//------------------------------// // Act II, scene v - Cave Sweet Cave // Story: A World Rent Asunder // by NeverEatTheLemonsAlone //------------------------------// The next day, we're all on edge. Trixie and I in particular, having seen the victims of Celestia's rage (and understanding that she can see anywhere the sun is), are cautious to leave, and we immediately establish the most crucially important ground rule: Don't leave the cave. So yeah, we're pretty much stuck in a cave for the next several days. Joy. After a little while, the novelty of having a goddess out for your incineration wears off. [1] Surprisingly quickly, actually. At least when you're, you know...stuck in a cave. So anyway. I figure that I might as well use this opportunity to catch up with Trixie. Trotting up to her, I sit down as she stirs from her half-dozing state. She's clearly only vaguely conscious, but that can change with enough time and prodding and I'm really, really, really bored. "So Trixie," I begin, "I have a question. You've been part of the war effort on the Lunar side for a while now, right?" There's an affirmative grunt. "So what I want to know," I continue, "is why Celestia hasn't just bombed out the entire Sovereignty with her effigies by this point? They're certainly destructive enough to just obliterate anything they touch. What gives?" Trixie opens one eye and glares balefully at me before shutting it again. "Twilight...I know you're curious, and I know you're a pony that likes to know things, even in situations like this one...and I love you and all...but for the love of Luna, if you don't shut up I'm going to sew your lips together." Geez. What a killjoy. Lucky for my thirst for knowledge, then, when Dash steps in. "I think I can tell you that one, Sparkle. Two reasons. One is magical, and one is more simple. When they're in the Sovereignty, they're pretty much untouchable by the Effigies. For a long time there've been an array of wards near the border that protect Lunar lands from any flying object that tries to pass through. The Effigies aren't strong enough to pass through it, so only border towns are ever threatened by them. Like, well, Moonscry. [2] So that's what that was about. Celestia actually hasn't attacked them at all until you passed through. I assume it was to lull you into a false sense of security, into thinking that she was covering your tracks. So that's the magical reason. As for the more mundane reason—" Apparently Trixie has decided to wake up. Good for her, but she sounds really, really grumpy. "Simple. She can't bomb out the Sovereignty because of the wards, and if she wanted to contribute to open battle, she could do so far more easily without the Effigies. Think about it: it's her power split into five separate pieces. Luna could crush them with relative ease, and they can't actually be replaced without taking more out of herself. So really, they're mostly for reconnaissance and intimidation, and so she can keep tabs on her subjects. Now shut up and let me sleep, for Luna's sake." She closes her eyes again, her face in an angry grimace. I chuckle at the expression on Dash's face. I don't think she was expecting Trixie to interrupt her in that fashion. "So...Rainbow, right?" She fidgets briefly before turning to me, her eyes flicking around. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. That's me. Don't tell anyone." I roll my eyes. "Really? You're a suspicious pegasus that's been hanging around with somepony that is now considered an enemy of the state. You appeared after said enemy if the state went wandering through Lunar lands. Even when they were dyed, you mane and tail still had the same style. Celestia's been around a while. In all likelihood, she can put four and seventeen together. So you're now an assumed Lunar spy and—" My throat cuts off before I mention Skahaben, because that's still a rather raw memory for both of us and I'd rather not bring it up—"and what you're worrying about is being called Rainbow instead of Dash? Wow," I tease, "I suppose ignorance really is bliss, though I suppose small minds still have to think of SOMETHING." [3] She grumbles at me and sits back down on the floor, face set and eyes still flicking about rather rapidly. Mostly towards the cave mouth. Huh. Wondering what's going on, I raise a hoof. "Hey, uh, Da—Rainbow, you good?" Her face whirls to me, set in a smile so fake I could tear it like paper. "Yeah! I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be fine, ha ha haa..." she trails off as she realizes I'm looking at her like she's insane, then sighs. "Look, I...I just really don't like being underground, okay? I like being able to see the sky, and when I can't, I get nervous. That's all, nothing serious." [4] I shrug and, curiosity sated (for the moment), settle down to begin my own cave holiday. I reiterate: joy. --- 1: It happens more often than you'd think, actually. 2: Ugh. Figures that I would pass through one of the few places where this could've happened LITERALLY ANYWHERE. 3: So this may have been a little bit harsh in retrospect. I suppose I'd been cleaning up on the whole sociopath thing at that point, though, so meh, baby steps. 4: Nothing serious, she says. That's all, just a little bit of nervousness, she says. It gets worse later. Trust me on that. -- Dum. Dum. Dum-de-dum. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate waiting? I hate waiting. Waiting is the bane of my existence. I hate hate hate not doing anything. Even when I was just kinda...there, working under Celestia, I was at least doing something at all times. Working, reading, studying, something. After all of that, the idea of sitting around and doing nothing is inimical to me. By the second day, I can feel my skin crawling and I have an intense desire to do something. Anything. I've taken to agitatedly pacing back and forth for hours on end, trotting in circles until my hooves hurt. Nothing is accomplished. At length, Trixie calls up her astral window again, murmuring to Luna for a few minutes before interrupting my pacing. "You get to make the choice here, Sparks. We could wait until Luna can get us out of here. If she focuses on our coordinates enough, she could teleport us out with no major injury. In all likelihood, that's the best possible choice. We'd be able to assist in the war effort, and with you on the Lunar side, it might be just enough to tip the balance. All in all, that choice is reasonable, safe, and sane." I think for a moment before speaking, an unbearably cocky grin jumping onto my face: "Alright then. Now what's the choice we're actually going to go with?" [1] She sighs, shaking her head. "How did I know you were going to ask that...? The other choice is to keep in contact with Luna until she tells us that she's engaging in combat, and that the Solar forces are all occupied. Then we sneak into the Citadel—certifying that Celestia is actually at the battlefield first, mind you—and..." her eyes glimmer with some unnamed excitement as a teleportation flash explodes before us, releasing a bright pink harbinger of destruction [2], "...then we blow it the hell up." 1: Sometimes, the less sane you are, the better. Append that to most of the time, actually. 2: She's baaack! That's right, Luna sent us our own personal demolition squad. How nice of her. Pay no attention to the fact that we were just as likely to be exploded as the citadel. Also, this is a pretty good example of Luna's ability to understand what makes ponies tick, which will definitely come into play a lot more a little while later: before even knowing for sure what I'd chosen, she absolutely knew what I'd chosen.