Rainbow Dash's ghostly friends looked on in curious silence as the petite pegasus paced left and right before an immense glass display. She had been escorted by Merula and her arachnid companions to a lower platform. There, a large round building resided, open on all four sides. Inside its domed structure, a diorama had been erected, depicting topographical lines marked by ancient cryptic symbols, some familiar but most not.
"I can't believe it," Twilight Sparkle murmured. "An actual map..." She grinned wide, her ghostly horn shimmering. "A map of the Curve!"
"Shhhh!" Rarity insisted, hovering closer. She looked in the direction of the jumping spider situated atop the gigantic tunnel-weaver. "Twilight, honestly! Let's listen and learn, darling..."
Merula was still speaking: "The Children of Abaddon used to cover all portions of the plane, from edge to edge. In this era—the days of Winter—we have been forced to retreat back to the Eternal Poet's nest, situated here upon the edge of the Threshhold."
"The Threshhold?" Rainbow Dash remarked, her eyes glued to the translucent cartography as she drifted left and right.
"It is the term most commonly used—both in Penumbral and in Song—referring to the vastly uninhabitable periphery of this plane. In this portion of the world, life is scarce. Chaotic constructs roam in abundance, and the great Earth Eater roams the arid reaches."
"'Great Earth Eater', you say..."
Merula's abdomen vibrated the strings. "Further into the center from this point, wildlife thrives in great abundance, and creatures of chaos are consistently subdued by intense competition with each other. It is a perilous environment, yet manageable. How you and your mortal companions were capable of surviving the arid reaches without starving or surrendering to madness is a triumph attributable to Austraeoh's tenacity, and certainly worthy of Song."
"Well, if you say so..." Rainbow Dash smirked devilishly. "I kinda feel more like screaming myself."
"Why is that, oh Spark?" Merula's forelimbs shifted. "Are you in pain? Have you inhaled an acidic agent?"
"No, it's just another—" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Let's just stick to the questions and answers, mmmmkay?"
"Indeed."
Rainbow turned to gaze at the jumping spider sitting atop its makeshift throne of silk. "You said that you and the rest of Abaddon's children had to retreat here? To this city?"
"That is affirmative."
"How come?"
"The conflict over the Sarcophagus of Ages grew too erratic and dangerous for us to sustain the chorus across the full length of the plane," Merula explained. "Even before the Bloodwings hunted us down to near extinction, we were chased out from the center by the Ruby Song. Further incursions by the Keepers of the Flux forced us even further towards the Thresshold."
"The 'Keepers of the Flux...'" Rainbow Dash cocked her head to the side. "They're changelings, right?"
"I think that's rather obvious by now, sugarcube," Applejack said.
Merula nevertheless answered: "They indeed are capable of much deceit—both physically and emotionally. While the Bloodwings rely on brutal tenacity and the Night Shard exert control through sheer power, the Keepers have mostly depended on excessive reproduction and adaptation to match the forces of their nemeses. Only recently did they come upon the Flux—and they utilized the abduction of several of Abaddon's children to accomplish it."
"Just... what is the 'Flux?'"
The violin strings in the distance took on a deep, foreboding tone. "A new form of metamorphosis. The Keepers have always been borrowing the genetic constructs of countless living things in order to enrich their breeding. For years and years, the Children of Abaddon sought to keep the Song Maker's blood safe from their tampering claws. In the last few revolutions, we have failed. We believe this has assisted in the biological breakthrough that has allowed the Keepers to advance on the Sarcophagus with such fervor as of late."
"Rainbow..." Twilight looked at their anchor. "Remember the changeling that you found in Darkreach?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie hissed, nodding. "It could split apart and come back together and turn into liquids and gases and explode and stuff!"
"The changelings on the Light Side weren't that gifted, were they?" Fluttershy said.
Rainbow nodded, merely acknowledging what her friends had said. Eventually, she turned towards Merula and spoke: "Sounds like you guys have been herded into a virtual hole by three separate armies. Yeah, it sucks that the changelings eventually took advantage of you, but it's a pretty dang impressive feat that you've survived as long as you have... protecting your Queen of Song, no less."
Merula's abdomen shook vibrantly. "How were you aware that Abaddon was titled the 'Queen of Song?'"
Rarity and Fluttershy smirked.
"Uhhhh... lucky guess?" Rainbow gestured at a noticeably large circle situated towards one edge of the glass map. "Sooooooooo... why this city?"
Merula's marble black eyes reflected Rainbow in silent confusion.
Rainbow cleared her throat. "Why did Abaddon choose to nest in this city of all places? Are there more like it?"
"There are several ancient sanctuaries of Urohringr much like this one."
"But Abaddon chose to nest here." Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"The answer is quite simple," Merula stated, silk construct vibrating. "This was where the Poet of Ages was when the Circles broke."
Twilight Sparkle did a double-take.
"She..." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "She was here?"
"So the Song maintains."
"What... was she doing in a place like this?"
"She was visiting," Merula declared. "A communion of friendship with the mortal equine residents."
"She was having tea and biscuits with the Angels?!?"
"Abaddon, the Song Mother, does not consume those edibles of which you speak."
"No, that's not what I meant—!" Rainbow winced.
Twilight swung her hoof through Rainbow's skull. "Just stick to literal statements, Rainbow!"
Rainbow waved a hoof, took a calming breath, then asked: "I'm just trying to understand the big picture here." She blinked. "Abaddon was here—in this huge city—for what I'm guessing is diplomatic reasons?"
"Affirmative. She was in the company of friends—all of whom she misses dearly. The Song's melody encases the memory like a cocoon."
"No kidding..." Rainbow sighed. "So that means... there's another piece of Urohringr somewhere... somewhere out there in the universe... where more of Abaddon's kind have been living for ages without her. Because the Sundering split them forever."
"That's most likely correct, Rainbow," Twilight said. "Same with all the goblins, wyverns, minotaurs, and Celestia-knows how many other species who are vastly outnumbered by ponies."
"Griffons too?" Rarity remarked.
"I wouldn't doubt it!" Pinkie pouted. "What about alligators?! Could Gummy have super-super-super-super distant cousins somewhere beyond the stars?!?"
"Somehow, I don't think alligators are from another part of Urohringr, Pinkie Pie," Rarity stated.
"I mean—it would explain his thousand mile stare! I... uh... I never wanted to talk about it much... but did you girls ever notice it?"
"Uhhhhh..." Rarity shifted uncomfortably.
"Still..." Fluttershy sniffled. "That's so sad to hear about!"
"What happened to Abaddon totally sucks," Rainbow said.
Merula's abdomen started to shake—
"I mean it was really really unfortunate!" Rainbow Dash emphasized. "Really. I'm sorry to hear about it."
"Your empathy is greatly appreciated, Austraeoh," Merula said. "It fits the Song."
"Well, cool, then..." Rainbow Dash touched down and stood casually before the giant spider escort. "So... I'm guessing when the Sundering happened and everything went dark, Abaddon parked her big butt down here in this city—the sole survivor." She turned and looked up at the glass map of the enormous plane. "She went full-time into the baby spider making business... and spread you—her Children—far and wide. Aaaaaaaand..." A breath. "...you kept track of everything that went on through the song." She turned to look at the spiders again. "Everything."
"Her Song was glorious, and her melody all-permeating." The silk construct vibrated between them as Merula's eyes reflected the dim curves of the domed structure. "We gifted harmony to the shadows of the Break. Everything that lived and died echoed with her endless Symphony: the Night Shard, the Harmonic Benefactors, the Penumbral Invaders, the advent of Winter. We had an audience in every shape and walk of life, even if that very same audience did not hear us... or perhaps even sought to exterminate us."
"Hmmmph!" Rarity upturned her nose with an iron scowl. "Putrid ruffians!"
"And while we may have been forced to recede into the depths of her original nesting, the song persists, and every memory of the concert is carried aloft between our strings, through loyalty and love."
"Then you must have waking knowledge of just about everything that has transpired here since the Sundering," Rainbow Dash said.
"There are gaps in the Song," Merula confessed. "Consequences of the Ruby Chorus and the Bloodwings' hunt. Nevertheless, what the Winter Children rehearse, the Eternal Songstress collects. The lyrics maintain a narrative, and several truths dangle tightly in silk."
Rainbow looked at her friends, then at Merula. "Then maybe you can answer something for me..."
"Hooo boy..." Applejack curled her ghostly forelimbs tight. "Here it comes, y'all."
Rainbow paced towards her arachnid guests. "I heard quite a few things about the Dark Side before coming here, courtesy of a long talk I had with Queen Chrysalis. She's the sister to Tchern, the leader of the Flux-Keepers who still remains here on the Dark Side." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you know of whom I speak?"
Merula's abdomen shook. "We know. And Tchern still oversees the metamorphosis."
"Right. Well, I've been hoping to find out what happened to a very ancient creature who arrived here on the Dark Side a long time ago. I mean a very long time ago. Thousands of years, if I'm not mistaken." Rainbow gulped. "I speak of Endrax. A dragon, also known as a Divine—"
"We know of Endrax," Merula swiftly answered. "The Song has several movements dedicated to her."
Rainbow blinked. "Then... maybe you've heard that there are 'pieces of her' scattered about...?" Rainbow's tail flicked. "And that the different factions of the Trinary War—the Bloodwings and Night Shard and Keepers battling over the Sarcophagus—are also battling over stuff belonging to that Divine? You see, Chrysalis mentioned this, and... I-I kinda sorta ran into a blood relative of Endrax who—"
"The armies battled for the Shards of Endrax and they seized all three of them. The Night Shard, the Bloodwings, and the Keepers—each now possess a piece."
Rainbow's muzzle hung agape. "But... but how could that be?"
"They believe the Shards to be pivotal in asserting complete dominance over the Sarcophagus of Ages."
"No, I mean... how could all three of them have pieces of Endrax...?" Rainbow suddenly grimaced. "Unless—"
"Endrax is dead," Merula said.
The ghostly mares gasped in one accord.
Merula added: "She perished several revolutions ago, along with her brood."
Rainbow stood in silence. Ears drooped, she turned to look at the others.
Her friends gaped at her in disbelief.
"Then... what...?" Rainbow Dash turned around and reached into her saddlebag. "...what exactly..." She pulled out a large black sphere, flickering with occasionaly bursts of red light. "...is the Dragon Stone responding to?"
Suddenly, the Tunnel-Weaver beneath Merula actually flinched, its massive legs buckling. The hatchlings perched all across the silken construct clicked and squirmed with shock. Even Merula found it difficult to keep still. Her abdomen shook wildly, nearly unraveling the construct string by string.
Rainbow hugged the stone to her fuzzy chest, startled.
Swiftly, the arachnids inside the domed building composed themselves. The hatchlings fixed the damage caused to the construct. With the scratching of violin strings, Merula eventually found her voice. The tonal shift was evident as she finally produced: "Austraeoh, how is it that you possess a Tear of Gardez?"
Twilight flashed Rainbow a look.
"A Tear..." Rainbow leaned forward. "...of what?"
Violin strings scratched and wavered in the background. Rainbow sensed rapid movement and the blurring of spindly legs just outside the dome.
"Forgive us, Rainbow Dash. Forgive me," Merula stammered with sudden emphasis. "This uncouth reaction is a frailty of Merula, the All Singer, not the Eternal Songstress herself."
Rainbow glanced at the other arachnids—all of which were nervously shifting. "Something tells me you're not the only spider-girl freaked out by what I've got here. Just what—?" She paused, then recomposed herself. "Just who was Gardez?"
Merula took her time before responding: "An old and valued friend of the Music Mistress."
"Like... before the Breaking of the Circles?"
"Affirmative. There are many songs that echo her majesty. They are older than the Winter Children and ingrained into our very silk."
Rainbow looked at the stone, then back at Merula. "Did Gardez know the Divines?"
"In some respect, yes, Austraeoh. Gardez birthed them."