“As a matter of fact, yes, I am responsible for the tide,” Princess Luna's voice said. “As well as the changing phases of the moon and the realm of dreams... well, at least within the vicinity of Equestria.”
“Sacré Bleu!” Sinrar gratuitously exclaimed. “A maiden of the night who can even see into a pony's dreams!” His yellow eyes narrowed. “You must know about me and the underwater field of luminescent coffee coasters, oui?”
The air above Rainbow Dash's pendant glimmered silently in the moonlight, and then: “Negatory. As I had previously stated, my dreamspells do not reach beyond the central portion of the continent upon which my sister and I dwell. However, I am quite accustomed to innumerable visions, some plain and others alarming. I doubt anything you could envision in your sleep would be of much surprise to one of my age and experience—”
“Because the world is in short supply of coffee coaster enthusiasts, and the way I see it, if one pony has a collection of such ill-sought items, then it's surely fine so long as it isn't harming any other pony.” The Professor coughed, fidgeting a bit as he positioned his weight on his cane. “...even if that collection is... n-numbering in over three hundred.” He blushed slightly. “All arranged according to thickness of cork surfacing.”
All was silent, save for the flapping of Rainbow's wings and the distant roar of the surf.
“Indeed. You have... nothing to be ashamed of, Mister—”
“Professor Sinrar!” The stallion snarled, readjusting his beret. “I don't care if you're powerful enough of a vixen to give Verlaxion's legacy a run for the money, but I'll throw my cane so far it will hit you in your tiara if you so much as mess up my title one more time!”
“I whole-heartedly acknowledge the sincerity of your position, and I apologize if I caused any offense.” The air went silent again. A few seconds later, everyone could hear the undeniable sound of Princess Luna clearing her throat, followed by: “Rainbow Dash... I... presume that you and your recent... c-companions are fully impressed by your connections with Equestria by now?”
“Uhhhhhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash looked past a visibly-wincing Twilight. Nick and Sinrar stood breathlessly at the edge of a gazebo beneath them. “You guys good?”
“Yeah.” Nick wheezed, still pale and trembling. “Gooder than good.”
“Dr. Dude?”
“I have so many questions to ask about immortality, distant cultures, the outer reaches of this universe—”
Rainbow smiled into the air. “Yeah, Your Majesty! We're good!”
“Very well then. Spike and I have compiled a comprehensive report. I think it would behoove us to go over what we've learned... albeit in a private conversation.”
“Oh. Totally. I'm down for that.” Rainbow turned to look at Twilight. “You down for that, Twi?”
“He... th-threatened... to hit Luna in the Tiara...” Twilight quietly whimpered.
“Twilight's down for that too, Luna.”
“Good. Shall we proceed?”
“Bangarang.” Rainbow smirked, then turned one last time to face Sinrar and Nick. “Hey, guys. It's been fun. Stalk you tomorrow, perhaps?” She leaned her head to the side. “I'll totally chat you two up about the west end of the plane and all that jazz. And perhaps—after comparing notes—you can help me figure out where to find the other 'Five Seeds?'”
“Oh, most certainly...” Sinrar nodded with a blank expression. “A demain.”
“What he said,” Nick slurred.
“Righto. Have a good night's sleep.” That said, she darted straight up like a blue comet. “Zoop!” Twilight blurred after her.
Sinrar exhaled, brushing his wirey orange bangs back beneath his beret. “And to think... I would live through three tsunamis to witness something this spectaculaire.” He shook his head with a wrinkly smile. “This 'Equestria' has sent us an angel, non?”
“'Princess Luna.' Hmmmmm...” Nick rubbed his chin in thought. “I'm guessing, since she's not a 'Queen,' that means she's single?” THWACK! “Ow!”
Spike's voice rang across the clouds. “Rainbow Dash, do you remember learning about 'Harmonic Acclimation?'”
Before Rainbow could even respond, Twilight blurted: “Harmonic Acclimation!” She grinned wide. “That's the Alicorn terminology for what happened to us! With the Elements—I mean... as in how they transferred their power and essences to the six of us.”
Rainbow stared lethargically at the unicorn.
Twilight blushed slightly, floating backwards with her forelimbs folded. “S-sorry. Celestia taught me all about it shortly after Luna was freed from Nightmare Moon.”
“...Rainbow Dash?” Spike's voice rang again.
“Eh-ahem...” Rainbow gazed up at the full moon. “I kinda remember it, Spike. But—thanks to Twilight here, I was filled in either way.”
“Then perhaps you might know about Harmonic Unification?”
Twilight said, “That's the hypothetical scenario in which the essences of the Six Elements are absorbed into the mortal population of the world.” She blinked, ears twitching. “But... of c-course... it never even came close to happening. Not like... ahem... it could in our lifetimes.”
“Again, Twilight,” Rainbow droned. “She's batting two for two.”
“Well, Luna suggested we scour the Canterlot Archives about this topic. Book writing—after all—began long before most of the alicorns who had settled on this plane died off. Back then... uhhh... Celestia and Luna were pretty young, and some things just commit to memory better on paper than in a Princess' head.”
“Spike is quite right, Rainbow Dash, Twilight,” Luna's voice spoke up. “Even if I hadn't been encumbered with a thousand years of evil possession, I shudder to say that not all details easily present themselves to my waking mind.”
“But... y'know...” Rainbow's brow furrowed. “Did you discover anything?”
“That we did!” Spike's voice gleefully said. “According to the ancient Alicorns, the Elements of Harmony were brought over with them to this world from the Harmonic Plains.”
“Like all essences that come from the Harmonic Plains, the Elements can never perish,” Luna said. “Celestia and myself—although born immortal—are bound to succumb to death so long as we dwell beyond the reach of the Plains. This is the fate that our relatives who came here suffered. They chose to sacrifice their eternal existences in order to maintain harmony in this pocket of chaotic space.”
“That was very noble of the two of you,” Twilight said, smiling delicately. “I've always admired Celestia for such courage and selflessness. The same goes for you, Luna.” She noted at Rainbow.
Rainbow said, “Twilight says she thinks that's pretty dope!” While the unicorn face-hoofed, she continued: “But the Elements were destroyed! I saw it happen! Spike saw it happen!”
“You're right, Rainbow,” Spike said. “All of the Elements were destroyed... all but one...”
Twilight gasped. “The Element of Loyalty!”
Rainbow brushed a hoof over her necklace. “So... uh... so what does that matter, exactly?”
“Simply that fate would not have allowed for all six to be destroyed,” Luna said. “Despite Harmonic Acclimation, Harmonic Unification must inevitably happen. To accomplish this, the Essences of the Five destroyed Elements had to go somewhere.”
“Into your pendant, Rainbow...” Twilight stammered.
“So... like... into the Element of Loyalty?” Rainbow remarked, blinking.
“Affirmative.”
“Wait a second, Luna, are you telling me that... that this isn't just Loyalty anymore?” Rainbow's voice cracked. “What I'm actually wearing is all Six Elements around my neck?!”
“It... is a great deal more difficult to explain than that, my little pony.”
Spike spoke up: “When the Elements... uh... blew up... they were no longer empowered by themselves alone. Because of Harmonic Acclimation, their energy was shared by the Bearers.”
“You mean me and my friends.”
“Right. And since the Elements could not be destroyed...”
“The souls of my friends...” Rainbow blinked. “...Twilight. Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie. Rarity...” She fumbled to speak the next three syllables.
“They had to go somewhere, Rainbow Dash,” Luna's voice said. “And there was one vessel nearby... a vessel contained in two halves.”
Rainbow gulped. “The Element of Loyalty... and me”
“Rainbow...” Spike's voice spoke up, although in a grave tone. “Do you remember what you did to Discord right after what happened to your friends?”
Twilight shuddered, gazing down at the starlit cloudtops below.
Rainbow sighed. “...are you gonna ask me next if I think that water is wet, Spike?”
“For serious, Rainbow. How is it—do you think—that you on your lonesome were capable of turning Discord to stone?”
“I dunno... I just...” The pegasus shrugged. “...figured I was really really pissed off.”
“The Elements were needed to imprison him back in stone again. So how could the Element of Loyalty have accomplished that on its lonesome?”
Rainbow bit her lip. “Unless... it wasn't just the Element of Loyalty?”
“You see where we're going with this? The Elements couldn't die. When you put on the Element of Loyalty, you became the bearer of all of them... and they all became part of you.”
“But... if the Elements can't be destroyed... and—cuz of Harmonic Acclimation—the bearers are attached to them...”
“The souls of your dear friends live on, Rainbow,” Luna said. “At least, that is what we've concluded after our studies.”
“Can it really be true...?” Twilight murmured.
“But... but...” Rainbow grimaced. “How can that even make sense?! Why haven't I seen them all this time?! Why have they disappeared on me?!”
“There are a lot of things that do not make sense, child,” Luna said. “Perhaps you might recall how terribly shocked my sister and I were when we witnessed the self-destruction that the Harmonic Spell had wrought on your fellow companions in Ponyville.”
Rainbow exhaled heavily, gazing aside. “Yeah. I... remember some things...”
“That day was a terrible tragedy that we will never forget. However... it has always struck us as innately peculiar. There is nothing in our written records that can explain why any artifacts carried here from the Harmonic Plain would do such a destructive thing.” Luna's voice paused to breath. “Unless...”
Twilight's ears perked up.
“Unless...?” Rainbow leaned forward. “Unless what?”
“You encountered Twilight Sparkle—even rejuvenated her from spectral limbo—on account of pursuing and making contact with the so-called 'Yaerfaerda' symbol, yes?”
“Right.” Rainbow nodded. “The beacon in the Tower brought her back... pr-pretty much.”
“Rainbow Dash, when Celestia and I came across this plane—along with our equals—none of us had any concept of mortality, much less the devices of this realm that you have single-hoofedly discovered through your adventurous travels. It would appear that there is more to this 'Urohringr' than even an immortal lifetime of observation can discern. There is reason to believe that the Elements of Harmony—grown to function in a specific way along the Harmonic Plains—might, in fact, have a different function here in this world. Perhaps even a greater function.”
“A greater function?” Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. “Like what?”
“That is a very good question indeed. It is no secret to you that this world is dying.”
Rainbow nodded, gazing aside at Twilight. “Nor is it a secret to Axan...”
“Mortals such as yourself may not be capable of perceiving it, but this realm has been headed to ruin for a very long time. If it's true that this plane is a severed part of a greater whole, than that might explain its rapid expiration. There is intelligence and creativity at work in this realm's underlying foundation. If one were to compare the world to—say—a living organism, then while it stands to perish... it may also have a means to heal itself.”
“And... a-and...” Rainbow tilted her head aside to Twilight.
The unicorn thought aloud: “Harmony is what it's chosen to fix itself...”
Rainbow gazed up. “You mean that Harmony is Urohringr's repair kit, Luna?!?”
“That's a crude way of putting it. Quite possibly.”
“Then... wh-what does it have to do with us?” Rainbow pointed at herself and Twilight. “Me and the spirit of my friends, that is...?”
Spike spoke up: “Rainbow, think about it. Imagine, for a moment, that this plane is a machine... an intelligent machine. And imagine that it's built to fix itself in the event that it goes kablooie.”
“Or if a bunch of evil prehistoric pegasi rip it apart,” Rainbow muttered.
“Whatever. Let's say that this machine has zeroed in on the most powerful energy source situated on the whole plain... even if it's an energy source that wasn't there before.”
“The Elements of Harmony,” Twilight said.
“Luna and I think that what the world needs at this point—separated so far from all of its other pieces—is the Elements of Harmony.”
“And what does... er... the 'world' intend to do with them?”
“I... I don't really know. But Rainbow... think... if the forces at work with Urohringr want the Elements to do something, then they can't grab the Elements on their own. They gotta empower something to gather them together.”
Rainbow exhaled. “Austraeoh...” She gulped. “But... but why friggin' destroy the Elements in the first place?!”
“It is all speculatory at this point, Rainbow,” Luna said. “But, assuming that the fate of Austraeoh is indeed to reunite the Elements—the very same Elements that you currently possess in essence—then, in accordance with the ancient alicorn texts, there is only one means through which to manifest their power and return to the original point of Harmonic Acclimation.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “The Harmonic Prism...”
“Precisely...”
Please try. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!
It's always fruit basket. Always. . .
Ps: They are souls. I called it. Heh.
Yay, I was hoping for this!
suck it zaid i was right
Nick is practically the embodiment of Swan Song. Well, except that he tries to ship with himself.
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
So the Prism could potentially distill the others from Rainbow Dash?
5875234
It's alright, I don't tend to be bogged down by inconsequential things such as update times.
Wow, that's a lot of magibabble.
This chapter is glorious, and really spells out a lot of what has been theory for a long time. Midnight Circuit Breaker.
5875223 He may get the opportunity to hit a dragon with it...
GO RAINBOW
GET YOUR FRIENDS BACK FROM THE DARKNESS
Alright, we've had our chapter of exposition. Back to the filler we go! /s
But seriously, it's amazing how the dots come together like this. It's suddenly not so strange that this will take 12 books.
You know, the more I read the more and more Discord's lines become hauntingly relevant.
5875267
I need that.
I also need him to beat the shit out of natives and banks so I can continue calling him Dr. Andrew Jackson.
th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2014/246/d/2/andrew_jackson__1_by_davidrapozaart-d7xt14i.jpg
This is fanart. Of a U.S. president. Why does this exist.
Interesting theory on the ring in this chapter. That makes me wonder if the prism can also bring back the bodies of the other element bearers since reassembling the ring probably takes a great deal of magical energy. If thats true then they just need to journey back to Equestria from the Midnight Armory (12-6 books after these 12 :p).
5875267 WHACK
So Nick is the new Zaid, except instead of a cultist with a constant case of the munchies, he's a perverted student.
Oh snap. mid-day chapter, and a gloriously expository one at that. This reminds me of cellular automata like John Conway's "Game of Life" where there are complex patterns that arise and can heal themselves and stuff.
The girls were "killed" so they could help Rainbow on her journey. Friggin' called it!
thirty pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
If Professor Sinrar managed that shot with his cane I would be forced to worship him for the greatest trickshot of all time.
5875335
I'd call him a pretty normal college student. He seems a lot less constantly blazed than most of my buddies.
But what will happen when the elements reach the midnight armory? Reunification of Urohringr? If it's dying because it's in pieces, then the natural solution is for it to become whole again. I'm guessing the midnight armory might be like a control station for the ring, and the elements are going to be the power or key to using it.
5875311
I was mentioning something along those lines last chapter, I think. Everything is one wheel.
All signs point to Rainbow Dash fixing Urohringr. But what would that do to the denizens of the dark side?
5875351 Speculation at this point, not confirmed. Nor has any reason been provided why all six could not have made the journey east. That one or more of them might have gotten killed is not an answer, because they'd be no worse off than they are now.
I just hope not, that after all the further advenures of those who are yet to be chosen, for the Harmonic Prism to activate, Spike turns out to be Abalamahalamatandra.
This expository info dump raises some questions. Couldn't this "intelligent" machine world have made it easier by providing a direct path to the Midnight Armory on the opposite side from Equestria? But let's assume that wasn't physically possible.
Another question concerns Commander Hurricane. She did not have the Elements with her. That would make her journey as the Austraeoh pointless, if all of this is correct.
Then there's the Harmonic Acclimation. If Twilight and the other four could not be destroyed, then neither can Rainbow Dash. We've seen this already, in the sense that she refuses to stay dead, but it always takes a transformation into a chaos monster to effect her revival. And if she can't be destroyed, then what, exactly, would happen to her if the pendant is removed and never put back on?
5875353
I'd call hacks.
Hmmm,
So worst case, Elements are power source of the ring and have to stay at the Midnight Armory. Maybe even forcing Dash to sacrifice herself to save the plane. Very IC ending.
Or best case, used to reunite the planes to complete ring, turning RD to dust. Elements get returned after reunification, resurrecting the main 6. ::Fingers crossed:: as Alicorns.
Bonus: Rainbow meets up with Roarke again and team up to check out the now complete ring. Spreading harmony and whop ass as they go. I can only hope.
5875393
Because they're on the clock. The world is dying—at an accelerated rate, I think it was said at some point—and Dash needs to flip 5875265's Midnight Circuit Breaker rickey-tick. How far along do you really think she'd be if she had to lug around the rest of the girls? Fluttershy alone probably would have her at around Darkstine by this point.
5875452 But they'd also have the Elements with them, and be able to use them. That would come in handy when confronting chaos monsters and chaos infected Divines. And, less face it, Dash is not the best diplomat. It's not at all clear the others would be more of a hindrance than a help. And, yes, the clock is ticking, but it's been established that centuries remained; it's not ticking that fast.
One could argue that the Machine World is so intelligent, that it computed the odds and decided the other five had to be killed now to make it work. Then why the heck did it arrange for Commander Hurricane to journey east without the Elements? We can't fall into the trap of thinking the machines are omniscient or omnipotent.
The bottom line is that no in-story rational has been provided. What has been said has been said as speculation by characters who do not know what is really going on.
Coffee coaster collection, that's a new one.
5875448
Across the map no scope? Definitely hacks
So if Luna & Spike are right, the piles of ashes were the slag left over after the Elements and the Bearers were condensed into a compact package for portability and easy application upon arrival at the Harmonic Prism?
Now taking bets on whether it will drain them or convert them into gods of the
earthbroken-ringworld.'then'
Riiiiiiiight.
what the hell, Nick? lol! xD
Rainbow Dash Repairs Urohringr.
This only fuels my crazy theory from the previous chapter.
5875414
Maybe the machine needs to be booted up gradually, sector by sector or flame by flame.
Then at the end the operating system is loaded. (the Harmonic Prism)
5875965 That's a possibility.
But strictly speaking, the Harmonic Prism is not part of the machine world. It was brought by the alicorns.
Nice... That's gonna keep us running for quite a while. WE HAVE AN ENDGAME OBJECTIVE!
5875499 There's also the possibility that the events that RD has encountered over her journey would have emotionally broken some of the other girls. Twilight had a breakdown after just hearing about what happened in Darkstine, I'm not sure she would have been able to cope if she had been through things like that Silvadel, or Lerris in person.
5873529 You're British? I American't believe it!
After over a month of reading, I have finally caught up.
I think the reason that RD had to make the journey is simply because she was away from the area at the time, if she had been there instead of one of the other girls it would have been that one. If all of them had been it likely would have been Twilight instead.
Learning a whole lot of neat stuff in this chaper for sure.
5876247
Maybe that's true, though I point out Dash was traumatized also, starting with their deaths, and grew because of it.
Regardless, how did a potential future retroactively cause their deaths so as to prevent that psychological trauma from happening? I still claim no in-story explanation has been provided.
It seems very much
like nobody has nearly enough information
to be making these guesses.
I am basically just going to accept this stuff based on the idea that it is from-author exposition.
Twilight Sparkle, spiritual encyclopedia.
...now I can't help but picture her as Librom from Soul Sacrifice.
A snarky living book.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
5875414 Well, if Rainbow died and her element was removed, then she'd just rampage as a chaos beast until the end of time? She'd be constantly coming back to life as the most dangerous immortal monster ever. Then like, 200 years later, if the plane hadn't already crumbled by that point, someone happens to put the element back on her and she's fine. Not that this will happen, but I'm guessing that's the hypothetical scenario.
Funny how it works.
My thought went in the direction that Austraeoh, as in Rainbow Dash, always had some sort of connection to the Machine world. Nopony knew about it, as there was no way or need to test it. That came from her likely ancestor commander Hurricane and all that.
Then, with the Nightmare Moon incident, she also became the element of Loyalty, which is new. The power of harmony, with great potential. Sure, it has been there before, but now Dash basicaly became an interface and link between the old Urohringr powers and the imported powers of harmony. This combination then sparked the process we see in these stories.
Kinda like an US/EU electrical power grid convertor or something.
Just the constant symbolism of 6es throws a wrench in this hypothesis, unless both powers have similar principles.
Also, Sinrar's cane probably gets more use then ever. I really like the "thwack" sound effect.
He might have a better chance of hitting Luna's tiara if she met him halfway and chuked her tiara at him.
Nick continues hitting on, and then getting hit.
(Wow, I get weird thoughts in the morning )
5876514 The puzzle pieces seem to fit together best to me with the idea of an omniscient entity guiding Dash and influencing events. Since the Austraeoh prophecy was accurate enough to predict Dash meeting up with Belle and Pilate I'd say it's plausible that something or somebody knows a good bit about Dash's future.
I agree with you though about the lack of concrete evidence. I'm guessing we'll probably be speculating for awhile until Dash can have a more in depth conversation with the being that is appearing in her visions
5875414
The ring world is on life support due to breaking up. It can and gives Rainbow Dash energy to keep going and prevent the chaos in her from taking over in the form of the red flames. Now as Rainbow keeps collecting flames if she does so again (its been a while since we've seen one collected) the rest of the machine world in the ring should start to work as we have read in earlier books when Shell was starting to chase the Jurists. This could be temporary due to the element of harmony acting like a mini prism (power supply) its self and the machines near by only working while she is near by or something else.
Rainbow Dash still has spells where the chaos in her tries to take over, they aren't as frequent since its been a while since the last one in the blighted sea but, they do seem to incapacitate her longer. With her friends in her amulet would freeing them or making the dizzy spells get stronger or go away?
This is the biggest most epic story I have ever read.
This is genius-level writing.
5876932
Ehh... from an objective standpoint, the mechanical quality is average for fanfiction and there's errors quite often.
But if you're in perspective, he does update every day and probably doesn't spend so much time, if at all, with an editor.
And, of course, its planning is off the charts.
So, yes, it's a pretty good story.
5876514
Actually, I think that supports Jake's theory — Rainbow was able to recover from things like Lerris because the deaths of her friends had hardened her.
5875414
We don't exactly need a repeat of the Nightmare Moon incident...
As for Commander Hurricane, it's possible her task may not have had any deeper meaning than getting Stratopolis as far away from civilization as possible. After all, repairing the Urohringr wasn't as urgent then as it is now.
5875449
Ending theory: Rainbow Dash successfully repairs the Urohringr and revives the Mane Six (including herself), but is then stuck on the Dark Side with them, since the gaps between the fragments are gone, leaving no way back. It also ends with Dash and AJ cuddling.