Rainbow Dash, her friends, Bard, Ariel, Wildcard, Enix, and the sarosian troupe stared and stared and stared at the lines and shapes etched into the doorframe in front of them. The narrow niche they were perched in resonated with thunder and the roar of water. Moisture continually baptized them as they attempted to make sense of the random patterns.
"You... uh..." Bard scratched at his scruffy chin. "...you seein' this, Rainbow?"
"Yeah..." Rainbow nodded, squinting hard. "Barely." She gulped, leaning aside. "Twi? Help us out here..."
"I... I'm not sure if I can." Twilight fidgeted. "It's... uh... well, it's got six circles. That's rather interesting..."
"Yeah..." Rainbow chewed on her bottom lip.
"Looks like a bunch of apples underneath a spread of blankets!" Applejack said. The others stared at her, and she shrugged. "Well... so much for my two cents."
"Considering where we're at," Fluttershy spoke, "It almost looks like water cascading off the edge of the world."
"I'm with Fluttershy on that one," Twilight said.
"You certain?" Rarity squinted, thinking aloud: "To me it resembles the cross-section of a mechanical conveyor belt."
Pinkie Pie wheezed: "Looks to me like one thousand hours spent in Maresoft Paint!"
Rainbow growled. "Not. Helping."
"Maybe it's an extension of Ynanhluutr?" Ariel brushed her bangs back and shrugged. "Like... all of Austraeoh's eggs are now in one basket?"
"That is a rather oddly shaped basket," Enix droned.
Wildcard gestured something.
Bard sighed, then slapped him upside the feathery head. "Ain't three-dimensional enough to resemble a bunch of balls, blatherbeak!"
Wildcard merely shrugged.
"At the risk of sounding impatient, Rainbow Dash..." Luna's voice began.
Rainbow took a deep breath. "There's a new symbol in front of us. I... c-can barely see it. So... uhm..." She sighed. "Bard, would you mind?"
"My pleasure, darlin'." Bard tilted his muzzle towards the air. "Yer Highness, what we see before us is six small circles nestled inside a line that rolls in from the left all horizontal-like. The line wraps around the circles before droppin' down and curving back to the left. And... uhm... there are three more lines—all thinner than the first—stretchin' right and wrappin' around the curve... only to fall straight down."
Wildcard nodded.
"Sorry if that's a mite bit elementary a description," Bard said.
"It is quite alright, Sir Bard," Princess Luna spoke. "We have a clear picture painted in our minds, thanks to you."
He tipped his hat. "Much oblidged."
"There are only six circles?" Celestia asked.
"Righto..." Rainbow nodded. "The big circle that surrounded Ynanhluutr is gone. It's just the six tiny ones that Bard described."
"Is that an important detail?" Ariel asked.
Spike's voice spoke: "Perhaps it means that... some sort of mold has been broken?"
"How do you mean, Spike?" Celestia asked.
"Well... Rainbow Dash was 'within purpose' to resurrect the Elements of Harmony before making her way to the Midnight Armory beyond the Edge. All of the Five Seeds she's been to so far have been accomplishing this. So... maybe—uhh—the large circle that encased the other six in Ynanhluuter has been... sh-shattered... somehow?"
Applejack smiled at Twilight. "Good to know yer apprentice has gotten so well-spoken after all these years of study, huh?"
"Mrmmmm..." Twilight folded her forelimbs, mulling.
"Let us not forget, Spike," Celestia spoke. "Rainbow Dash learned of the existence of 'Six Seeds.' She's only been to five of them so far. This tower is now her sixth."
Luna joined in: "If she's yet to touch six flames, then what would have 'shattered' the seventh circle?"
"Uhhhhhhhhhm..." Spike was at a loss for words.
Enix cleared her throat. "I may not fully understand the nature of the Austraeoh's journey, but perhaps it would be better to discover than speculate," the Nightblooded warrior said.
"Rainbow Dash," Luna spoke. "Are you losing touch with your friends? Do you sense the presence of chaos metals or enchanted frost nearby?"
"No, Luna." Rainbow shook her head. "So far, we're cool. There's no sign of Verlax's interference anywhere." She pointed straight forward. "Unless, of course, there's something nasty on the other side of the door that—"
VROMMMMMM! The entire door shook.
Rainbow's friends gasped collectively.
One by one, the circles lit up from left to right. Violet to White to Pink to Yellow to Orange. Ding!—Ding!—Ding!—Ding!—Ding! And finally... the sixth one lit up blue. Diiing!
"... ... ..." Rainbow Dash blinked, hoof outstretched. "... ... ...fudge."
FLAASSSH! The door flung open, exposing Rainbow to the naked flame of Yaerfaerda. Golden bolts flickered in the air, and—to Rainbow's surprise—she found herself being yanked straight forward with ten times the force of gravity.
"Rainbow—!" Ariel hollered. She and Enix reached forward—
—but it was too late. The doors slammed shut behind Rainbow.
THUDDD!
And all was dark.