Light Your Way
Into the shadows of falling night, Bellesmith stumbled, alone and breathless. Even if she could see the path ahead of her, her sight would likely be blurred by the myriad of tears flowing out from her chestnut brown eyes. She sobbed openly, allowing her wailing voice to be carried in the cold winds blurring over the grassy Ledomaritan countryside.
She tilted her head up, lips quivering, and spied the stars flexing and spinning above her. Between blinks, she saw another life through a rosy-colored lens, filled with warm colorful faces, bright skies, merry songs, and friendly laughter.
She had lived between the ghostly parentheses of Rainbow Dash's past. Not once did Belle think that she'd ever truly relate to the daring pegasus' present.
Nevertheless, she closed her eyes, blissfully drowning herself in those colors. She imagined a mysterious land named Equestria, a place where ponies lived in harmony with nature, instead of warring murderously with one another. How odd it seemed that a place with such peace and tranquility could exist; how much more appropriate it was that such a thing would forever be alien to her, just as it had become alien to Rainbow Dash herself.
For a moment, she flew—just like the pegasus. However, when Belle's eyes reopened, she remembered that she didn't have any wings, so there was nothing to save her as she plunged blindly over the sharp edge of a steep hill.
"Ah!" Belle shrieked. The stars were apathetic to her resulting tumble. She rolled and spun and veritably cartwheeled downhill, finishing only when her body bumped brusquely into a dune of shifting soil. As soon as she came to a stop, the unclasped pouch of her saddlebag flew open.
Stirring painfully, Belle slowly sat up. She gazed down at the multiple contents lying in disarray. They were not her things, but they belonged to a lifeless phantom nonetheless. She picked up one artifact after another, imagining Rainbow Dash's hooves having grazed the surfaces of the objects on dozens if not hundreds of occasions. She sighed when she folded the shredded remnants of a canvas blanket. She cracked a weak smile as she balanced a fragile pair of goggles in her hooves.
Then... her forelimbs cradled a book. From the touch of its rough texture, she knew without looking that the binding was dark green. However, the other haunted memories attached to the object were flimsy, fading away with each millisecond. She wasn't sure what motivated her, but she dared herself to open the book in trembling hooves.
The first of several glossy faces stared at her. She knew that the friendly ponies were bright and colorful, but it was too dark under the Ledomaritan sky to see so much as a single hue. Instead, every image of every face flickered beneath her in monochromatic haze, and when she flipped through the pages in rapid fashion, they resembled black and white stripes.
That was when she utterly collapsed. Belle hugged the book to her chest, hyperventilated, and sobbed until the tears soaked every end of her golden face. She cried until the pain had risen out of her lungs and burned its way into her throat and mouth, reminding her of the lips she would never again have the grace of touching, of the voice that would no longer whisper lovingly into her ears.
Several minutes passed, and her body had begun rocking, attempting to shake loose the dead past that belonged to her and Rainbow Dash all the same. It was exhaustion that persuaded her—and not sorrow—to finally relinquish hold of the book. So, with gentle grace, she reached back, opened the saddlebag, and slid the book in.
Belle froze.
Something inside the saddlebag was glowing.
A breath escaped her, the first solid exhale since she had begun sobbing like a lost little filly. She jabbed a hoof in and pulled out what turned out to be another book. This tome was also familiar, though it did not belong to Rainbow Dash—much less any pony—until just recently.
It was the ancient item that Belle's friend had grabbed from the pegasus skeleton deep in the cave just west of Foxtaur, though Belle was at a lost to recognize it. The binding was glowing, more specifically: a single symbol was growing. To Belle's studious eyes, it appeared to be a curved lantern shape with half the body of a solar crest on the top, separated by a jagged line in the center from a segmented crest on the bottom. She remembered the symbol from one of Pilate's many studies, only now it was glowing with bright, lavender luminescence.
"What... is this...?"
She tilted it higher, as if the starlight could somehow intensify the phenomenon better. To her surprise, the lavender glow dissipated.
"Huh?"
She lowered the book back, and she saw the symbol glowing again. Belle blinked, then resorted to pivoting the book left and right. She found that when she was aiming the book northeast, the symbol glowed the brightest, as if with some divine purpose.
Her brow furrowed, Belle glanced up towards the northeast horizon.
At first, she thought that she was staring at the dark outline of mountains in the haze of the Milky Way. But, as lights appeared in the heights of it—including several that were floating—she realized that it could only be the same urban sprawl that she had seen during her captive flight there.
"A maretropolis..." She thought aloud. She gulped. "Blue Nova. It has to be."
She glanced at the distant shape on the horizon, then back at the lavender resonance of the book in her grasp.
"What... in spark's name could be so important there?"
Several seconds passed. A minute. Three minutes.
There was no more time to sob, think, or doubt. With a tight-jawed expression, Bellesmith slid the book back into her saddlebag, stood up, and began trotting briskly forward, cutting a willful path through the darkness, heading towards the city on the horizon...
And towards purpose...
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And towards adventure!!!!!
I really like Bellesmith, she's adventurous but also very level headed
Ah, so now Twilight is helping Belle, too. Would this be because of her mental connection with Dashie, or simply because Eljunbyro has yet to fulfill her purpose? I know this has yet to be specifically stated, but I'm thinking that the girls are not truly "dead," merely transformed by Harmony, dissolved into the aether so that Dashie could perform her task as Austreogh. Yet another cold, yet needed, sacrifice for the greater good. That this whole phenomenon isn't just some random magical effect, but that the girls are consciously aiding Dashie from beyond the veil, watching over her. She is never truly alone.
I'm tired, so I'm being uncreative. Fifty pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Lavender glow/Twilight is back! I'm guessing another entrance to the machine is in Blue Nova?
dun dun dunnnn!!!
this is a very exciting fic ever! :D
This is freaky. Belle's about to go it alone in the wilderness to reach a destination.
A potentially life threatening journey in which she'll have to learn wilderness survival or die...just as I'm about to start playing the new Tomb Raider and help Lara do the same....that timing.
Welp, I guess I'm getting dragged into the story via narrative fiat. I am okay with this.
How is it you came up with "maretropolis", but not "maretriarchy"?
2269843
I may sound like a slowpoke, but what does ):( mean?
2270285
Imploding Colon.
):(
Dur-Hur, im funneh.
Is there a previous chapter that shows that the lavender glow is Twilight? I only remember it leading Rainbow Dash towards those weird machines. Whether it's Twilight or not, it's interesting that it's reacting to Belle now. We've previously only seen it with Rainbow Dash, so I'm thinking this might have something to do with Belle's role in helping Dash complete her journey. Let's just hope that city she ends up in is safe for her...
Oooh, this feeds into what Axan talked about in Austraeoh. Purpose. She said purpose was fading, and I theorised that the lavender light was Purpose, or linked to it. Now this. Hopefully some light will be shed on this facet of The Journey of the Spark, soon.
Also, we have a name for the symbol at least
It must be Innavedr.
So now the symbol is acting as a divining rod... Looks like Dashie's friends have deemed Bellesmith worthy of their assistance. Or the machine has. I'm not really sure where the phenomenon comes from. Whatever it is, Belle has earned its trust, which can only be a step in the right direction.
You are always alone on your trek through the wilderness. At the same time you are never alone. This dichotomy works well for Belle here having the light and RDs memories.
If Belle is headed to Blue Nova, along with Shell, probably Pilate, and hopefully Dash and Roarke, I get the feeling that this "reunion" is going to happen there. And it's probably going to be violent.
2270513 And soon.
Blue Shelf is the place to be, eh?
Quest marker added: Get your ass to Blue Nova.
Way to update while I was sleeping, IC.
Other than that, I was beginning to wonder about that book that Dash found in the cave before Eljunbyro ended. I guess Bell can use it as a compass of some sorts to find her friends again.
2270614
Knowing IC, I highly doubt that.
2270804 I meant in the in-story timeline.
But yeah, good point.
2270319
The "black and white stripes" scene just about killed me.
Great job, Scolon.
Also:
Should be "glowing."
2270417
I have postulated in the past that the lavender light represents Twilight, by also representing the path and purpose of "the spark," a title Twilight used to hold. Consider the world is a giant machine, and consider that said machine provides power. Instead of electricity, this machine produces harmony, which produces habitable space. When the alicorns of old discovered the machine, they discovered that they were unable to truly power all of it, and were forced to chose a light and dark portion of the world, harmony and chaos. Somewhere along the line, the machine stopped providing power again, and because of the large scale involved, we are only now seeing the ripple effect of its shutdown. The further east Dash ventures, the more disharmonious the ponies are, the more strife and struggle there is.
Equestria, the furthest from the Midnight Armory, has felt the least of the effects, the only manifestation being Discord's return. Windthorw was relatively pony-like and harmonious, affected by different loyalties, but mostly by the chaos strips. The text described those as opening a portal to another dimension, but I will construe that to mean it opened up a portal to the dark side of the world, something only attainable because of the weakening force of harmony. Further east is Darkstine, once harmonious but then grappled by industry until their literal machine manifestation failed. It is here we can discern the foreshadow and the global effect, as well as make supported claims about Dash's purpose.
Dash restarted Darkstine's portion of the machine, and in doing so was able to end a violent rift in their society. Rainbow accomplished this task by following the lavender light, i.e. a guide to providing a literal spark. Additionally, note that Darkstine had been on the harmonious decline for between 20 and 100 years, based on what is learned later in Silvadel. That is much longer than the plagues of Windthrow.
Once we reach Silvadel, we're dealing with a community destroyed by Axan and the dragons, beset by violence and malevolence for a century. It is here Axan literally states she sees the end coming, she sees the spark is gone, and the world is dying (read: the machine is no longer providing harmony/power). In the last moments of that story, Axan realizes Rainbow is the spark that's missing, and proceeds to help her on her journey. Of course, Ledomare brings us some of the most deeply rooted chaos and disharmony to date, with the entire region affected deeply by mistrust, war, and political power grabs. The closer to the Armory, the longer the machine hasn't been powering the area, the more disharmony.
Rainbow's quest is the continuation of her Equestria based one: to bring harmony to the world. With the disappearance of the other bearers, it is up to Rainbow to carry the spark, and each element of harmony, to the Armory in order to literally restart the machine. The lavender light is a manifestation of this quest, which we now know isn't strictly limited to the previous bearers of harmony, nor to Rainbow by herself. It is a quest with many parts, many ponies, and many examples of not just bringing harmony, but living it.
How do you even follow up that long of a comment?
2271015 Makes sense. Thank you for explaining it to me.
TO THE NORTHEAST.
I the feeling they're also going to meet... Was it Kera? From the first chapter. That little foal.
2271261
Further Up and Further In!
This is Australia...
Wow... Deep comments and an even deeper storyline...
2271015
This clarifies so much. I'm keeping up with too many stories to get a comment this deep out.
-On a different note
I feel like our new farmers friends are going to have their turn again in the next couple of chapters. Perhaps Belle will stumble upon their farm on the way, unless it's in the opposite direction. I believe they had a phobia of Unicorns, or something similar.
Adventure!
2270319
and this whole time, i took it to be angry drill-sergeant face.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So all feels aside, this chapter was quite interesting. First off, we've already established that the Lavender Light represents the Element of Magic, the Spark, and Twilight Sparkle. In the past, it has always appeared to Austraeoh and helped guide her, and has been seen by no one else. Here, I can explain the event by saying that the Light has appeared to Eljunbyro to guide her to what she wants - Pilate. Hopefully those two will meet up in Blue Nova before Floydien slips up and gets Pilate killed by the Ledomaritans.
Also, we now have the third symbol. Innavedr. I already stated in Eljunbyro that I believed the symbol represented the two halves of the plane, and I gave my reasons why, so I won't repeat them. I just wanted to say that it doesn't seem likely that Innavedr will have a pony counterpart. (I.E. Austraeoh-Dash, Eljunbyro-Belle.) If it does, however, it'll probably be that Xonan filly hiding in Blue Nova. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but, frankly, the new mobile version of FimFiction sucks. You need to test it on mobile for yourselves...
well. Honeytiger us not surprised, lavender light is twilight and twilight would totally live in a book.
Strangely fitting for this chapter, I think, despite that fact that it has a pretty upbeat tone.
And dang, apparently Dash isn't the only one who has Lavender Light powers. Hopefully everyone will get the memo and meet up in this Blue Nova place. Welp, off to the next chappie - onward!
2269843 I get the nagging feeling that the lavender light does NOT represent Twilight, not even the Element of Magic. The events of this chapter actually reassure me in this opinion: if it were Magic, it would be connected to Rainbow and Rainbow alone - as both Twilight and her Element have officially ceased existing. But now it's not only Dash who's seeing things, and the book his guiding Belle away from her. I think there is some greater power at work, maybe the Austraeoh, maybe Discord, an Alicorn or even fate itself. If the symbol really represents the two sides of the world, I am certain that there are greater things at work here than Twilight Sparkle.
2293975
I never got the chance to see the symbol when IC posted the pic on 125 of Eljunbyro. My computer, for one reason or another, blocked the image. Is there another link somewhere where I can get a look at it?
>though Belle was at a lost to recognize it
Do you mean "loss"?
Remember how Dash lost her lavender light?
The light will lead her to Dash in the end. 
Eljunbyro has it now.
ONwards, to destiny!
Also, my feels hurt.
-Spirit
2271015
Please take all my likes. Very good summary of the greater story up til this point.
I really like this sentence, if it is also a reference to Rainbow Dash's eye color.
You know, it would have been smart to have someone with you when you decide to travel to some distant city.
Purpose has been given! I'm not too savvy on what that book could mean, but it has to lead to somewhere important. Also, BELLE FUCKING TAKE PHOENIX WITH YOU WHAT YOU DOING BELLE STAHP.
Entry I:
I can see a light in the distance calling me. It's purple.
The hour, however, grows late. I must make camp and hope it is still visible come the morrow.
Equus confirmed for being within our realm
I'm going to go ahead and jump on the lavender light is Twilight and the lavender light means purpose bandwagons. Purpose easily makes more sense, but Belle was connected to Dash mentally for so long and intensely that she thought she was Dash for a bit. That being said, I don't think its too far of a stretch to say that due to the extreme mental connection, Twilight/mane 5 would help Belle out or at least be visible by Belle. Of course, if Phoenix or someone else sees it, it would be harder to justify (though I do have my philosophy for it should that eventuality arise.)
And the Myth Arc advances.
Belle's on a mission. A mission from a book found in a cave. She's going to blue nova to kiss Pilate and kick flank....and she's all out of Pilate.
In all seriousness though, I think she'll end up meeting that Xonan filly.
A lavender glow, eh?