//------------------------------//
// A Case of Cataclysmic Cosmology 
// Story: Utaan 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	"Ah!  And how wonderrfully joyous I am that you would come visit me with such deep-hearrted questions, Austrraeoh!"  Kepler said, gliding swiftly across the dusty library.  He slapped several windows, pivoting the wooden slats open to allow morning light to waft into the rustic room full of stacked books, scrolls, and tombes.  "I know it may look like a disastorrously disorrderrly assorrtment of literrary bric-a-brac, but I assure you, rrainbow one, that it is the grreatest rreserrvoirr of ancient inforrmation this side of the Blight!"

"Wow!"  Pinkie Pie blinked, floating through tables full of parchment.  "He sounds just as excited I am on Muffin Baking Day!"

"At least the kitchen at Sugarcube Corner had an element of cleanliness to it."  Rarity grimaced, her eyes reflecting dusty mountains of stacked books.  "Guh... goodness!  For such enlightened creatures, wyverns have the interior decorating skills of a moth!"  A blink.  "Or my sister."

"Ahem."  Rainbow Dash trotted across the wooden floor of the den.  She stood at a table beside a window.  "Well, I'm really thankful to have a word with someone in the know.  Ariel says you're a pretty knowledgeable guy, Kepler."

"Mmmm... such a fine maiden, that marre!  She compliments me farr too liberrally.  Just like herr motherr, gods rrest herr soul."  THUD!  He slapped a stack of books across the table, causing more dust to fly.  "But now's not the time to mourrn lost frriends!"  He adjusted his spectacles, bearing a sabre-toothed grin.  "What intellectual purrsuits would benefit the Austrraeoh on this prristine morrning?"

"Well, I hardly know where to begin!"  Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder.  "Say, Twilight... you're good at this kind of library work.  Where would you wanna start?"

"Duaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."  The unicorn twirled in a lavender blur, her sparkling eyes reflecting the mountains of text all around them.  "So... much... ancient information..."  Her eartips fluttered.  "Heeeeeeee..."

"Dang it, egghead," Rainbow grumbled.  "I could really use the help here."

"Buhhhhhhhhh..."  Twilight blinked.  "Huh?  Yes.  Ask him questions.  Questions are niiiiiice..."

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy giggled.

"Best that you take the initiative, darling," Rarity said with a smile.

"Yeah.  Sure.  Whatever."  Clearing her throat, Rainbow faced the wyvern directly.  "What do you guys not know about the Dark Side?"

"Now that's one way to narrow it down!" Pinkie said.

"Hmmmff..."  Twilight frowned.  "I could have asked a better question."

"When you're not book drunk!" Pinkie squeaked.

"Mmmmm..."  Kepler's scorpion tail curled as her stroked his furry chin.  "It is with sublime rregrret that I must admit that we know verry little of the developments that have unfolded overr the past few centurries.  This... Trrinarry Warr that you speak of..."

Rainbow cocked her head aside.  "Yeah?"

"It is a rremarrkably new development!  One that I would verry much like to discoverr forr myself when we rreach the Darrk Side."

Rainbow winced slightly.  "Let's take it easy, now."  She gulped.  "We won't be going to the Midnight Armory to sight-see."

"Hah Hah!  Well said, my prrismatic frriend!  Still, if I may add my own golden bits to the knowledgeable pile."  He waved a claw, gesturing.  "The Sarrosians have a prresence on the Darrk Side.  This much is known.  And alicorrn lorre supporrts this whole-hearrtedly!"

"Is Mortuana old enough to have been around when the army of Nightmare Moon made its pilgrimage past Bleak's Plummet?"

"Almost old enough!"  Kepler pointed.  "Herr fatherr, the grreat Onyxxus, documented much of it in the texts that he hoofed down to his royal daughterrs!  Many sarrosian trribes flocked Rrohbrredden's way about a millennia ago!"

"That was right after Luna was banished to the moon," Twilight remarked.

Kepler went on.  "Frrom what the harrmonic agents of Onyxxus documented, therre was a drramatic splinterring among the surrviving sarrosian exodus.  Not everry lunarr zealot—it would seem—actually desirred to go to the Darrk Side.  Therre was a brief skurrmish, something we wyverrns call the 'Twilight Warr.'  It ended with half of the sarrosians crrossing overr to the Darrk Side while the other half rremained at Bleak's Plummet.  The latterr's descendants arre the ones whom the Rrohbrreddenite xenophobes label as 'midnighterrs' to this day."

"Does he mean those same ruffians who mistreated Echo so terribly?" Rarity remarked.

Twilight nodded.  "Sounds like it."

"Oh..."  Fluttershy bit her lip.  "The poor stallion..."

"Hey Twi!"  Pinkie grinned.  "What's it like to have a war named after you?"

"Not now, Pinkie."

"Now..."  Kepler raised a claw, rummaging through scrolls as he thought aloud.  "...as for the changelings..."

"You ever heard of Queen Tchern?" Rainbow asked.

"Mmmm!"  Kepler nodded.  "Absolutely!  Morrtuana's family librrary maintains a rrich historry of alicorrn genealogy!  I doubt this is news to you, rrainbow one, but all changelings owe theirr existence to the corrrupted magic of a few trraitorrous alicorrns who hailed frrom the farr west!  Possibly even yourr homeland, I suspect!"

"Yeah..."  Rainbow nodded with a sigh.  "Princess Luna had a long talk with me about them."  She gulped.  "Chrysalis and Tchern were once alicorn siblings who were just as harmonic and peace-loving as the rest of their kin.  But... like... ages ago they camped out in the deep caverns of the Canterlot Mountains where... uhm... they siphoned powers from the crystals there that mutated them... or something."

"Ah!  But it's farr from a simple mutation, dearr pony!"  Kepler remarked.  "Morrtuana and many of herr closest family memberrs maintain the theorry that the siblings Tcherrn and Chrrysalis absorrbed chaos into theirr hearts which then inverrted the balance of harrmony that they once masterred.  At some point and onwarrds, the alicorrn siblings could only find peace through vampirric consumption of otherr ponies and theirr emotions.  The enerrgetic byprroduct of their feasting was wild and unprredictable, so they channeled it through a conjurration spell utilizing the essence of an ancient strain of insectoid crreaturres found dwelling deep within theirr mountain hovels!  This led to the evolution of the firrst changeling brreed, and they've been prrocrreating everr since!  Rrefining and biologically engineerring morre and morre complex ways of channeling corrrupt harrmonic enerrgies."

"How fascinating..."  Twilight Sparkle blinked.  "I wonder how Tchern and Chrysalis were able to harness chaos in the first place."

"How else?"  Pinkie Pie blinked.  "They lived deep in the mountains, did they?  Maybe they got it from the machine layer!"

"You can't just blame the machine layer for every instance of chaos, Pinkie," Rarity said... but ultimately blinked.  She flashed Twilight a look.  "Right?"

"Who... can know for sure?"  Twilight tapped her chin in thought.  "Divines like Verlax and Nevlamas have tried to make sense of Urohringr, only to go mad with power or magical corruption."  She gulped.  "The alicorns mostly died out.  Could it have just been old age?  Or is there something about this plane that's... siphoning life from everything that dwells on it?"

"Yeesh!"  Pinkie Pie grimaced.  "Does this whole world have bad juju or what?"

"Might explain Tchern and Chrysalis, at the very least," Rarity said.  "Maybe they first went deep into the mountains of Canterlot to try and solve this plane's predicament.  However, they eventually got misdirected... exposed to chaos... and then drunk with power?"

"Hmmm... possibly."

Rainbow digested this silently.  Her ears twitched as she turned to face Kepler again.  "What about the Night Shard?"  Her nostrils flared.  "Know anything about them?"

"Hrmmmm..."  Kepler shook his head.  "I am afrraid not, good frriend.  Of all the terrms you have presented the Herrald upon yourr arrrival, I must say that the 'Night Sharrd' is the most unfamiliarr.  Even Morrtuana's texts—voluminous and comprrehensive as they may be—do not mention a single worrd of such a mysterrious faction."

"Perhaps you should have asked Chrysalis more about them back in Val Roa," Fluttershy said.  She instantly blushed.  "Uhm... n-not that I would have thought of it myself if I talked to the big scary changeling queen."  A gulp.  "Pleasedon'thateme..."

"Chillax, Flutters."  Rainbow began pacing.  "So... we know that the Sarosians are on the dark side... or at least half of them... the ones so crazy desperate to protect Nightmare Moon's legacy that they'd flock to the most inhospitable place in existence."

"Aye.  But they should verry much be in theirr element overr therre," Kepler said with a slight smirk.  "Constant darrkness and cold temperraturres would be theirr grreatest allies."

"And Tchern is over there with her brood," Rainbow remarked.  "The fact that Chrysalis ditched her in the first place makes me think that the changelings... aren't exactly winning the Trinary War."

"If I may be so bold, rrainbow one..."  Kepler tilted his head aside.  "...should we prresume that any faction is winning the warr?"

Rainbow looked at him.  "Huh?"

"Well, we do of course speak of a conflict that has lasted centurries... eons!"  The wyvern waved his claws.  "Considerring that these elusive 'Night Sharrds' are parrt of the same apocalyptic battle, then one could suspect a monumental stalemate on at least thrree frronts!"

"He's got a point, Rainbow," Twilight said.  "Think about it.  A war with three factions... none of them willing to get along with the other two.  There are no deals made... no alliances."

"And when one faction makes headway against another..."  Rarity began.

"The third rolls in to kick the first faction's butt!" Pinkie finished.

Twilight nodded. "Allowing the weak army to recover from its setbacks and grow powerful once again.  A war like this could go on forever."

"Really, though?"  Fluttershy blinked.  "Forever?"

Kepler smiled at Rainbow.  "Arre you deliberrating with yourr invisible Eljunbyrro frriends?"

"Huh?"  Rainbow gave him a double-take.  "Erm..."  She fidgeted.  "Sorry for the silence."

"Ha hah!  Quite alrright, Austrraeoh!"

"For the most part I just... stand around and let them ramble with one another."  Rainbow cleared her throat.  "Well, mostly Twilight just rambles."

"Hey!"  Twilight pouted.

Pinkie giggled.

"So... like..."  Rainbow cleared her throat.  "What if one of the factions of the Trinary War did win the conflict?"

"I beg yourr parrdon?"

"For real.  How would we know?"

"Hmmmm... I'd theorrize that Morrtuana and yourr matrriarrchal goddesses of the Sun and Moon would be the firrst to sense it."

"Huh?"  Rainbow blinked.  "How?"

"Because it would mean that the Harrmonic Prrism had fallen into the wrrong hooves."

"The Harmonic Prism?"  Rainbow blinked.  "You mean what's inside the Midnight Armory?"

"Indeed."

"You think the Sarosians, Changelings, and Night Shard are all fighting over that?"

"It would make the most sense!" Kepler exclaimed.  "It is, afterr all, the only thing of any value on the Darrk Side!"

"Really?"

"Any crreaturre stationed on the Darrk Side who gets ahold of the Harrmonic Prrism would hold powerr overr chaos and darrkness!  They would be verritable gods among theirr peerrs!  This violence would verry likely lead to the utterr corrruption of the Prrism.  Considerring it is the last purre vessel of alicorrn magic on this plane, it would leech frrom all of the harrmonic magic that had been placed herre by the otherrworrldly equine's blessings.  Eventually, the sun and moon would lose theirr lusterr.  Unicorrn magic would become sporradic and unprredictable.  Lastly, the likes of Morrtuana, Whitemane, Celestia, and Luna would perrish long beforre theirr time!"

"Oh..." Fluttershy winced.  "Oh my..."

"Well no wonder those factions are fighting so desperately over possession of the Midnight Armory and its contents!" Rarity exclaimed.  "Whoever controls the Dark Side would eventually wield power over this half of the plane!"

"I... doubt that any of them could actually control the Harmonic Prism," Twilight said.  "It was built by alicorns... for alicorns."

"Still, it would really really stink if they got their evil soul muck all over the thing!" Pinkie remarked.  She gulped.  "Wouldn't it?"

"But..."  Fluttershy looked at the others.  "...if Rainbow got to it first?"

"That seems to be what all of the powers of Austraeoh are trying to make happen," Twilight said.  "In a desperate attempt to reboot this dying world."

Rainbow muttered aloud:  "If I get to the Midnight Armory first, then it won't matter any longer who wins the Trinary War."  Her eyes darted towards Kepler.  "Because I'll be bearing the torch that powers the furnace at the heart of this world."

"No finerr job exists for the Sparrk," Kepler said with a proud smirk.  "Whateverr still enchants this ancient plane, it knows that the Harrmonic Prrism is the key... and the Austrraeoh the vessel."

"But... if after all this time the three factions of the Trinary War haven't gotten inside the Midnight Armory, then how do I know it's possible for me to find a way inside?"

"No doubt the powerrs of Urrohrringrr have grranted the Austrraeoh with the capability of bypassing the alicorrns' ancient defenses!"

"Like... how?"

Kepler shrugged.  "We can only assume that such will make itself manifest when you arrrive there.  The ancient texts supporrt this, and the Herrald can only do what we can to make surre you get therre in one piece!"

"Just what kind of challenges will the Midnight Armory present?  I mean... like..."  Rainbow brushed a hoof over her shaved head.  "...just how beefy and formidable are the security devices there?  I can't imagine the alicorns had a bunch of laser guns and buzz saws built into the stupid thing."

"Awwwww..."  Pinkie pouted.  "...that woulda been cool!"  She smiled at Fluttershy.  "'Legends of the Hidden Armory.'"

"No," Fluttershy said.

"The Midnight Arrmory is essentially a massive strructurre built out of harrmonic metals—allegedly ferrried over frrom the Harrmonic Plains by the alicorrns themselves.  It is highly rresistant to chaotic interrferrence.  Furrtherrmore, its entrrances and interriorrs are rreplete with warrds enchanted with spells to rresist discorrdant magics."

"So... it's like some... big anti-chaos mausoleum?"

"The Mountain Matrron's descrriptions arre somewhat vague, most likely because she's neverr set hoof inside the strructurre herrself," Kepler said.  "But, supposedly, any soul lucky enough to step thrrough the initial thrresshold shall find his or herr soul essence rrunning a gauntlet of highly concentrrated magic.  It is suggested that those unworrthy of passing thrrough will pay the prrice with theirr sanity."

"Why do I not find that very reassuring?" Fluttershy remarked.

"Well, I do!"  Twilight remarked.  "It means that even if a faction won—like the changelings—someone like Tchern wouldn't be able to just... waltz into the Armory and grab the Prism!"

"Not without some difficulty, at least," Rarity said.  "Remember, darling.  She was once an alicorn at some point in the past."

"Still, something tells me it's something the Austraeoh was built to do.  Not the leaders of these evil factions."

"I dunno, Twilight."  Rainbow cleared her throat.  "I'm not sure I'm... game for a 'gauntlet of highly concentrated magic.'"

"What's wrong, Dashie?"  Pinkie smirked.  "You wanna back down from a challenge?"

"I don't mind putting my body through crazy stunts."  Rainbow gulped.  "But mental stuff?  That freaks me the buck out."

"Can't be worse than what Verlax is putting you through here," Fluttershy said.

"Hmmm... I suppose."  Rainbow looked at Kepler.  "You think the Midnight Armory would just... y'know... open up for the Austraeoh?"

"It's harrd to say," Kepler hummed.  "While it's evident that Urrohrringrr's enerrgies are choosing to channel themselves through the magics that the alicorrns have prrovided, the Midnight Armory still isn't parrt of the orriginal strructurre.  The Angels—afterr all—arre farr olderr than any marrk the alicorrns have made on this plane."

"Sometimes I wonder about these so-called 'Angels,'" Rarity remarked, folding her forelimbs.  "They don't appear to excel in the area of foresight."

"What can you tell me about the Angels, Kepler?" Rainbow asked.

"Ah!  Glad that you asked!"  Kepler grabbed a cluster of scrolls and unrolled them, grinning.  "This is something I can elaborrate on!  Even if only an inkling."

"Well, I'm all ears," Rainbow said.

"Yes."  Twilight leaned forward, eyes bright and voracious.  "We are."

Kepler adjusted his bifocals and ran a claw across a series of ancient runic text—some mysterious and a few familiar to Rainbow's mind.  "Frrom the oldest trranslations we have, it would seem to suggest that the firrst living, brreathing ponies of this rrealm found places to live across the side of the plane that the alicorrns would eventually illuminate."

"They chose the Light Side?"  Rainbow asked.  "Why?"

"Well, it wasn't the 'Light Side' yet, rrainbow one.  Much rratherr, the texts speak of the Angels' need to 'obserrve the strreak of starrs,' most likely to ascertain the location of the grreaterr strructurre of Urrohrringrr."

"Right!"  Twilight exhaled.  "Because if the Sundering occurred, then this plane must have floated free from the rest of the whole!"  She looked at Rainbow.  "The ancient pegasi were likely needing to set up observatory posts all across the plane to keep their bearings."

"Yeah..."  Rainbow nodded.  "But why choose this side?"

Kepler answered:  "Because this edge is concave."

"Huh?"  Rainbow glanced at him.

"The plane is not flat, Rrainbow Dash."  Kepler adjusted his bifocals.  "It is currved... concave on one side and convex on the otherr.  Surrely, in yourr eastwarrd trravels, you have noticed this."

"Er... yeah.  I guess."  Rainbow sniffed.  "But I've always sorta known that the horizon was... bent."  She blinked.  "Wait... so on the other side of the world—"

"—the horrizon bends inwarrd," Kepler said with a toothy smirk.  "Hah!  Most interresting, is it not?  If you looked strraight forrward, the sky would be mostly devourred by the furrthest edge of the plane.  By my estimation, if you faced 'east' on the Darrk Side, you would have to tilt yourr head over forrty degrrees upwarrd to see actual starrlight!"

"That's... freaky," Rainbow said.

"I guess the ancient pegasi would have gotten a better glimpse of the stars from this side," Fluttershy said.

"Right."  Twilight nodded.  "And it also explains why the alicorns chose to light the half that they picked."

"I dunno..."  Rainbow fidgeted in the middle of the old library.  "...attempting to light a convex side seems... harder?  I mean... if it was a matter of a challenge, then way to go Luna and Celestia."

"I'd venturre to guess that the alicorrns werre attempting to simulate a globe forr the morrtal rresidents of this plane," Kepler said.

Rainbow flashed him a look.  "A globe?"

"Mmmm.  Indeed."  Kepler smiled.  "Surrely Equestrrians have a basic grasp of astronomy."

"Uhhhhhh..."

"He's referring to stars and planetoids, Rainbow," Twilight Sparkle said.  "All observable bodies in space have a round, spheroid shape."

"You mean stars and moons and asteroids and stuff?"

"Precisely."  Twilight nodded.

"Then... why isn't our world a globe?" Rainbow rambled.

"Because we do not live on a naturral worrld!" Kepler remarked.  "That is the beauty of Urrohrringrr!  It was built!  The alicorrns knew this, though they did not know who built it orr forr what rreason.  They could only illuminate it in a manner most comparrable to all of the naturral rrealms that they had prreviously obserrved in theirr celestial trravels.  The cycle of day and night that we have all grrown to accept as norrmal is—in fact—a basic rrecrreation of a planetoid's naturral rrotation.  This is a cycle that most univerrsally speaks to the biological prrecepts of a morrtal's physiology."

"So... you're saying that all creatures were originally meant to live on round bodies in space?"

"Aye.  In fact, I do believe all crreaturres—save forr maybe the Alicorrns and the Divines—arre evolved from those who werre borrn and brred on such naturral habitats!"

"In accordance with natural law," Twilight thought aloud, "Gravity necessitates that the mass of objects are drawn to one another.  Stars and planets ultimately form round bodies because of this."

"But... then why isn't this plane completely round?" Rainbow remarked.  "It's super friggin' massive, isn't it?"

"Hmmm?"  Kepler leaned his head aside.

Rainbow sighed.  "Twilight is saying that... like... all big things should get 'round' at some point.  But... like... this plane is super huge and super old, but it's still mostly flat... if only a bit curved."

"Ah, she is most likely invoking the naturral laws of grravity!  Howeverr... and this is the beautiful parrt..."  Kepler winked.  "...this machine worrld is farr from naturral!"

"Huh?"

"Simply that whoeverr built it—the Angels or their peerrs—they harrnessed so much powerr over the eons that they werre able to crraft a device that could defy grravity."

"Defy gravity..."  Twilight bore a dumb smile.  "That... that explains it!"

Rainbow looked over.  "Explains what?"

Kepler interjected:  "If therre wasn't some sorrt of arrtificial powerr sourrce staving off grravity, then this plane—as we know it—would ultimately collapse into a compact spherre due to the laws of physics acting against it."

"So... what's keeping that from happening?"

Kepler shrugged.  "One can only guess.  Something at the corre of the machine."

"And isn't that core on the decline?" Rarity remarked.  "Both the divines and the alicorns have maintained that this whole plane is dying.  Imagine what would happen if the last spark of the inner flame went out?"

Rainbow gulped hard.  "If Austraeoh can't reboot this realm in time... it'll collapse, won't it?"

Kepler gravely nodded.  "Such an implosion would be a cataclysm of epic prroporrtion... forr both the light side and the darrk.  I verry much doubt that anything would surrvive such a catastrrophe... at least not forr long."

Rainbow shuddered.  "All the more reason for me to finish my journey in one piece."  She leaned against a window, sighing.  "As if the pressure wasn't intense already..."

"Aye, I suspect that yourr jourrney is prrecisely what this worrld needs to rrestorre itself," Kepler said.  "Barrring, of courrse, an imprrobable scenarrio in which the rrest of the Urrohrringrrs somehow find us firrst."

Twilight and Rarity did a double-take.

Pinkie's eyes floated apart.  "Buh...?"

"Wait..."  Rainbow leaned forward.  "Did... did you just say Urohringrs?"

Fluttershy gulped.  "I believe he did."

"As in..."  Rainbow's eyes twitched.  "...Urohringrs plural."

"Indeed."  Kepler blinked.  "Why, rrainbow one, what did you suspect?"

Rainbow merely gawked at him.

The wyvern raised an eyebrow.  With swift wings, he glided across the library, then returned with a large dusty book.  He unfolded its contents, flipped through pages of runes, then finally opened to a page where an ancient etching had been preserved.

"Herre... obserrve..."

He pivoted the book around so that Rainbow could see.  Several circles within circles were illustrated crudely upon one another.

"There... are several rings," Rainbow murmured.

Rarity gulped dryly.  "They get larger and larger..."

"The ancient texts suggest that the cylinderrs are multiplicitous," Kepler said with a proud smile.  "Each comprrised of twelve segments, joined togetherr to form a hollow tube of astrronomical prroporrtions.  Habitats dwell along both convex and concave sides, taking full advantage of the arrtificial rreal estate.  Ha hah!  Most genius, if you ask me."

"What..."  Rainbow pointed at faint squiggly lines between the solid rings.  "...are these supposed to represent?"

"We suspect an magical forrm of illumination.  Much like the sun and moon that the alicorrns have prrovided, but farr morre delicately manipulated.  It would appearr as though they dwelt in constant suspension between the habitats, prroviding warrmth and enerrgy for those who dwelt within each segment of the cylinderrs—facing or not facing."  Kepler pointed.  "Notice how the twelve segments of a parrticularr rring possess a completely differrent rrunic symbol?"

"Yeah...?"

"Accorrding to the texts, that is the segment's designation."

"Designation?"

"In perrtaining to the rresidents assigned to the habitat."

Rainbow blinked.  "Residents..."  She gulped.  "...you mean different creatures lived on different segments?"

"Aye.  Assigned by class, perrhaps... or maybe physiology or biological prredilection.  Those who lived on the Urrorhringrrs, afterr all, verry likely came frrom a completely rrandom assorrtment of planetarry orrigins.  Hah!"  The wyvern grinned wide, his spectacles glinting.  "One can only imagine what a rremarrkably heterogenous population of intelligent beings this must have led to."

"And... ponies?"

"Yourr prredecessorr's... everrypony's prredecessorr's... the Angels... the ancient pegasi..."  Kepler's pale nostrils flared.  "They all hailed frrom this singularr plane that brroke off frrom the rrest of theirr assigned rring, sunderred forreverr frrom the otherr eleven pieces."  He waved a claw.  "We believe that this rrealm was once one of the middle cylinderr pieces, judging from its size and the angle of its currve.  Whetherr it was assigned to the outerr edge of its rring or it hailed frrom somewherre else within the granderr strructurre—we cannot say—but we suspect that the sunderring was a very sudden, trraumatic thing."  He adjusted his bifocals.  "In fact, it likely happened so suddenly that those belonging to otherr habitats that werre currrently dwelling on the plane found themselves strranded... perrmanently separrated by theirr families who lived theirr own rrespective homes within the Urrorrhrringrrs."

"Stranded?"  Rainbow blinked.  "You... you mean non-ponies."

"Oh my goodness!  Rainbow!"  Twilight gasped, staring at her anchor.  "The deer of Val Roa.  The ancient caribou of Ledomare!"

"Griffons," Rarity exhaled, her muzzle agape.  "Diamond Dogs.  Naga.  Goblins.  Buffalo... even sirens and wyverns."

"Don't forget ursa majors and sea serpents," Fluttershy said.  "So many incredibly diverse creatures... all living inexplicably in the same place..."

"You mean they're all aliens?!" Pinkie Pie cackled.

"Pinkie Pie, we're all aliens," Twilight Sparkle said.  She gulped.  "If we're to glean anything from this information, it's that none of us actually belong to this plane... and yet here we all are."

"Because this was originally the habitat of pegasi?" Rarity remarked.

"Precisely."  Twilight nodded.  "And someone... somepony broke it off from the rest of their neighbors, bringing a few hapless passengers along for the trip.  And those who survived... well... their descendants still live with us today."

"And when the alicorns came," Fluttershy said, "They... must have identified with the equine residents of this plane."

"That or they recognized ponies' predilection towards harmony," Twilight said.  "They blessed us with their magic, and over the course of several thousand years—by their sun and moon—we evolved into different races and established a huge civilization."

"Holy moley!"  Pinkie exclaimed.  "And here I thought we were all stardust!  Turns out we're actually all stardust and pixie dust!"

Rainbow looked at Kepler again.  "Just... just where did everypony... erm..."  Rainbow cleared her throat.  "Where did everything come from?"

"The Angels neverr made that clearr in theirr wrriting," Kepler said.  "But I do not think the truth is too difficult to ascerrtain."

"Oh?"

"The univerrse is an old place... unbelievably old, Austrraeoh."  He smiled.  "So old and complex and vast that no single one of us can scarrcely grrasp the magnitude of it.  In all of those unnamed eons, civilizations rrose... civilizations fell.  Entirre societies—isolated by astrronomical distances frrom theirr nearrest neighborrs—likely collapsed in on themselves, snuffed out like tiny candles in a grreat black emptiness.  But a few civilizations—the luckierr childrren of the starrs—found each otherr... chose peace overr strrife... and set upon crreating the most elaborrate prroject everr conceived by intelligent minds—morrtal or immorrtal.  The Urrohrringrr's arre the rresult of this epically cooperrative venture, a testament to peace, prrosperrity, and harrmony."

Rainbow merely bit her lip, staring straight forward.

Kepler raised an eyebrow.  "This is no longerr fazing you?"

"I've... more or less heard this stuff postulated before," Rainbow muttered.  She gulped.  "During one of the times that Verlax's spirit lectured me."

Twilight and the other spectral mares shuddered.

"She... ascertained most of this, somehow," Rainbow remarked.  "During her chaotic dive into the celestial expanse in search of her sister, Endrax."

"Mmmmm... Verrlax... quite a wise Divine, all things considerred."  Kepler pointed.  "But infinite wisdom is a very venomous thing when not put in check.  That is one of the many rreasons why Mortuana has enforrced the mandate of the Sacred Seven.  Despite ourr good intentions, ourr wealth of knowledge could empowerr us to do many deleterrious things.  No doubt you have experrienced that yourrself."

"I have."  Rainbow nodded.  "The West Herald were self-righteous as all get out.  It's a dang good thing they pulled through for me in the end."

"Indeed."

"Is... is that what happened to the Angels, though?"  Rainbow remarked.  "Did... all of the power and prosperity that they enjoyed on the Urorhringrs get to their head?  I mean..."  She sighed, gazing anxiously out the window.  "What corrupted them in the first place?  What led them to make the Sundering happen?"

"Is that something you deterrmined on yourr own, rrainbow one?" Kepler said.  "Orr the worrds out of Verrlax's mutated muzzle?"

Rainbow glanced at him.  "Huh?"

"If she suspects that the Angels arre rresponsible, then perrhaps that is why she is attempting to temperr you into a Demon."  He smirked.  "The Divine of Frrost must suspect that the beginning and ending arre both mirrrored by the sparrk of Austrraeoh."

"Isn't it, though?"

"In a mannerr of speaking, yes.  But I fearr Verrlax puts farr too much emphasis on the flame and not on the torrch."

"Well... what do the ancient texts say about the Sundering and who caused it?"

"It's stated that this plane brroke off as 'matterr of necessity.'"

"Huh..."  Rainbow blinked, glancing aside at Twilight.

"But who it was necessarry forr is up to debate.  The pegasi werre definitely the ones rresponsible for this plane brreaking off.  But they werren't entirrely alone."

"Oh?"

"The rrunic trranslations speak of something that can best be descrribed as 'a new sparrk,' in that this... nebulously defined 'sparrk' existed long beforre therre was everr a Sunderring, and someone orr something attempted to intrroduce a substitute.  This... did not go well, and the rresulting chain rreaction led to this plane being detached frrom the rrest..."

"Like... to save the rest of Urrohrringrr?"

"One would hope, Rrainbow," Kepler said grimly.  "The opposite would not be verry forrtuitous... forr anyone..."

Rainbow Dash blanched at that.  "Kepler..."  She gulped.  "...what... what if the rest of the Urohringrs no longer exist?"

"Oh no..."  Fluttershy clasped a pair of hooves over her muzzle.  Rarity and Pinkie exchanged nervous glances.

Kepler took a deep breath.  "The surrvivorrs of the Sunderring—at least on this plane—filled theirr texts with this... intense desirre to find the rrest of the cylinderrs.  It is why they set up theirr settlements on the convex side of the plane, afterr all.  They werre in searrch of theirr lost neighborrs... like foals wishing to rreturrn back to its parrents.  Severral tomes arre dedicated extensively to starr charrts and astrronomical studies.  Forr the firrst few eons, this plane was adrrift, lost in darrkness, obscurred in a cloud of chaos that seemed to... follow it wherreverr it went.  It's a marrvel that any crreaturre surrvived the grreat emptiness, intelligent orr not.  It was severral ages beforre the alicorrns landed herre, afterr all.  Forr centurries—maybe even millennia—the childrren of the Sunderring werre alone... abandoned to the bleakness of theirr fate.  Despite the copious amount of rrecorrds they kept, theirr attempts werre larrgely in vain.  The starrs changed farr too much to be prroperrly trracked, and the rremnants of the Angels faded—much like the location of the otherr Urrohrringrr's they so arrdently sought.  These ponies dissolved into waywarrd trribes berreft of the knowledge that otherrwise would have linked them to theirr celestial orrigins."

"That's... so sad," Fluttershy muttered, sniffling.  "We're... we're all lost foals, in a way."

"An interresting fact that you may wish to meditate on."  Kepler pointed.  "The oldest trranslations suggest that, despite the misforrtune of the Sunderring, the 'trrue sparrk' was prreserrved among the Angels herre.  And it's suggested that the Urrohrringrrs—in being rrobbed of this flame—arre severrely lacking in prrosperrity."

"What's that supposed to mean?"  Rainbow Dash remarked.  "That... the other planes that make up the cylinders are needing Austraeoh just as much as this one?"

"Hmmm... or so it would seem that the ancient pegasi believed..."

"Yeesh..."  Rainbow sighed.  "...does it get anymore stressful?"

"I beg to differr."  Kepler tilted his hairy chin up.  "I do believe we arre living in the most exciting age that has everr occurred in the historry of everrything!  Ha hah!  Think of it, Rrainbow!  You and yourr jourrney is prrecisely what the collective cabal of this galaxy's collective intelligent civilizations has been waiting forr!  This is not so much a moment forr panic as it is for reejoicing!  Both intelectually and emotionally!"  He winked hard, smiling.  "I, forr one, am blessed to be a passengerr along forr the ride."

"Yeah, well..."  Rainbow winked back.  "...just be glad that you're not in the driver's seat."

"Naturally!  One cannot read the map while steering the flame!"

"Heh..."  Rainbow glanced out the window, squinting at the sun-lit lengths of the sanctuary.  "One could say the same about flying and holding the torch all at once."

"At least you can do one of those things, hmmm?"

Rainbow clenched her jaw tight.

"Therre is farr... farr more to illuminate you with, good frriend."  Kepler rested a claw on her good shoulder.  "But that can be sharred durring the voyage, yes?  Afterr all... we have much grround to coverr... both light and darrk!"

"Yeah..."  Rainbow Dash cleared her throat.  "...just... when do we head out, exactly?"

"To be perrfectly frrank, I'm surrprrised we haven't alrready."  Kepler blinked.  "I can only suspect that the mountain mattron has been summoning the strrength for the arrduous trek ahead."

"Just what has Mortuana been up to these past few hours anyway?"

"Hmmm... speaking with Rremna, I believe."

"Remna?"

"Aye.  The marre went into the mountain motherr's chamberrs overrnight.  They've been communicating quite intently with one anotherr as of late."

"What about?"

"I've not been inforrmed."  Kepler folded his limbs and leaned back.  "Remna, from what I suspect, has most rrecently recoverred from a terrrible affliction."

"What kind of affliction?"

"Overr a yearr ago, the bounty hunterr contrracted Ice Rust.  It's a most terrrible degenerrative disease that prreys upon the bones and muscles of an equine body.  As fate would have it, Rremna's been healed virrtually overrnight.  I suspect Mortuana lent herr a hoof."

"Did she really?"  Rainbow blinked.  "Huh... that must explain why she's down to one vial of her own blood."

"Hmmm?"  Kepler blinked with surprise.  "Her last vial?"

Rainbow flashed him a look.  "Didn't you know?  Mortuana told me when we met that she used her second-to-last container of enchanted blood... like... just a few weeks ago.  She's down to one now."

"My starrs..."  Kepler's mane turned paler.  "I was not awarre of this.  Still, it would make sense."

"I mean, I'm all for Wildcard's mentor surviving and stuff... even if she is kind of a jerk.  But..."  Rainbow squinted.  "...is she super important to Mortuana's cause or what?"

"Well, she is technically second-in-command within the Sacred Seven."

"Is that all there is to it?"

"Hahah!"  Kepler slapped Rainbow's shoulder.  "Dearr Austrraeoh, I can answerr many questions concerrning the cosmology of this wonderous plane of ourrs... but if you need to learrn the truths behind Rremna, I'm afrraid you arre on yourr own."

"Still, it begs the question."

"Does it now?  Then therre is only thing thing to do."

"Yeah?"

"Indeed."  Kepler adjusted his bifocals with a smirk.  "Ask Rremna."  He shuffled off with several tomes in his grasp.  "But do so beforre we set off on ourr most epic quest!  As harrd as it may be to believe, the bounty hunterr is even less talkative when she's on the move."

"Trust me," Rainbow muttered, trotting off with her marefriends in tow.  "I can believe it."