VIII – Rainbow Alone

The collapsed tower before her laid neglected in the dirt, embraced by tall grass. The dilapidated ruins were decayed, overgrown with interloping flora. Countless years of exposure to harsh weather had marred the stone walls and interior wood.

After she'd fled the small shantytown and angrily left Vincent, how long had she walked? At least the remainder of that day, plus some of the next night and, after the sun rose, a few hours after that. With how repetitive the environment was, but the energy and motivation from spite alone carried her far; she wondered if her absence hurt him. Would he care enough to wonder if she were alright? How long would she have to stay away for him to? Or would he never care at all?

Though, even as Rainbow proceeded to explore an intriguing new landmark that she had spotted earlier, she, inevitably, kept him in her thoughts. She wondered if he had ever been so far from his impromptu, improvised home. Did he know where she was? Did he have any inkling where she had gone? Again, did he care at all to even think those thoughts? It had been an unconscious whim, and when she pressed onward, she forcefully dismissed it.

Within the walls of the ruin, her hooves padded on torn, faded red carpet as she explored in her search for recent signs of occupancy or valuables to loot. The place had definitely seen better days, she internally mused as she brushed her hoof against one of the weathered stone walls. Several loose pebbles detached and clattered against the wood floor.

She picked over the corpses of destroyed furniture and used her nose to gently flip the top cover of a book. The ancient spell tome contained illegible text and unrecognizable symbols and diagrams, its weathered pages stained and crinkly. She kicked aside the remains of a broken porcelain mug carelessly, focused on her detective work.

An opulent statue stood proudly, positioned at the rear of the ruins, and absorbed sunlight. It depicted the form of a lithe unicorn mare with long, elegant legs and two curved, spiraling horns. No cutiemark. Her delicate features were eternally preserved in fine marble, blemished from sustained exposure to the unrelenting dual suns of Nowhere. Vines had long since overgrown and obfuscated the words that had been chiseled into the base.

Adjacent to the statue led a flight of winding stone stairs into dark depths incapable of being penetrated by the sunlight. She directed her gaze into the uncanny black abyss and gulped fearfully. It could be a grave, and the statue could be somepony's memorial. Surely, it would be inappropriate to desecrate such a site...

A whoosh of air behind her scared her and made her start. She glanced over her shoulder to investigate. The aged wicks of candles affixed in a gold candelabra she had previously overlooked had inexplicably ignited.

"Hello?"

Her call received no response. Cautiously, she lifted the candelabra using her healthy left wing and delved into the crevice that led beneath the surface. She held the candles aloft to illuminate where she descended. The flight of stairs spiraled as they wound deep into the earth. Sticky webs brushed against her body as she passed through strands of cobwebs. Her ears swiveled as she listened carefully, but she detected nothing but the sound of her own hoofsteps against the hard stone.

The flight of stairs led to a decrepit chamber. She swept the dim glow of her candles across the dusty stone walls. Depictions of pillars, arches, and other architectural artwork had been painstakingly engraved into the walls. They were obscured by cobwebs, clusters of unlit candles, and antique pottery. She ignited the abandoned candles as she passed with her own source of fire to create a visible trail that indicated the path to the exit.

An eerie glow that shone from the rear of a second chamber gave Rainbow pause. It was the only source of artificial light below the surface she had yet encountered. She cautiously neared to investigate.

"Wh–Whoa..." As she spotted the light's origin, the fur along her spine raised with alarm.

The glow emitted from a creature who was inert in a confining position with its form curled unnaturally. It was composed of shimmering, scintillating golden light that illuminated the altar it laid imprisoned atop. Its silhouette vaguely resembled a lithe unicorn with long legs and twin spiraling horns, but it pulsated intermittently, swirling and wavering like wispy clouds, as if a mere stiff breeze would be enough to rend its ethereal form apart. It was bound by lengths of opaque blackness that enveloped its limbs and horns.

The creature raised its head. It bore two small, shiny white orbs where eyes would have been positioned normally. "Be not afraid." The voice appeared to come from no particular source. She almost thought she had imagined it.

Rainbow hesitated as she gazed intently into the creature’s eyes. To be imprisoned, to kneel, fastened with chains, on a stone altar, for Celestia knew how long... Who deserved that? Pity welled within her. Her fear melted away, and she felt, undeniably, that they required her assistance. She trotted and ascended the stairs until she reached the final few steps, then set down her candelabra and stood before the creature. "Do you need help?"

The creature maintained persistent eye contact. Their small white orbs were intelligent and piercing, yet emotionless. Despite earnestly attempting to determine what emotions the creature felt, she couldn't conclude anything concrete.

Cautiously, she stepped forward and placed her hoof onto the altar. The black tendrils coiled tighter around the golden creature’s extremities as if emboldened by her approach. Their eyes widened. Although they were silent, Rainbow thought she saw fear in their expression. She abandoned her reservations, rushed forward and circled the creature to examine them from every angle. “How do I help? Tell me, please!”

Without guidance, she had no choice but to improvise. She placed a hoof against one of the black tendrils that bound the creature to test the strength of its grip. Immediately, in a fashion so rapid it startled her, the tendrils evaporated into smoke. The creature uncurled their form and rose. Their long, graceful legs dangled as they hovered several feet above the altar in a nonsensically defiance of gravity. "Courageous one," the voice that occupied her head purred contentedly. "Charitable one. For thy deed, a fair recompense is in due order." They bowed respectfully.

"Uhh, 'recompense'?" Rainbow echoed the unfamiliar word questioningly.

The creature was motionless and silent.

She cocked her head to the side as she examined their ethereal form. "You look like one of those angels Vincent told me about..."

“Such foolish faith we associate with not.” The creature's white orbs narrowed. “He was responsible for a tribulation. A slaughter. Ye mortal beings art alike. Humans…” The creature pronounced the unfamiliar word imprecisely. “From peculiar lands afar they hail, howbeit, their manner... art not dissimilar to our and our sisters’ erewhile we were of flesh and blood. Thou should deem fell deeds not so in the pursuit of extraordinary knowledge, no? Yet not for he, insolent one, vain one."

"I, uh... I'm sorry, I don't know. Wait, how do you know who Vincent is? You—" Rainbow intentionally cut herself off. It had occurred to her, suddenly, that when she conversed with god-like beings like Discord or the golden specter before her, traditional logic wasn't fixed and predetermined. She resolved to not dedicate too long trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. “Your sisters? Flesh and blood? What do you mean?"

“We beseech ye: ye shalt free our sisters. Four remain in this world. We fear the worst hast come to pass. Trapped, perchance. Prisoned in the earth, as we art now. Or..." The creature hesitated.

"Or what? What could be worse than that?"

The creature was silent.

“Where are they?” Rainbow nodded resolutely. "I'll try my best to help."

“It summons thee. Thou shalt hear the call.” The creature bowed. “Fare thee well, charitable one, and beware. Accoutre thyself in sapphire. May we and thou chance to meet hereafter."

Rainbow was disappointed to witness the creature vanish. The ethereal glow that emanated from their body faded, but their disappearance coincided with all of the candles scattered across the chamber igniting simultaneously.

She decided, wholeheartedly, that she had done a good deed when she decided to free the mysterious ghost-like creature. If she were in the same predicament, she would expect a stranger to help her. It seemed only natural to her.

A glint of light in the corner of her eye attracted her attention. A brilliant sapphire gem mounted in a gold setting reflected candlelight. The pendant was suspended from a gold chain as it rested, neglected, on the altar, sheltered beneath a set of ribs. A forsaken skeleton laid at the precise location the angelic creature had rose and vanished from.

"Oh..." Rainbow's ears folded sadly. "I'm sorry you were down here so long and nopony came to rescue you."

She delicately plucked the pendant and rotated it to examine it. As she observed the immaculate sapphire shine, the familiar sensation of magic within her outstretched and interweaved with magic contained within the artifact. By second-nature, she wielded the enchanted artifact in her hoof, and it glowed and emitted subtle flickers of violet haze. One of the lit candles on a corner of the altar was encompassed by a purple-and-green aura yet refused to levitate in defiance of her order.

She tilted her head to the side and frowned. "Wow, Twilight made casting spells sound easy..." She raised the pendant above her head with her wings, but, before she slipped the chain over her ears, she hesitated. The purple-and-green magical aura had been vaguely familiar, but, then, after retrospection, she identified it as the infamous appearance of dark magic.

She lowered the amulet. Despite its deceptive innocent veneer, it harbored powerful, nefarious energy. She wrestled with the prospects of abandoning the magical artifact or keeping it to use for her own purposes. By her numerous encounters with dark magic that had spanned years of her service as an Element of Harmony, she had personally witnessed its terrifying capabilities. Yet, she knew it could serve as an invaluable aid in her quest to return home if utilized properly...

In one swift motion, she lifted the pendant over her head, slipped the chain past her ears, and suspended the necklace from her neck. The chain wasn't too loose or snug. It fit perfectly.

"I'll keep it safe for you now that you're…” She gazed at the forlorn remains crumpled upon the altar, then looked up at the ceiling. “I hope that's what you'd want."