"I saw... lots of things..." Rainbow Dash muttered. She sat in the corner of the tent, her petite figure bundled tight beneath three layers of blankets. The shivers had almost vanished completely, and she stared gently out into the twilight reaches of the city beyond the canvas. "So many ponies... so many creatures... monsters and imps and sarosians and crystal ponies and changelings..." Her fuzzy ears twitched—one after the other. "I saw entire years' worth of stuff... eons." A tender gulp. "Battles. Massacres. The rise and fall of countless Dark Side civilizations..." Her eyes twinkled. "I saw light... solar flares peeking out from beyond the Penumbral edge." A heavy exhale. "I saw so many crazy... wild things... and yet I don't feel like I got any answers."
Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity sat in a ghostly curve before the mare, listening with intense expressions.
"But..." Fluttershy's ears drooped. "...you learned about what happened to Endrax, right?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "She..." The mare pulled the blanket fabric closer, sighing out her nostrils. "...she sacrificed herself to block off all entrances into the Midnight Armory. Then—to seal the deal—she put a spell on her body to... make it pretty much unbreakable." Her eyes darted across her five friends. "The only way to undo it is to reunite the pieces of her crown that she lost."
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Pinkie Pie nodded. "So those are the Shards of Endrax!"
"Right..."
"Oh, I bet they must have looked fabulous back in the day!" Rarity declared, eyelashes fluttering. "Erm..." She daintily cleared her throat. "Not to... diminish the seriousness of their present-day worth, of course."
"It's okay, Rarity..." Rainbow smiled tiredly. "According to Ariel, I've been dozing off for two weeks. I... I-I could really use listening to your fruity voice again."
"Mmmmmm..." Rarity waved a hoof, grinning slyly. "Flatter all you wish, darling."
"And them Shards..." Applejack rubbed her golden scalp as she thought aloud: "These pieces of Endrax that snapped off her noggin'... they're currently in the possession of the Three Factions of the Trinary War?"
"That's right, AJ." Rainbow Dash took a breath. "According to Abaddon's song, they must be reunited and brought back to Endrax's corpse if there's any hope of her body being moved away from the Armory's entrances."
"Well, fiddlesticks!" Applejack winced. "I guess there's just no moseyin' on into the place where the alicorns left the Harmonic Prism! I mean... not with the only keys to that there lock box bein' spread around all wild-like!"
"Ohhhhh..." Fluttershy's ghostly form drooped. "...I suppose we were silly to think it could have been that easy."
"Easy?!" Rarity shook her head. "Even without the Shards being an issue, just getting through this ghastly War to even reach the Midnight Armory sounds like a treacherous task in and of itself!" She shivered, raising a forelimb in revulsion. "Guh!"
"I just can't get over the sheer amount of foresight that Endrax must have possessed to accomplish this!" Twilight Sparkle remarked. "I mean—she had to have known that the Bloodwings—or any faction, for that matter—would have found a way to eliminate her brood and clear the way to the Sarcophagus of Ages!"
"Verlax had some pretty hefty friggin' foresight," Rainbow Dash droned. She raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "Why's Endrax's intuition so mind-boggling?"
"It isn't, really. But... Endrax still thought so far ahead! And she didn't have the same kind of preparation in song that Abaddon and her children have afforded all these eons!" Twilight Sparkle shrugged. "I used to think that the stars would align just to aid in the fate of Equestria. The more I look at things, the more I realize that fate's aligning to guide you. The Austraeoh."
"Errrrrr..." Pinkie Pie smiled, waving a hoof through Rainbow's shoulder as if to pat her. "Of course—no pressure or anything! Eheheheh..."
Rainbow sighed long and hard. "To be honest? I'm kinda numb to it all by now."
"Well, reckon that's a good thing." Applejack nodded. "Because if I were you and I had to deal with the gravity of this here 'Shard' situation—I'd wanna be numb too!"
"Jee... thanks," Rainbow gluttered.
"Yeah, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie giggle-snorted, zipping around her and flailing her forelimbs. "Make sure you don't Shard yourself! Hahaha—"
Rarity face-hoofed. "Ohhhhhh Pinkie."
"What?!" Pinkie shrugged. "Just trying to make some laughs! We've gotta have a bright side to all this, right?"
"And I appreciate it, Pinkie..." Rainbow slurred, her brow furrowing. "But the only 'bright side' is the fact that—somehow—the factions haven't stolen a piece of Endrax from one another in all the time it took for me to get my awesome butt over here."
"What would h-happen if they did?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, no doubt these shards possess deep draconian enchantment," Twilight Sparkle said. "At least they should if they can collectively undo the post-mortem spell that Endrax cast on them." She looked at the others. "As far as we can guess, each Shard could very well be empowering the respective factions who possess them... giving them newfound ways in which to wage destructive warfare."
"You mean..." Rarity leaned forward. "...such as this 'Flux' that the changelings are utilizing?"
Twilight shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe something we don't know yet. But—imagine—if any of these three sides got ahold of another faction's Shard of Endrax? Abaddon was right to spell disaster in her song; there'd very likely be a snowball effect of intensifying power until that one faction overthrew the other two, gained the last Shard, and removed Endrax's body."
Pinkie tugged at her hair. "And then got ahold of the Harmonic Prick!"
"Prism," Rarity corrected.
"That too!"
"Oh..." Fluttershy wilted. "...my."
"Hrmmmm..." Applejack tapped her chin. "...seems to me that the solution's pretty dang clear." She looked at the others. "We gotta help Rainbow fetch these Shard-thingies and get to Endrax before the rest of the factions can get ahold of the Prism!"
"What—are you serious?!" Pinkie Pie cackled. "That's suicide!"
Applejack sighed. "I said the solution was clear. I didn't say it'd be easy."
"Is there even a way for Rainbow and the Herald to slip past these horrible armies and get the Shards?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well..." Twilight looked all around the tent as she contemplated the matter. "...considering that these factions are so used to fighting each other... and in huge droves too... I suppose it's hypothetically possible for a small party like Rainbow's to slip on through and stealthily acquire something, but—"
"Twilight, let's not kid ourselves here," Pinkie Pie said. "This situation is no laughing matter!" She paused in mid-speech, the shivered. "Brrrbrrrbrrr! Listen to me! This whole situation's got me sounding like Limestone!"
"I'm afraid Pinkie's right," Rarity declared. "Why—just think of the Dark Vigil alone! They have lunar spells that are impossible to cross undetected! Need I remind you what happened when we came upon Bleak's Plummet back on the Light Side?" She gulped. "And then there're the Changelings! They're empathic by nature! They could detect us coming from miles away!"
"Could..." Fluttershy trembled as Pinkie hugged her. "...c-could we talk about something else n-now?"
"And there's no telling just what the mysterious Night Shard are capable of!" Rarity stammered. "Why—just from what Rainbow described in her vision—they sound downright impenetrable!"
"No army is without a weakness!" Twilight Sparkle frowned. "Rainbow's history with Rohbredden, Ledomare, and Chrysalis' minions should teach us of that! There's got to be a way to procure these Shards from the three Factions!"
"Yer optimism is mighty appreciated, Twilight," Applejack said. "Honestly, it is. But let's not gallop into this blindly here." She waved a forelimb. "Rainbow's just one pony."
"With five ghosty-besties!" Pinkie Pie cheered, side-nuzzling Fluttershy
Applejack rolled her eyes, albeit with a smile. "True. Granted. But..." She looked back at Twilight. "Even with the Herald, that makes us six sets of legs at best! Seven if—somehow—the death buzzard feels like taggin' along."
"I understand, AJ—"
"We already done lost Mortuana, Bard, and Axan—and that was all in just tryin' to cross the dag-blame'd edge of the world!" Applejack breathed heavily. "I want Rainbow Dash to save the world. Really, I do. But it's just so dang much to go up against. I mean... where do we even start?"
Twilight Sparkle merely bit her lip. She was at a loss for words.
As Rarity and the others began to hang their heads...
"Abaddon believes in me..."
The five ghostly mares looked at their anchor.
Rainbow Dash slowly looked up at them, hugging her blankets tighter. "...not just her, but her Children too. And Gardez. And... and..." A gulp. "Ilrifa." Her gaze hardened. "I don't know precisely what it is that they expect me to do, but everything has been set up for this moment... for when the Spark—for when I arrive to do something awesome in the right place and at the right time." She looked at Applejack. "Isn't that enough for me to go by?"
"Rainbow, sugarcube..." Applejack smiled sweetly. "I believe in you too. We all do... and we lurve ya somethin' fierce..." She sighed, and her ears drooped. "But—at the same time—we really dun wanna lose you."
The rest of the mares nodded in agreement.
With a steady voice, Rainbow Dash said, "Nopony can afford to lose me. If I'm gone... all of Urohringr is gone too. Then we've got nothing."
Silence.
"I have to figure out something," Rainbow Dash said. "I must give it a try... even if it does seem hopeless."
The girls exchanged glances.
"Where..." Fluttershy found the nerve to speak. "...where will you even start?"
Rainbow Dash breathed calmly. "First thing's first..." She pushed the blankets away and hobbled up to her hooves. "...I gotta talk to the Herald."
u w0t ponk
Read the first chapter, thought it was done and left to do other things.
Come back, see there's a new chapter and immediately get re-hyped and read it.
Two seconds after I close it out I get notified of a third.
I'm afraid to look away from the page, don't wanna miss nothin'.
They are going to need one heck of a plan to get through this one. Hopefully, the others have some good ideas.
Shards hurt.
Is it time to place bets on which of the three armies Rainbow will deal with first yet?
I am all in for the Night Shard if that's the case.
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Number one rule of Lego bricks: Don't leave them lying around.
They will multiply and gather where last you stepped, that your blood will be drawn and fill them with rage and terrible power, and they will rend you asunder 'ere the sun rises.
Glad to see you back Skirts.
I was running out of stories in my ‘Read Later’ list, and then this pops up. Ahora tengo una sonrisa en mi cara.
Prismatic horse is back! Lets see how they get through this one.
This story prepares to get moving again.
I still hold that somehow, Dash is gonna have to buddy up with one of the armies, help them acquire a second shard, then somehow steal them both, overpower the third, and make it to the sarcophagus before getting killed.
...sounds so simple on paper.
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
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I know one that's worse. tungsten d4 dice.
8755522
Lucky you. I have almost a thousand stories in my read later list.
Lets see, the Ruby crew are especially evil controlling and many faced. Literally. They would make great allies who would want to use Dash like a wet towel and dispose of her in a similar manner, blocking the enemies movements while striking. Getting in is the near impossible part, while with the exponential increase in power, getting out is just a matter of removing the surrounding geography?
The armies weakness, is their Chaos? And Dash can supply Plenty of that, even before she takes off the Necklace? Who can yell Lunar Rune triggers loudly enough? Can Kepler come up with Binary liquids, ones that on contacting Combat Changelings, cause them to undergo autocatylitic detonating conflagration etc?
Gems are crystaline materials, they have resonance energetics. If you do research its suprising just how many frequencies you find out they respond to, either full rupture, or under stress, just rupture enough. Imagine the horror on an enemies face when using a childs toy out of a cereal packet, the interfereing frequency causes their fully operational weapons to self destruct, without touching non activated devices. Thank you Arthur C Clarke for The Trigger Effect, and Captain Crunch for the Blue Box whistle.
Really wish I could think of even Any way they could continue. Trapdoor spiders could take out induvidual patrols etc, but when in groups need more like catapulted glue webs. Especially if its combustible?
Ayy we're back boys and girls
I advice asking nicely. You never know if it works until you try it!
East poneh is back, yay!
I supposed Rainbow is gonna start having Vietnam flashbacks now, is she?
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Same here! First two chapters I jumped on faster than Celestia when she sees a pile of cake, and then this friggin story updates while I'm asleep!
Eh, not really complaining though. Story is back, that's all that really matters
Yes, Rainbow has quite a challenge ahead of her, but I think they are overthinking the problem. I think she should try to approach the various armies as a non-hostile, something these armies for all of their experience have likely never encountered before. If they came together peacefully they could get into the midnight armory, but their anger blinds them to that fact. I think Rainbow is going to have to be a unifying force, a friend to all of them, to actually make it in.
Ahh, my beloved easthorsey words are back! I have missed this. A billion thanks to our author for continuing this wonderful and epic story.
I am curious to find out what the murder chickens reaction to all of this exposition will be. It's a shame she didn't get to experience the trippy story time spider venom like Rainbow did, there is no way she could have carried on denying the heralds truth after that.
Why did I have to sleep like mere mortal when this story updated
Remember, this book is all about insurmountable obstacles according to SS&E himself. Book 10 is about overcoming those obstacles and getting to the Armory, also by word of Skirts. So let’s not despair just yet. The dawn will come.
WOOOOO IT'S BACK!.....
Anyway, i sense a planning montage comin up, looking forward to it!
Actually, knowing what we know about the Night Shard/Ruby Chorus, maybe Rainbow Dash's nonlethal boner will become very handy in the future. Imagine if they go after the Lunar Remnant first and kill a few sarosians on the way. The Night Shard could suck up those souls and learn that not only is the Austraeoh here and looking to steal the shards, but they just stole the shard empowering the Remnant and now the Remnant is very weak. With a faction that has the capability to be omniscient about everything by gleaning information from those who die, the Austraeoh and the Herald stealing a shard from one of the other two factions could be exactly the Spark they need to make a move.
Honestly, I'm predicting the Ruby Chorus to be the most threatening of the three factions by the time they run on the Armory itself. Their ability to gather intelligence from the dead and just overall get stronger from killing could lead to them snowballing into a terrible force by eliminating the other factions after Rainbow steals their shards.
Talking with your companions is always a good option.
I'm Austraeoh Fact Checker and this is my favorite story in the Citadel (testing something, ignore this)
Ooo I sense a forced stealth section coming up.
Why do these things always update when I am taking a day off? Anyway, back to reading.
Don't go bringing your fancy mathematics into this.
Sounds like we need to plan a heist. And all heists include a recruiting and practice montage.
Time to get going. We've got three shards to steal and three armies to fool.
Well then. Certainly got her work cut out for her.
I wa thinking about the three factions and how they could SUSTAIN an infinite war. So far it looks like the Night Shard uses death to get stronger and changelings are changelings; they reproduce rapidly. It seemed like the sarosians would eventually expend their lunar runes though.
The shards empowering the factions would definitely explain the soul stealing Night Shard and hyper evolved changelings. Perhaps there is a way the shard is empowering the sarosians to sustain their battle.
Ooooh Applejack the newest of ghosts is feeling nervous! A little late to back out though as there's no known way back and they'd die here anyway, possibly to the rather hostile environment.
I feel confident it’ll work out in the end, but it really does seem impossible to grab all three shards. Unless Tchern would listen to reason considering Dash met Chrysalis.
Yes, talk to your friends, come up with a solution that they can all agree on. That is the first step to ending this madness.
11/17/2019
02:00 UTC
Ah I see. 2 shards means they’ll beat the other armies, get all three, then open the prism. So it takes all three got jt
As circles lie within circles, so fetch quests lie within fetch quests. Behold the journey of the Austraeoh, and layers of fetching arrayed throughout.
Yeah, this is a detailed convo we need to have.