Atop a cloud above Ponyville, oblivious to the ongoing political battles, Rainbow Dash turned a page. She’d thought the text had been a bit dense at first, and she hadn’t been impressed by the twenty-four-page introduction, but once she’d got through the first chapter, The Origin had become utterly absorbing.
Though both Twilight and the introduction, which had been more concerned with the difficulties of translating Old Equestrian, had assured her that the story was entirely fictional, it was difficult to believe that. Though Daring Do was filled with great descriptions of South Amarerica and the ancient cultures the plucky heroine investigated, the worldbuilding in The Origin put that entire series to shame. The characters; the geography; the fights: They were so detailed, so believable, that Rainbow was almost convinced that the author had written it all from a history book.
Her eyes flicked down the page, absorbing every word. The fearless leader of the ponies, who had led their revolt against the humans, had just died in battle. After year on year of ferocious combat, the ponies seemed to be lost.
“And so upon his pyre lay Spartacus of the burning eyes. And Hannibal stood before the warriors to give the rites. The warriors that had been his stood in zigzag lines of mourning and behind them stood their husbands and wives, their colts and fillies. Torches ringed them in a wheel of fire, and warrior and foal wept alike.
“‘Today we have fought!’ cried Hannibal of the thick legs. ‘We fought as we have fought seven times before on this field, as Spartacus did! And we would fight seven times again, as Spartacus would! In his honour, do we say: Justice be done!’
“And the ponies replied, as Oracle taught them, ‘Justice be done.’
“‘Warriors!’ cried Hannibal the Undefeated Courser again. ‘Remember what Spartacus would have you do! Remember what the humans would do to you! To your families! He would not have us falter now, for he never did! In his honour, do we say: Duty be done!’
“And the ponies replied, as Oracle had taught them, ‘Duty be done.’
“‘As we mourn Spartacus, we thank that he lived!’ cried Hannibal again. ‘We mourn him so that none need mourn their foals and families, lost to the unjust slavery of the humans! In his honour, do we say: Mercy be done!’
“And the ponies replied, as Oracle had taught them, ‘Mercy be done.’
“And Hannibal did cry again, and his tears ran thicker than any others, stallion or mare. ‘Not once did he lead us to defeat! Not once did he retreat! Would we all be so brave! In his honour, do we say: Valour be done!’
“And the ponies replied, as Oracle had taught them, ‘Valour be done.’
“And Hannibal of the thick legs did cry one last time. ‘He is now at peace, but denied the peace he sought for all ponies! We suffer so we all might return to peace! In his honour, do we say: Peace be done!’
“And the ponies replied, as Oracle had taught them, ‘Peace be done.’
“And Hannibal did set his torch against Spartacus’ pyre. And thus passed the Bringer of Rain, the Breaker of Chains, the Doom of the Humans, He Who Knew No Fear. With the dawn the flat-faced humans would come, and they would find the shade of the Doom departed and the ponies unprotected.
“The ponies knew their doom was at hoof. Their warriors would die and their bright armaments would be piled as trophies. And their foals would again be bound with the chains Spartacus had snapped off their parents, to live forevermore beneath a human’s lash.
“With death upon them some ponies fell to their knees and wept. Some others looked to the skies and begged or cursed. And some others gathered their families about them and whispered their goodbyes. But Belisarius the Unconquered stood and swore that though all would be taken from him, his honour would be the last to be torn away.
“At this the warriors cheered, and they polished their fearsome helms and oiled their weapons, ready to die with honour before the humans. The Unicorns set their horns a-glowing, ready to launch their fierce barrages. And watching this from below the hill, the humans smiled, for they knew the ponies were preparing to die.
“At dawn the ponies assembled in their fighting pits, the banner behind them a line that they swore with blood none would pass. But the dawn light caught the helmets and the humans saw how few they were, and laughed.
“But then came a shaking of the ground and a great thunder, and the ponies were afraid, for they thought the humans had fired their terrible guns. Belisarius knew fear as the sun vanished behind a great fire that poured from the rock, for he thought that the humans had set a new weapon against them, but then he laughed as he saw the humans scream and break, and fall and cry as behind them their topless towers crumbled. And their parks and farms and shops and homes and cities did burn and crumble beneath the black ash, and the ponies laughed, for the world was changed, and they knew it was changed for them.”
“So... awesome...” whispered Rainbow Dash. She had raised a hoof to turn the page, when beneath her she heard an almighty crash.
Thinking for a moment that her own world was changed, she stuck her head out of her cloud. Her jaw dropped. Below her lay a trench, as deep as she was tall, carved across the countryside outside Ponyville. Turning her head, she saw that it started next to three neatly-placed ironing boards sitting outside the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse. It ended at the shattered wreck of a once-fine pine tree, and lying amidst the splinters, covered in tree sap, were three very familiar-looking fillies.
“Oh, Celestia!” cried Rainbow in horror. “Scoots! SCOOTS!”
She leapt off her cloud and went into a near-ninety degree dive. The air tore at her face and made her cheeks ripple. Saliva slashed past her face, but she didn’t care. She barely came to a halt before she reached the tree and fluttered as quickly as she dared down to the orange Pegasus filly lying on her back in the mud.
“Scootaloo, are you okay?!” Rainbow gasped. Scootaloo’s eyes rolled in her head, so she wasn’t dead. Rainbow slapped her around the muzzle, desperately trying to think of something. “Uh... what’s two plus two?”
“Uhh...” groaned Scootaloo. Rainbow clamped her hooves to her mouth in horror. What question would Scoots never fail to answer?
She had it in seconds. “What place did I come in the 993 Los Pegasus Junior Flyers’ Competition?!”
“Third,” said Scootaloo instantly. Then she shook her head and sat up. “Oh, my... oh, hi Rainbow Dash! Hey, are you okay, girls?”
“Ah’m fine...” groaned Apple Bloom, face down in the mud. “How ‘bout you, Sweetie Belle?”
“Mmmm!” spluttered Sweetie Belle. She rolled on to her hooves and spat out a thick clod of earth. “I don’t believe it! How did extreme ironing end up with us propelled halfway across Sweet Apple Acres, coated in mud and covered in tree sap?!”
“Ah dunno, ah’m not sure yer supposed to enchant them irons...” said Apple Bloom.
“But then what would be extreme about it?” demanded Scootaloo. She dejectedly slapped her hooves down in the mud. “I guess we won’t be getting extreme ironing cutie marks anytime soon.”
“I thought that out of everything we could’ve done, we couldn’t get covered in tree sap from ironing,” said Sweetie Belle dejectedly. “Mum and dad are out of town, too. Rarity’s not going to let me in the Boutique until I’ve been under a hose for at least an hour.”
“Wha’s next on the list?” asked Apple Bloom.
“That was it,” said Scootaloo miserably. “We’re not bog snorkelers, snowboarders, or extreme ironingererers!” She pawed at the dirt angrily, but then her face split into a broad smile. “I’ll bet you could give us a few ideas of what we could do for our cutie marks, Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow stared at the three angelic faces beaming up at her. What could she tell them about cutie marks that she hadn’t already? They knew her sonic rainboom story off by heart, and apart from flying, the only thing she really enjoyed was reading...
“APPLE BLOOM!”
All four of them spun round to see a furious-looking Applejack galloping over from the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse.
“Uh, sorry girls!” said Rainbow Dash quickly. “I’ve got The Origin to finish reading!”
And with that, she shot up into the clouds.
“What’s The Origin?” asked Sweetie Belle.
“Search me,” said Apple Bloom, worriedly looking over her shoulder at the rapidly-approaching orange Earth Pony.
“But if Rainbow Dash is reading it...” said Scootaloo.
“And if she dashes away that quickly to read it...” said Sweetie Belle.
“Then it must be awesome!” cried Scootaloo.
“But wha’ is it?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I don’t know!” said Scootaloo happily, oblivious to Applejack looming up behind her. “But we’re going to find out!”