//------------------------------// // Ignorance // Story: The World Beneath Her Wings // by Void Chicken //------------------------------// The guards outside of Princess Celestia's throne room pushed open the heavy-looking doors. Beyond, Rainbow Dash could see Princesses Celestia and Luna seated on their raised thrones. The late afternoon sun shone through the stained glass windows, adding splashes of color to the white floor. Twilight walked through the doors, with Rainbow following behind. Rarity had gone to attend to the boutique in Canterlot, but only after Rainbow promised to tell her the moment she felt something. Starlight had already left for the library. "Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said, stepping down from her throne. "It is good to see you again. And Rainbow Dash," she added, with a glance to Rainbow's belly, "I see you are coming along very well." "Uh, thanks," was the only reply she could think of. "Unfortunately, Princess," Twilight said, "We have an urgent matter." Over the next several minutes, Twilight summarized the situation around the Roundhill, with Rainbow adding what she remembered. "...and something has to be missing from it all, but I can't figure out what," Twilight concluded. "Some of these things simply defy explanation." "Does it truly?" Luna asked, her first words since the ponies' arrival. She stepped off her throne. "Before us stands a mare who was the subject of a highly experimental spell, one with unknown side effects. Is it so preposterous that her mind may have been affected?" Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but Celestia cut her off with a raise of her hoof. "Luna," she said, turning to her sister, "do you truly believe that magic designed to conceive a foal affected her in this way? It strains credibility." "Hmph." Luna turned her head away. "'Tis more plausible than the alternative. Are you so quick to believe that all of our knowledge of magic is false?" "We know only what the brightest minds of the kingdom have discovered, and many long-standing theories have been upended over the years." Celestia closed her eyes. "I remember some ponies being very proud of theories that were disproven beyond their lifetimes." Turning away, Luna walked back towards her throne. "Indulge her, then. 'Tis your own folly." She sat down. "And no matter for me." "I do have to admit," Twilight said, "discovering the truth has been difficult." "There are certainly things our knowledge of magic can not yet explain," Celestia replied. "And I have no knowledge of any creature like this Roundhill. Perhaps Equestria is indeed in peril. Or perhaps the magic involved has affected your memories, Rainbow. Whatever the truth is, I have faith that you and your friends will find it." Twilight stepped forward. "Which is why I'm here. I need your permission to enter the Forbidden Section of the library." Celestia paused, then chuckled. "You are a princess, Twilight. You hardly need my permission to go anywhere." "But you banned me from there." Keeping up her smile, Celestia said, "I banned an impulsive filly who stumbled across something she was supposed to be too young to find, and who was a little too reckless with her abilities. That filly is long gone." Twilight turned red. "O-of course. I'll get to reading right away. Thank you, Princess. Sorry for bothering you." Celestia nodded. "It's no trouble at all." Twilight turned and made her way to the door. After one more glance at Luna, Rainbow followed. "One more thing, Twilight," Celestia said. "Yes?" Twilight turned back. "Try not to flood the city again." --- The towering bookshelves of the library stood out against the light streaming in the windows. Step by step, Rainbow Dash followed Twilight into the main reading area. Ahead of the pair, Starlight approached. "There you are," she said. "I've been looking all over for the forbidden section, but I can't find anything like that, and some ponies"—she shot a look towards the reference desk—"are being unhelpful and telling me it doesn't exist." Twilight chuckled. "Of course it's a secret. I'll show you where I found it." With a glance at the other patrons, Rainbow followed Twilight to a bookshelf against the wall. It looked just like every other shelf in the library. "Here," Twilight said, "first you need to remove these." Three books turned purple and levitated off of the shelf. Rainbow read the titles as they went by: An Unabridged History of the Northern Wastes, Ten Thousand and One Ways to Inspect a Brick, and A Detailed Analysis of the Function of Forelock Hair. "And you found this out on accident?" Starlight asked. "Yup. Finally, all you have to do is put your hooves here and..." She set her forehooves on a low shelf. The entire lower section of the bookcase slid downwards into the floor, producing only a quiet scraping noise. Behind it was a blank wall. With a flicker of Twilight's magic, the wall opened into a dark chamber beyond. Rainbow took a step towards it. Twilight moved to block her. "Rainbow," she said, "I think it's better if you stay out here. There's some strange magic in there and I wouldn't want you to get hurt." Not in the mood to argue, Rainbow instead found a nearby bench to lay on. "We'll let you know if we need anything," Twilight told her, walking with Starlight into the darkness. The wall swung closed behind them, leaving Rainbow staring at the peeling paint. She looked at her belly. "That magic can't be as strange as what we've been going through, right?" After a pause, she added, "Well, I guess they have things under control. What do you want to do?" The foal shifted. Rainbow looked around. "I guess I can find some smart-pony book for us to read and make your brain bigger." Looking around, she selected one within hoof's reach. Pulling it off the shelf, she read the title out loud: "Magic Circles for Beginners. You're a beginner, kid, so this'll be perfect." Setting the book down, she let the pages fall open to the introduction. Rainbow cleared her throat. "While most ponies will never encounter nor need them, magic circles nevertheless are crucial in the study of higher magic. From simple sketches on paper that take only a few hours to elaborate constructions hundreds of feet across requiring months of preparation, these circles enable magic the likes of which Equestria would never otherwise see. "This work assumes knowledge in set theory, stochastic dynamics, nonlinear differential equations, and a mastery of Riemaneian geometry." Rainbow blinked a few times before turning the book over to double-check the title. She turned it back to the page, looking down at the first of the book's many diagrams. "The things I do for you, kid." --- The bell above the front door of the Canterlot Boutique chimed as Rainbow nudged it open. Behind her, the sun dipped below the mountains. "Rainbow Dash!" Sassy Saddles trotted up to her. "It's been so long since I've seen you! And you look just lovely." Sassy glanced at Rainbow's belly. "And of course Rarity's told me. When are you due, again?" "Ugh," was all Rainbow was in the mood to reply with. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Rainbow hadn't noticed Rarity's approach until she'd physically bumped Sassy to the side. "Dearie, are you all right? You look absolutely exhausted." Rainbow finally looked up from the floor. "I guess. I've just been doing a lot of reading, and thinking, then Twilight comes out and starts asking questions I don't know the answer to and—" A white hoof gently set itself on Rainbow's mouth. "Ssh. Sassy, darling, can you watch the store while Rainbow and I talk in private?" "Of course." Rarity led Rainbow to the back room, full of mannequins and half-sewn dresses. Rainbow found a place on the floor to sit. "Now tell me, what is going on, Rainbow?" Rarity lifted Rainbow's head. "It's just—" She took a breath. "I decided to start reading to the kid, pass some time, make her smarter, you know? But every book I found was so full of magic mumbo-jumbo. Like, what in Equestria is a complex number? Don't regular numbers get complex enough? "Then I thought about Twilight and Starlight. They'd find all this stuff simple. And they were back in that secret room. What kind of books were in there? And then there's the Roundhill. That thing is more than even the super-smart books know. More than anypony knows." She raised a hoof. "All this just makes me realize... how much I don't know. What I don't understand. And in just a few days I'm going to have to go out there and... I don't know, find out who's doing all this and stop them? Whoever's going to wake it up, what do they know?" Rarity took Rainbow's hoof in hers. "Rainbow, relax. It's not the end of the—What I mean to say is that stressing yourself out over this isn't going to help anypony, least of all her." She looked at Rainbow's side before returning her gaze to her face. "Here, let me make a bath for you. You'll feel better, I promise." Fifteen minutes later, Rainbow looked over the tub. Rarity had dimmed the lights and lit several candles. The smells of flowers that Rainbow didn't know the names of wafted through the room. A thin layer of suds floated atop the water. Rainbow Dash's baths normally involved dunking herself in the nearest lake, but she couldn't deny that Rarity's were nice, too. Her generous, caring, and beautiful wife stood by the door. "Take your time, dearie. Don't come out until you've relaxed." "Thanks, babe." Rainbow paused. "Rarity... do you believe me?" Rarity's smile faded. "Rainbow, you promised you wouldn't ask me that any more." Looking back towards the bath, Rainbow said, "Yeah, I'm sorry." She climbed into the tub, hearing Rarity close the door behind her. She settled in, carefully rolling onto her back under the warm water.  Rainbow took a deep breath and let it out. "She doesn't believe me." The water in the tub had risen almost to the rim. Rainbow idly wondered why it was so much higher than it used to be. She had a vague recollection of it being something to do with how large she was, but couldn't remember the exact reason. She looked at her belly, the view warped by the ripples. "At least you don't have to think about any of this. Though sometimes I wish I could ask what this has been like for you. But I guess you won't be much conversation for a few years." Looking up at the ceiling, she added, "If we live that long." Settling into the water, she let the suds rise almost to her snout. She shifted her wings, feeling the currents drift between her feathers. A small amount of water spilled over the edge of the tub. "Even if we do find whoever is going to wake up the Roundhill and talk to them or fight them or whatever, what do we do after? Are we supposed to guard it forever? You're going to be born soon. Can I handle it and you? What am I supposed to do?" Rainbow soaked for a few minutes in silence. "Maybe Princess Luna's right." She felt her foal kick. "Maybe the spell is giving me visions, and my bird brain doesn't get it. Maybe the Roundhill really is dead and my dumb self is misinterpreting some weird symbolism or dream stuff that has nothing to do with it." Another kick. "Is that what I'm going to be to you? Your crazy mom, who keeps spouting nonsense about time travel and the end of the world? 'Oh, don't worry, Mom says a big bug is going to kill us every other week. Just ignore my stupid mom.' Just ignore stupid Rainbow Dash." Taking one more deep breath, she said, "I hope those books are helping. One of us is going to need to be the smart one." --- Placing one hoof in front of the other, Rainbow climbed the familiar ridge. The last time she'd seen it, the Roundhill had blasted a hole clean through. But that future never happened. Or the vision didn't come to pass. Rainbow wasn't sure which anymore. Twilight reached the top first. "Well, it looks like how we left it." She opened her wings. "I'm going to go have a look around." She took off effortlessly into the sky. Rainbow remembered being able to do that. Rainbow opened her wings and lifted herself into the air. With some effort, she flew up the hillside, just beating Starlight to the top. She looked out over the plain ahead. There the Roundhill sat, cozy under its blanket of grass. The same lone tree grew from its side. The green dome over it had been excavated in several places, including one high up to reveal part of the dark blue splotch that Rainbow had forgotten it had. Starlight made her way down the hill. Rarity walked up and stopped at Rainbow's side. "Oh dear. That is quite large, isn't it?" "Yeah." Rainbow followed Starlight on foot. "Well, it'll be over soon at least. We'll find the ruffian causing all this trouble and convince them to stop. Just be sure to stay behind me, dearie. You're hardly in any condition to fight." The trio soon arrived at the base of the Roundhill. Rainbow picked a spot in what little shade its tree provided and lay on her side. Looking around, she saw only her wife, friends, and the Roundhill itself present. Twilight landed nearby. "Well, I don't see anypony else around. There isn't any sign of tunneling or anything, either. It's safe to say that we're alone." "Surprise, surprise," Starlight said, "nopony else has a reason to come here. What a wonderful waste of a week. At least I know how to get into the Forbidden Section if I ever need to again." She turned to leave. "Now hold on." Twilight moved in front of her. "It's possible that Rainbow's changed the timeline again and whoever's coming will still show up." She absent-mindedly rubbed her horn. Starlight turned around. "When? In an hour? A day? Ten years? Let's face it, Twilight. The only thing those books have taught us is that there's a single pony in all of Equestria who's even heard of the Roundhill before all this started—" A hoof pointed at Rainbow. "—and she's done nothing but waste our time!" Twilight rubbed her horn again. "But something is going on... something... ow." "Is something wrong with your... oh." Starlight's hoof met her own horn. "What is that?" Twilight winced. "It's getting worse." "Now that you mention it," Rarity said, "my horn is starting to bother me, though not as bad as you two look." Rainbow didn't feel anything. She looked between the unicorns. "What? What's going on?" "Ergh, it's really starting to hurt." "Twilight? Rarity? Come on, what is it?" Turning her head back and forth, Twilight said, "Where is it coming from...?" Her eyes went wide. "The Roundhill?" The ground beneath Rainbow jolted. With a rumble, the grass on the side of the Roundhill slid down. "RAINBOW!" Rarity screamed. Rainbow Dash looked up just in time for the tree to fill her vision.