easy. After passing through the Wonderbolts academy, the other cadets and I were told we were up for the final test to see if we had what it took, a no holds barred contest of pure skill, whoever could impress the Wonderbolts and the judges the most would get a spot on the team. Lightning Dust, the mare who went before me, stole my trademark move, so I had to improvise. She did one Rainboom, I did two, and that as they say, is history. Woke up and almost got eaten by a Tyranid. Not a nice wakeup call I can tell you, especially as I didn’t know where I was or what the hell that thing was.”
“I can imagine.” Anira nodded slowly, before placing her hands together and interlocking her fingers. “Now, where to start.” She said, more to herself than Rainbow, before smiling. “How about when I walked the path of the outcast?”
“Sounds dangerous.” Rainbow countered.
“But fun. I was five hundred at the time, walked a couple of paths for a while, the dreamer, the poet, even the path of the warrior for a bit, becoming a Dire Avenger of the Sable Helm Shrine, but nothing was really working for me, I wanted to feel more, dangerous, but I was young. I left the craftworld and eventually found myself in the employee of a human Rouge Trader by the name of Corellan Vendar. As was typical of Eldar, I didn’t think much of the humans, but I saw the galaxy, and that was all that mattered.”
“So you’re another Eldar who distrusts humans for being humans?” Rainbow asked with a sigh.
“I was, but I’m not, not anymore.” Anira shook her head. “We were exploring beyond the edges of human space when we found a lush planet. We needed to resupply badly, so we landed and I went with the ground crew. We managed to stumble into a small den of feral Orks, and only just managed to escape from their alive. We ran, but I slipped and fell, leaving me right in the path of the Orks. I thought I was going to die, but Corellan came back, risking his life to save mine. He didn’t care what species I was, all he cared was that I was part of his crew, and that was enough for him. That changed everything, my whole outlook on life, and after a few more years in space I found myself back here on Saim-Hann taking up the path of the seer.”
“Wow, sorry I doubted you.” Rainbow apologised.
“Don’t be, I was as arrogant as the next Eldar, but circumstance smiled on me, and showed me that we are not the only ones with claim to the galaxy.” Anira chuckled. “But enough of that, we are here to look into your inner mind, not speak of the past. So, if you could please empty your thoughts, allow me to force you into the dreamscape, rather than entering on your own.”
Nodding, Rainbow half closed her eyes, pushing all the thoughts in her head to one side as she focused on nothingness. It was much harder than it sounded, but Makhutar had been a good teacher, and Rainbow was able to do it. Slowly nodding to Anira, Rainbow heard the Eldar shift her weight, before feeling another presence in her mind, pushing her into the dreamscape.
***
Once again, Rainbow was running through the burnt forest, a raging Daemon on her tail as she sought to lose it. No matter how many times she saw the events play out, how many times she experienced the same thing, it never lost its power over her, terrifying her to her very core.
Twisting through the forest, Rainbow tried to evade the Daemon, but instead only managed to catch sight of herself, quickly catching up to the unblemished mare.
“Stop running!” Rainbow screamed, but she knew the other Rainbow Dash couldn’t hear her, and would only stop when the dream demanded it.
Turning to look at Rainbow, the clean mare began to change and burn, and Rainbow tensed for the pain in her stomach a second before the blade past through it, skewering her like some sort of food produce and lifting her off the ground. As she turned to face the Daemon however, she suddenly felt herself dropping, the sword still embedded in her stomach as Anira leaped at the Daemon again, a massive spear lashing out and ripping its other arm from its socket, before whipping around and removing the Daemons head.
By this point, Rainbow was floundering on the sword like a fish on a line, unable to free herself, but knowing that she wouldn’t die on its edge. Only the shuriken pistol had ever ended the nightmares.
Silently, Anira knelt down beside Rainbow, not making any sort of sound as she placed a single finger into the wound in Rainbows stomach. Grimacing, Rainbow tried to squirm away, but found herself unable to move properly, even as Anira removed the blood covered finger and moved it towards Rainbows forehead.
The finger arced down, jabbing her in the head and feeling as if it was on fire. Rainbow writhed under the touch, but couldn’t get away as the Warlock continued to draw the symbol of the Swooping Hawks onto her head, her mouth moving in a silent chant. Rainbow could already feel herself getting angrier as the familiar feeling of the war mask rushed up to greet her. The inside of her mind was starting to vibrate as it got closer, but neither Anira or Rainbow showed any signs of stopping, before finally, the war mask burst forth, consuming Rainbows personality once more.
Instantly, Rainbows mind splintered, white cracks appearing in the fabric of the vision and dispelling the gloom from the burnt forest. They were mostly clustered around the outside of her mind, but there was a single one that seemed to be more malicious, extending further towards Rainbow than any of the others.
Slowly, Anira stood up, looking at the offending crack, before shifting her attention back to the frozen form of Rainbow Dash. Beginning another silent chant, both she and Rainbow began to fade, before finally vanishing from the inside of Rainbows mind.
***
Rainbow awoke with a start, panting heavily as she looked directly up at the ceiling. Pushing herself back up, Rainbow looked across the room at Anira. The Warlock had stood up at some point during the proceedings, and now stood with her head inclined towards the ceiling and her eyes closed. Both her hands were pressed lightly against her temples, and Rainbow could hear her muttering something beneath her breath, the words spilling out slower than her lips were moving.
Eventually, Anira let her hands drop, opening her eyes again and looking at Rainbow, a look of sorrow in her eyes.
“I’m sorry Rainbow. If I had known what would happen, and what my interference would cause, I wouldn’t have done it.” She apologised, sitting back down beside Rainbow.
“What happened? I don’t understand what I just saw.” Rainbow said, trying to rid her mind of the memories of daemons.
“On Verbatim VIII your war mask was removed without your intervention or the intervention of an Eldar, correct?” Anira checked.
“Yes, when I started the drop attack, I had my war mask on, when I woke up it wasn’t.” Rainbow nodded.
“I thought so.” Anira sighed. “How to explain this. The war mask is a delicate state of mind, and if treated in correctly can cause scars on the mind. Most of the time these scars are what binds an aspect warrior to the path of the warrior in the form of the exarch, but not always, and not with you. Your mind is fracturing, tearing itself apart trying to get the war mask back into the right shape so it can be removed properly. Unfortunately however, when you put it on, you were physically fine, but the connection was broken and forced off when you were injured. Your mind is imposing your newly shaped war mask onto your mind, which is still crying out for the presence of the old shape.”
***
Equestria
***
The assembled ponies looked at Rainbow in confusion as they tried to keep up with what rainbow was saying, and to process what it actually meant. Looking across, Rainbow caught sight on their vacant gazes and chuckled slightly, before rephrasing what Anira had told her.
“Imagine my mind as a circle, with the war mask fitting inside that circle perfectly and forming a complete structure. Now imagine that the war masks shape has warped into the shape of a square, but the hole it’s supposed to fit into hasn’t changed.”
“So y’all are sayin’ that yer tryin’ to fit a square peg into a round hole?” Applejack clarified.
“Pretty much yeah.” Rainbow nodded.
***
Saim-Hann
***
“So what exactly does that mean for me?” Rainbow asked uncertainly, looking at Anira.
“The more you try to wear the war mask, the more your mind will fracture. Too much…well…let’s just say that crushing an egg with a Scorpion’s Claw would make for easier salvage.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Rainbow grimaced.
“It’s not, and if you push it too far, it could be fatal. But if you don’t put the mask back on, fight without it if you fight again, you should be fine.”
“I don’t really have a choice do I?”
“We all have a choice Rainbow.” Anira said, standing up and walking over to the doors, throwing them open. “The choice may be between life and death, but it’s still there.”
“Hey, where are you going?” Rainbow called after the Warlock as she began to walk towards the entrance of the temple. “The others are in the armoury.”
“Tar’nek and Juhani are members of this shrine like you. I’m not. It is not my place to see this ritual take place.” Anira said simply.
“Thank you Anira, this helps.” Rainbow nodded.
“I didn’t do anything Rainbow. I uncovered and exasperated the problem, but I neither solved it nor your nightmares. They are born of war, and that is something only you can overcome. I’ll see you again I’m sure, but for now, this is goodbye.”
Rainbow watched as the Warlock made her way down the corridor, before she turned a corner and was lost from sight. Turning, Rainbow began to trot the other way, making her way towards the armoury to meet up with the others.
It didn’t take long for Rainbow to reach the familiar room, quickly making her way over towards Tar’nek and Juhani. The pair were standing in front of a pair of glass cases, both containing their armour and sealed tight. Rainbow sighed as she saw how many empty cases there were in the room, her eyes quickly falling upon the largest case which would have held Kaliden’s armour had it been recovered.
The only suit of armour that was out of its case was hers, and Rainbow assumed that it was part of the ritual to replace the armour in its glass container until the next user chose it. She didn’t know who would choose a pony shaped war suit in the future, but she wasn’t about to buck tradition over it.
“So do I just put the armour in the case or is there a ritual that needs to be performed?” rainbow asked, looking at the pair expectantly.
“The armour was in its case when it was brought here. Now it won’t go back in.” Juhani said simply.
“What are you talking about?” Rainbow scoffed, picking up the helmet and walking towards the empty case. “Of course it will…” She trailed off when she felt something rebelling against her.
It wasn’t so much physically pushing her back as it was talking to her innermost mind, controlling her actions and forcing her to not move the helmet any further in. Reluctantly, she placed the helmet down again, before turning to the other two.
“What’s going on?” She asked in confusion.
“Well, I’m guessing that the war suit has become attached to you.” Tar’nek mused. “Maybe it’s because it’s been modified to fit you, maybe it’s because you had a connection with its previous owner, maybe it’s just because you’ve taken it through a lot. All I know is that even if it was readjusted for an Eldar again, they wouldn’t be able to wear it.”
“So what happens to it?” Rainbow asked.
“You can keep it.” Juhani replied. “The rules of the temples are clear. When you leave, you don’t keep your suit or weapons, unless you walk the path of the Autarch, when you are allowed to keep one item. Sometimes though, the suit would be useless to anyone else, and the warrior is allowed to keep it. They rarely take it, and sever the connection to the armour themselves, but the possibility is there.”
“So I can keep it?” Rainbow clarified.
“You can.” Tar’nek nodded. “If we’ve going to seal the temple, you may as well done the suit. At least one of us will be able to.”
***
Rainbow, Tar’nek and Juhani stood in front of the temple, looking over its steadily darkening surface for the last time. They had cleared out all their personal belongings from within, which were now placed in a series of bag just behind the trio. After today, the temple would be sealed, and only one fated to become and Exarch, or bearing the amour of Kaliden would be able to enter it again.
It was a weird feeling to be closing the temple that had taken her in, it felt like she was turning her back on those who helped her, but looking across at the other ex-Swooping Hawks, Rainbow knew that this was the way it had to be.
“Now we seal Khaines bloody temple.” Tar’nek intoned, bringing his hands together in the falling rain meditation stance. “We place the warrior’s heart at rest.”
“No more shall we soar for the glory of Khaine on wings of fury.” Juhani continued, adopting a similar pose. “For now our might Exarch sleeps.”
“Today the temple begins its slumber.” Rainbow started, matching the others perfectly as she recited the word Tar’nek and Juhani had taught her. “Our souls to touch its roots, to stay with the temple through the eons.”
“And one day, a warrior shall bring life back to the Floating Assault.” They all intoned together. “And Kaliden shall fly once more.”
There was a deep rumbling throughout the shrine, the surface darkening quickly as the trio watched. Finally, the rumble stopped, and the temple stood silent once more, beginning its near-eternal slumber. Its entire surface was now black, and the entire structure looked more like a foreboding fortress than a place to train. Tearing her eyes away from it, and trying to stop drawing similarities between it and the Citadel on verbatim VIII, Rainbow turned to face the others.
“What happens now?” Rainbow asked.
“I guess we go our separate ways.” Juhani sighed. “Take on other paths.”
“I have another idea.” Tar’nek interjected. “You two are clanless yes?”
“I am.” Juhani nodded.
“Same here.” Rainbow added.
“Right then.” Tar’nek smiled. “Follow me.”
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Thanks mate! A great chapter well done.
And this managed to slip past my radar how?....
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/rsz/mlfw8802_small.png
I guess we are comming close to an end here.
I have a few ideas about OCs but that needs some flashing. Ill send a PM your way sometime.
4046325
Well we're not nearing the end per say, but there is only the final arc to go,it just so happens to be kinda long.
4046245
Glad you're enjoying it.
“You can keep it.” Juhani replied. “The rules of the temples are clear. When you leave, you don’t keep your suit or weapons, unless you walk the path of the Autarch, when you are allowed to keep one item. Sometimes though, the suit would be useless to anyone else, and the warrior is allowed to keep it. They rarely take it, and sever the connection to the armour themselves, but the possibility is there.”
Could Autarch Dash possibly appear in the sequel?
4046478
I have no plans for that, and it wouldn't work for what I have got planned, so unfortunately no. Dash will be featured heavily in the sequel, as other ponies.
So she was gone for two years, and had learned the Eldar ways of war and lost her leg and wing within the first month? Or are you saying it was between eleven months to a year ago, and not a year and eleven months (ie twenty-three months) ago?
What we need now is a sauve Ranger to take Rainbow on HIGH ADVENTURE!
4055724
Umm...what? I was saying Rainbow has been gone from home for around a year when she lost her leg, so she's still got a year to go, but honestly, that's not that important, I don't really know why I put it in, but still.
im not shure but i think it started just after the drop but....im starting to get attatched to this story and in the early stage's i only really react to feelsy bits....i have had the preassure of tears behind my eyes for the past two or three chapters
Forgot your apostrophes.
Eldar.
Through.
Pair.
Forgot to capitalise.
Looks.
There.
Incorrectly, one word in this case.
We're, Don.
Bags.
Mighty.
Priceless!!!!
By the Moon! Does this mean what I think it means?!