Only Through Circles It Finds Itself
The golem repeated in a booming voice. “Without, it dies. Withholding, it suffers. Within, it balances. Only through circles does it find itself.”
Rarity rubbed the edge of her hoof into her ear. “Eugh... d-does it have to be so terribly loud and menacing in how it delivers the prompt?”
“Shhhh!” Twilight frowned. “Stop complaining, Rarity, and let's help Rainbow Dash figure this out!” Twilight spun to look at the pegasus. “Were any of the previous questions just as strange and cryptic as this one?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow muttered aside, nodding. “But each of them were answered with a different word from the ancients.”
“Huh? Wait, you mean like 'Eljunbyro'—?”
“Right. But also 'Yaerfaerda' and 'Odrsjot' and 'Innavedr.' Each one brought back one of you guys from being frozen or missing,” Rainbow sneered. She then gulped. “But I have no friggin' idea what this means.”
“Perhaps Mr. Roboglacier here is describin' the estrus cycle!” Bard said.
“Dude, shut up!” Rainbow growled.
The Desperado shrugged. “Dun bite my head off! After all, yer deliberatin' with yer invisible cheerleaders, ain't ya?”
“That's different! They're less straw-headed!”
“The buck does that mean?!” Bard growled.
Wildcard gestured—but the stallion batted his talons away.
“Dun laugh, ya moltin' pigeon!” He snarled.
“You are delaying for time,” the construct declared.
“I am not!” Rainbow's voice cracked. She flashed a look aside. “I could really use yer friggin' help here, egghead.”
“Why?” Rarity stammered. “Are we in a hurry?”
“I have three chances to answer right or else... uh...” Rainbow gulped. “We might be stuck here forever.”
“Eeeep!” Rarity yelped, then wrung Twilight's shoulders. “Please, Twilight! You must egghead it! You must!”
“I... can't... think... when... I'm... shaking!” Twilight shook herself out of Rarity's frantic grasp. “Thank you!” The unicorn paced in a floating circle. “Let's see... 'Without,' 'Withholding,' 'Within...'” She glared directly into nothingness, eyes filled with dense thought. “'Dies,' 'suffers,' 'balances...'”
“Uhhhh...” Rainbow Dash fidgeted. “Not to make you hurry or nothing, Twilight, but...” She gulped. “...you might wanna hurry.”
Twilight looked up. “You've already detected a pattern of answers using these old runes you've learned. Are there any more left that you haven't covered?”
“Uhm...” Rainbow Dash swatted her head with tiny hoofstrokes. “...there's still 'Austraeoh' and 'Urohringr,' I guess. But... y'know... I'm one of those things and the other is—”
“Circles!” Twilight squeaked, grinning wide. “The riddle includes 'only through circles does it find itself'! Rainbow, haven't you told me that yours and Bellesmith's visions of Urohringr were that of a giant, circular ringworld separated into curved planes?”
“Just like the one we're on!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “That holds Equestria and Ledomare and everything!”
“Exactly!” Twilight grinned. “Originally, before it broke apart, it was like a circle! Maybe Verlax somehow caught wind of that! I mean, she's infiltrated the Machine World at least twice already, right? Here and at Nealend?”
“Whatever yer thinkin', darlin', you'd better spit it out quick!” Bard muttered. “I think it's getting' antsy.”
“Okay... okay.” Rainbow turned and faced the automaton. “Is the answer 'Urohringr?'”
“Incorrect.”
Rarity flinched while Twilight gasped. “What?!” Twilight blinked. “But... b-but how...?”
“It would have been too easy,” Rainbow grumbled.
Wildcard gestured. Bard looked at his talons, then over at Rainbow. “'Maybe if y'all gave it in the form of a question?'”
“Not helping...” Rainbow said.
“Well, hell...” Bard raised his staff. “What if we all just said 'buck it' and charged the dayum thing?”
“No go.” Rainbow shook her head. “I already tried it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. With your staff too.”
“H-hey!” Bard grinned wide. “Awesome!” A metal talon swatted his skull. Whap! “Ow!” He winced, rubbing his head. “Y'know, that friggin' smarts without the hat.”
“I don't understand...” Twilight murmured, sinking to the floor with a wilted expression. “If the answer's not Urohringr... then what is it? I mean... it can't be 'Austraeoh,' can it?”
Rainbow Dash tongued the inside of her mouth. Blinking, she turned her head and opened her mouth towards the golem.
“No. NO!!” Twilight barked, eyes jolting. “Don't waste it! We have to think!”
“There there, Twilight...” Rarity patted the mare's shoulders. “We must be calm and elegant about this...” Her words trailed off. Blinking, Rarity turned around and squinted at the door that they had entered through—which was now shut tight and frozen solid. “...circles...”
“Huh?” Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked over.
“That door was full of circles. Half of them were lit. The other half weren't.” She glanced at Rainbow. “I'm curious. Is this the first time you've encountered such a unique symbol?”
“No,” Rainbow said.
“We saw it at the Nealend Atoll,” Twilight explained. “Well... I saw it. Rainbow Dash was too blinded by it at the time. She had to see it through a photograph that Mr. Mane took.”
“But I could see the door this time,” Rainbow said. “It was... less bright, somehow.”
“Also, the colors of the circles changed, apparently,” Twilight thought aloud. “Before we freed you, Rarity, only two of the circles were lit up. But then, after you were freed...”
“One glowed a bright white shine, am I correct?” Rarity batted her eyelashes, then looked Rainbow's way. “Rainbow, darling, I do believe these circles have a purpose in all this. Symbolically, at least.”
Rainbow twitched, blinking hard. “'Purpose...'”
“Huh?” Twilight craned her neck. “What is it?”
“'Within, it balances,'” Rainbow Dash droned. “Harmony and chaos. Frantic companionship... Eljunbyro bringing the wind to the spark's wings...”
“Yes, but what does it all mean?” Twilight remarked. “At least... in Verlax's eyes, how does it all fit together?”
“That's just it... Verlax has beaten me to these Seeds,” Rainbow said, ruby eyes focused on Yaerfaerda's frozen beacon. “Nopony or nothing has ever beaten me before. I mean... Sure, I-I guess there was Madame Nightshade and the flame from the beacon along the Xonan border... but despite all her wisdom, devices, and science—she couldn't figure any of the Ancient stuff out from what she scavenged deep in the Machine World. But Verlax... has somehow.” She gulped. “Through chaos or whatever, just like Nevlamas... only Verlax has got her head together.”
“I... I'm afraid you're starting to lose us, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight remarked.
“Yes. Let's not overthink things.”
“Does the Austraeoh have an answer?” the golem persisted.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “Verlax's eyes have pierced the flame... but her voice hasn't.” Rainbow's jaw hung agape. “...she hasn't heard what I've heard... the voice!”
“Huh?” Twilight blinked hard.
Bard tilted his head aside. “Voice?!”
Rainbow clenched her eyes shut. She took a deep breath and trotted through an invisible curtain of ruby flames. She imagined she was floating over a curved plane with stars and chaotic nebulae hanging in the cosmic distance. The world rolled beneath her, a constant circle, full of life and death, order and disorder. Ponies helped one another. Ponies murdered one another. Joy and suffering existed hoof-and-hoof, through peace and war, the rise and fall of empires. Celestia and Luna's brilliance stretched far and wide, but even they couldn't cover everything. Nothing could cover the vastness.
Nothing... but a single set of wings, flying east and never stopping. She was alone, and yet she wasn't. Companions clung to her. Ancients prophesied her.
And a voice spoke to her, a voice Rainbow had heard more than once, on deep excursions to salvage the flame of Yaerfaerda, giving birth to yesterday, and finding her place within the grand purpose of everything... the grand journey of Austraeoh. Light side to dark side to light side. Harmony and chaos. A circle.
Rainbow Dash had heard the word before, and that word was—
“Ynanhluutr.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, staring squarely at the golem. “The final answer is 'Ynanhluutr.'” She glared. “Now open the way and give me back my friend.”
Rarity, Twilight... Bard and Wildcard...
Everyone watched in tense silence as the golem stared back, its blue eyes bright and soulless.
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Dang...I was really worried there for a bit.
Dash's still got a bit of a leg up on you, Verlaxion.
I'm beginning to wonder if Verlax has been The Voice all along.
And now we quiver with anciti...
Twenty-five close hand pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Well I was wrong.
I was sure it'd be either Austraeoh or Urohringr.
I thought that Ynanhluutr would be both too obscure and too obvious.
But I get it now, rings are rings, circles are circles, a circle is solid, a ring is empty, that's where the mistake was made on my part.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
So the ancient language has synonyms? That's cool I guess.
6390514
Boo
I dunno why, but this line cracked me up!
Thank you, Mr. Griffon.
Are you sure you wanna be pushy with Verlax, Dashie? even though her little golem here has consistently held up her end of the bargain so far...
I feel proud of myself for having figured out the riddle before reading the answer in the chapter. That said, I was hoping the last question would involve unladen swallows.
Oh well, now onto Pinkie Pie, the bane of all master schemers.
Oh, thank goodness she remembered it.
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
Yay Dash.
Youre The Voice.
Soulless Blue Eyes
Seems like it should be a band.
... And now for the BONUS QUESTION!
You can take your two corporeal friends and your three incorporeal friends and go, or uou can see what's behind DOOR Number THREE!
Iiiiiiiiiiiit's an all expenses paid holiday to the dark side of the shard! Travel in style on the newest addition to Princess Cruise Line's fleet, Tristia, enjoying two weeks of fine dining and onboard activities before plunging over the edge of the known world to your certain demise.
... I'm really wanting to throttle Bard at this point.
Go, Bard. Go get your money, go enjoy your wealth, go enjoy your long life, but go...
Or just stop pestering the pegasus as she struggles to provide answers upon which the lives of others hang. Oh how vexing!
6390568
I feel happy that I called the symbol being used last chapter. Didn't know that Dashie had been told its name though.
''Incorrect.''
''Oh for ***** sake! Go **** an iceberg, you ******* ****!''
Roll credits. *ding!*
Ah, time for the glorious return of pink horse. Then it's off to find applepone and flutters. But not before busting up discount shell.
6390733
Credits that get promptly smashed by Revan and crew charging in the other side? Heh, gonna' need more popcorn.
6390514 That line cracked me up. But honestly, how can you reasonably expect me to do twenty-five close hand pushups while I'm HANGING FROM THIS CLIFF!?!?!
Buck it. I will attempt your strange body-torture challenge, but it will be followed by generous amounts of Verlax's lifeblood: tequila! Whoop!
(I'm swiping this on my phone, and every time I swipe the word 'Verlax' it autocorrects to 'beloved.' Just thought y'all should know.)
Considering that she still has a guess if she's wrong, I don't think there would've been a cliffhanger for it...sooo yay!
THE PINKIE TRAIN IS A-COMIN'
so next chapter Colon will be taking us to the auction house again
Hmm . . . with all the buildup, I'd almost destroy something if she's wrong. The only silver lining is that I could then still be right!
But I suppose Ynanhluutr is the only thing we have yet to truly know the definition of. It makes sense.
6390514 pation
I didn't realize she'd heard the word before. When was that?
Also, I've been wondering about the whole prophesy thing in this story. How does it work? I mean, yeah, I know... "It's Magic" (*insert mystical wind chime sound effects*). But seriously, in fantasy stories like this, there's usually some internal logic or contextual framework facilitating this sort of thing. And the prophesies are so specific. The only thing I can think of is that Rainbow isn't the first Austraeoh, and all the Austraeohs follow the same pattern in their journey (which raises some questions of its own), or that time is cyclical in the series (which would certainly fit the recurring circle symbolism) and Rainbow has, in a sense, already undertaken this journey. Heck, knowing the author's apparent affinity for Nietzsche, I might even speculate that the concept of Eternal Recurrence might have been an influence.
Don't mind me, I'm just throwing stray thoughts around.
6390615
she's the voice
knew it
:D
6390820 The voice that spoke to Rainbow when she blacked out after freeing twilight mentioned the newest word I am fairly sure, though I might be mistaken on exactly when it happened.
6390820
I have to agree on your point that time might be cyclical in the series. I have a feeling this series might end up kind of like in the Dark Tower series. Where the story ends with Roland, the main character, back in the desert at the beginning of the first story (though this time with Horn of Eld) and it repeats the first line in the series. I really wouldn't be surprised if something like that happens at the end of this one.
Yet another cliffhanger, if that isn't the answer I'm going to be very surprised and confused as to what it actually could be.
6390882
It was when they got Rarity.
6390765
Insert train noises here
Reassuring to hear not all of that cryptic voice mumbling was Camellia. Was already feeling tricked for greatness.
Ahhhh. The Younger Hooters symbol... An East Horse synonym.
So there was virtually no chance of her failing that last one if she knew the recurring theme of each correct answer, and with the three options left that she'd already heard of.
Lemme just thank Dress Ghost and Spookle for helping Dash get it right after only two attempts.
6390506
I've been working off that assumption from the start. Though I'd welcome the idea of it being some sort of harmonic construct.
Yes yes yes. Twilight Spookle, Scarity and now Pinkie Phantom! Send us The Pink!
I don't read during the weekend, so I will just leave the possible reaction images for next chapter.
cdn.sheknows.com/articles/slumdog-millionaire-victory.jpg
ingeniouspress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/he-chose-poorly.jpg
Dangit' Scarity, I could have used that advice a chapter ago!
6391539 In another story done by Skirts, it's implied that the rest of the Alicorns moved on to a higher plane of existence. I believe that may be true in this story as well, with the faux Whitemane being some kind of manifestation of their collective consciousness. The last time Rainbow entered the harmonic realm (or whatever it really is) the voice said somebody else was listening in, I'm guessing that was Verlax.
We're getting in a ship
On our favorite party trip
Sailing across the seas
Little bronies
It's pink time!!
6391850
Appledashery? 625 chapters read and counting!
It's a fic I've reserved for slow work days and lunch breaks only, however. Otherwise I would have caught up a while back.
I suppose can't shake the paranoia here, but that always sounded to me like the sort of comment a being known to display deceptive habits would say to mislead Dash to whatever end.
I mean, sure. I'd rather subscribe to the Voice of Harmony theory. Just... I can't help being suspicious as fuck whenever something mystical happens in this vast section of the plain.
6391321 ... blink
...
contemplates the likelyhood of this ending occuring
..
oh, Skirts you motherbuc-
so that cliff hanger is proof enough rainbow's correct right? also, my theory of the test was just shot in the foot.
Even if it's wrong, she has another guess.
The voice refuses to talk to you? Seem like someone is trying to steal Austraeoh for themselves but is getting the... cold shoulder.
Hahahaha! Name drop!
Love it when I'm right
5:09 p.m. MST 7/4/2017
Finally! Found a reference everyone else missed years ago.
rs1296.pbsrc.com/albums/ag3/Naterdoo1/Alex-Jacob-What-Is-Aleve-111715L_zps5qaj1kx9.jpg?w=480&h=480&fit=clip
8727152
That’s awesome!
Cheater. She just asked the cosmic voice for the answer.
At least we got to see what she does when she's "meditating."
You know, the line in the middle of Ynanhluutr....does that maybe reference Discord? ...is he alive like the Mane 5 are? Is he the voice???