“Tell me, child,” Queen Whitemane uttered while gracefully trotting forward. “Do you know how the Elements of Harmony began?”
“Uhm... I guess?” Rainbow Dash nervously stumbled behind her. She gazed up with momentarily bedazzled eyes as the alicorn led them both into an open courtyard within the palace. The ceiling gave way to a violet sheet of twinkling cosmos as hanging gardens and blossoming trees glittered in the starlight. “I mean, they've always sorta been, right?”
“Everything has a beginning, Rainbow Dash,” Whitemane said as she slowly paced past the gorgeous plantlife. “Just as everything has an ending. It's true for the immortals who came to this plane and gave birth to the likes of me. It is also true for their greatest tool, the very fiber of their beings.” She turned and gazed at the pegasus. “You at least understand that the world was once all alicorns, correct?”
Rainbow Dash fidgeted with the sleeves of her robe. “Erm... yeah?”
“But do you honestly believe that the alicorns began on this world?”
Rainbow bit her lip and said nothing.
Whitemane brushed a hoof over the blooming roses of a passing bush. “Like you, I've had the barriers of time and mortality to challenge my understanding. But, like all families, mine has long carried a tradition of hoofing down knowledge to the lesser generations. What I tell you now is something meant only for alicorn ears, and the seldom few sorcerors of our time who've been blessed to carry the burden of the truth.”
She pivoted around and faced Rainbow Dash with a gentle expression.
“This world was never created,” Whitemane said. “It was found.”
Rainbow's ears folded back. “What? You mean—like—somepony else made it besides the alicorns?”
“Somepony, somebody, something...” Whitemane took a deep breath. “Not all truths in the universe have been understood by my kind. What we do know is that hundreds of thousands of years ago, the alicorns arrived at this plane from their homeland. After a magical flight through the cosmos, they landed here and stopped to curiously study this incidental landscape. At first, it appeared to them as a seemingly innocuous phenonemon. But then, upon closer examination, my forebears discovered life sprouting on its own. Suddenly, they had before them a place of undeniable worth, and as universal protectors of harmony, it was their duty to oversee the progress of this miraculous life.”
Whitemane turned and paced past the trees and blossoms once more.
“It was a joyful task, something that my ancestors reveled in. However, it was not a labor that could be accomplished easily. You see, this plane existed within a cloud of effluent chaos. As a result, the life that was growing here was threatened constantly by forces of destruction and agony. If the alicorns were to ensure harmony, they had to utilize all of the energy in their possession. Essentially, they had to sacrifice themselves. But, there were only so few of them, and this landscape was so large. They faced a dilemma, and they mutually understood that a grim decision faced them.”
“What kind of a decision?”
“Let me ask you something first, Rainbow Dash.” Whitemane smiled gently at her. “What is the world?”
“Huh?”
“By definition.”
“Ugh... if I had known this would be a geography lesson...” Rainbow Dash sighed and leaned against a marble border surrounding a patch of gardens. “Mmmm... From what Cloudsdale Primary taught schoolfillies like me ages ago—well, for the few classes that I was awake in—the world is some sort of flat plane of matter hovering around in chaotic space and... uhm... we're protected by these big bubble-thingies called the 'furry men'—”
“The firmaments.”
“Eh. Yeah. That. I meant to say that.”
“The firmaments surround the plane and keep the elements of phsyicality safe from the vacuum of space and the chaos streams beyond,” Whitemane explained.
“Yeah. And, like, the sun and moon are controlled by the alicorn goddesses who keep the world lit up and safe and prosperous and all that fluff.”
“And is this both sides of the world?” Whitemane looked at Rainbow Dash. “Hmm?”
Rainbow Dash exhaled and avoided the Queen's gaze. “No. There is... there is a bottom side,” she gulped. “A dark side.”
“The dark side of the world...” Whitemane slowly nodded. “The surface that never sees the sun or moon, that only knows twilight and shadows, that is forever pelted by the elements of chaos. You do realize, of course, that the dark side could very easily have been the lit half of the world.”
Rainbow Dash looked up at her. “It could?”
Whitemane nodded. “The dilemma that my forebears ran into was deciding which side of the plane to illuminate with their power. There were only so few alicorns who settled here. The rest were either dwelling in the Plains of Harmony, or exploring the furthest reaches of the universe. My ancestors couldn't rightly abandon this world, so they decided then and there to pool together their resources and create the firmaments so as to protect the life they had discovered. Several of the alicorns made the sacrifice, forever transforming themselves into the energy that would act as barriers against chaos, securing this land and its future for eternity. Those left alive—like the goddesses you know personally—stayed behind to monitor the cosmic bodies that would give illumination and meaning to the realm.”
“I'm guessing... uhm...” Rainbow Dash stirred as she murmured, “There wasn't enough of them to do it to both sides of the plane.”
The Queen solemnly nodded. “If they attempted to monitor both sides of this world, their resources would have been spread too thin. They knew that it was a grim decision to have made, because the side of the world untouched by their glory would forever be abandoned to the essence of chaos. But it was also a necessary choice, because if they had divided their powers, then the world as a whole would not have survived. That is why—to this day—we have a light side and a dark side to this plane, separated merely by the corners of the earth, where they pierce the fabric of the firmaments.”
“So, where do the Elements of Harmony come into play?” Rainbow Dash asked, fidgeting slightly with the pendant around her neck. “Were they just a bunch of alicorns who morphed into magical bling?”
Whitemane chuckled slightly. “No. The Elements belong to a fabric of energy that not even the alicorns could alter. However, they could channel and focus it. And the source of such vibrance comes from the Plains of Harmony, the homeland of all alicorns who spread out across the universe.”
“So... what brought the Elements here, then?”
“Something that every group of alicorns carry with them as they seek out the furthest ends of the cosmos to colonize and spread their glory,” Whitemane said. “It is an object that is forever connected with the enegy of the Plains of Harmony. And, once wielded in the hooves of a pure-bred alicorn, it can refract the beam of vibrance and redistribute it into multiple vessels that embody the same power that protects this world.”
“Yeah. Uh huh.” Rainbow Dash leaned forward, squinting. “Can I have a name, please...?”
“The 'Harmonic Prism,' of course,” Whitemane said. “You mean you've never head of it before?”
“Pfft. Why should I have?”
“What other reason would empower a mortal like you to make such a daunting trip to the Midnight Armory?”
Rainbow Dash sighed and slumped down on her haunches. “Because I'm bored? I dunno...”
“This is hardly a topic to treat lightly.” Whitemane paced towards her. “The Harmonic Prism was what made the creation of the Elements of Harmony possible. Once the six elements were created, the Prism's chief function was to act as a backup, to channel great power from the alicorn homeland in the Plains of Harmony and recreate that which was lost. Now, Rainbow Dash, I know that there is much that you know that you do not wish to confess to me, and I respect that. So, I implore you to at least ask yourself this: has something been lost that the Harmonic Prism can assist in recreating?”
Rainbow Dash bit her lip. She gazed at the ground and slowly nodded.
Whitemane exhaled. “I knew before you even came here that most if not all the elements had been lost. But, I also knew that the world would live on in spite of the destruction of the elements. It wasn't until I met you that I realized that one soul in all the world was attempting to do something about it.”
“You wanna hear a confession?” Rainbow Dash muttered. She gazed up at Whitemane with dull eyes. “I don't really give a crud if this Harmonic Prism thingy can recreate the Elements of Harmony or not.” She gulped, and her voice wavered. “There's nothing in this world—light or dark—that can bring back what I want...”
“And yet you keep flying, keep going, keep seeking a means of reaching the Midnight Armory—where my ancestors placed the Prism for safe-keeping—as if it is the most important task that you have to live for. Do you even know where the Midnight Armory is located?”
“Pfft. Yeah, sure.”
“Do you truly?” Whitemane's pearl-blue eyes narrowed as she trotted slowly around the pegasus. “Do you know the lengths that are left to scale on this surface? The countless miles and stretches of landscape—both forbidding and dangerous—before you can even get halfway towards such a goal? Have you ever asked yourself why you haven't flown north or south? For they are far less lengthy journeys.”
“They'd also end up in me getting totally fried...”
“Because the friction between chaos and the firmaments at the north and south edges of the world are too heated and tempestuous for any single body to even come close to. But do you think that the barrier is any more forgiving on the east edge, Rainbow Dash?” Whitemane momentarily leered above her. “I have seen the edge of the world with my own eyes. I was there seven hundred years ago, as an alicorn foal, taken by my mother and father to witness the work that our immortal ancestors had constructed for the safety of this world. I saw the nebulous fountains of madness that erupted along the bleak precipice of everything. Even a goddess with the protection of magic would find it a perilous task at best to attempt navigating the hellish plummet in a bold but foolish attempt to make it to the surface of the dark world on the other side. And then—what would such an inhospitable landscape offer anypony, much less a lone mortal such as yourself?”
Rainbow Dash said nothing. Her wings were tightly coiled to her side as she stared into the floor.
Whitemane continued. “The darkworld has been untouched, unvisited, and unseen by all civilization—mortals and immortals alike—for countless eons. It is a realm of darkness, suffering, and confusion. There are things there that live but do not know it, for chaos has blinded them for ages, forcing them to feed off of pain like a second oxygen. To reach the Midnight Armory, a soul must not only scale the ends of the earth, but cross the diameter of the sun-less, moon-less horrorscape that is the dark world before the improbable goal can be met. Then and only then, after having miraculously overcome inconceivable odds, would the adventurer even come close to getting her hooves on the Harmonic Prism.”
“If the stupid crystal was so important to the alicorns and everypony,” Rainbow Dash finally mumbled. “Why lock it away in such a crappy place to begin with?”
“Because as horrible as the dark world is, it is not entirely consumed. Furthermore, the animated monstrosities that exist there have not summoned enough strength to attempt an invasion of the sunlit realm, and it is all on account of the Prism's presence.” Whitemane's lips curled ever so slightly. “As the Elements of Harmony were created to assist our world with prosperity, Rainbow Dash, the Midnight Armory was constructed as a means of preserving the one piece of good that could ever exist in the realm of chaos. So long as it exists, then the dark realm possesses the tiniest fraction of good. It was the least the founding alicorns could do to make sure there was a modicum of balance in this world they sought to protect.”
“But.. But if the Prism could re-focus the Elements of Harmony into existence or whatever, why put it so far away that it'd be impossible to reach?”
“You must understand, the Midnight Amory was constructed in a time when the Elements were equally important to the mantenance of the light realm,” Whitemane explained. “Several eons have passed since then, Rainbow Dash, and in that time the goddesses have imbued the prospering life of this world with the power of the Elements themselves. In a way, the Elements of Harmony serve a fraction of the importance that they ever once did. Ponies—in and of their own essence—are as equally important as the tools of the alicorns used to be. Surely I do not need to convince you of this truth—you, who has become an embodiment of one of the Elements herself.”
Rainbow Dash gulped and glanced towards the far ends of the garden. “So... what you're trying to tell me is—”
“What I'm trying to tell you, to show you, to convince you, Rainbow Dash, is that the Elements of Harmony, the physical trinkets that represent the power of my forebearers, are no longer important for the absolute protection of this realm. You, however, are important. You are special and you are precious and you are one of a kind. Yes, you can finish this journey to the Midnight Armory. And, assuming you make it beyond all obstacles, you will have the ability to recreate the other five elements that have been destroyed. But what are the odds that you will actually finish such a journey?”
“Well, I—”
“It will kill you, Rainbow Dash,” Whitemane said. “If not from peril in the many continents left for you to cross between here and the east edge of the world, then most likely in the suicidal attempt to bridge the edge between the light realm and the dark side, and most assuredly in the treacherous death plains of the chaotic half of the earth itself.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “Your Majesty—”
“And have I mentioned that my ancestors built the Midnight Armory to be impregnable? Not even the horrible creatures of the dark side can enter its gates. And even if you did get the Prism from within, for it to be of any use to you in recreating the Elements, you would have to journey back to the light realm, Rainbow Dash. You would have to perform the same journey—the same length and the same perils and the same risks—all the way back until you can hoof the Prism over to a goddess alicorn of pure blood: all for the sake of recreating things that this world can prosper just fine without by this point in time. So I ask you once again, sincerely... why are you making this journey, a journey that can only end in your very own destruction?”
Rainbow Dash's lips quivered as she stared up at her. Her voice cracked as a foalish breath came out. “I c-can't tell you. You... You wouldn't understand. It... I need to make this journey. I don't care if you don't believe me. I don't care if something will grind me to a pulp before I even get to the edge of the world. I don't even care what the Prism does or doesn't do. I just don't care.” She took a shuddering breath. “No single living soul has made it to the Midnight Armory in forever. But... But I'm going to change that.”
“But why you, Rainbow Dash?” Whitemane leaned down and placed a hoof on the pegasus' shoulder. “Why must you be the one to change the future?”
Rainbow Dash was trembling at this point. Her vision blurred, and when she blinked her eyes to force the tears back into hiding, she swore she saw a fluctuation, a tiny dance of lavender light. She jerked her head to the side, gazing east beyond the chambers and halls of the palace. She saw nothing, and yet she saw everything. A smile cracked out of her, and she sniffled.
“Because I'm sick to death of the past,” she murmured. “And if I don't keep moving, I'll just hate myself forever. So maybe something horrible happens to me. Maybe I run into the edge of world and take a leap and that's the end of my awesomeness forever and ever. So what?” She gulped and glared at Whitemane. “If I stay put, if I refuse to budge, then I know what's gonna consume me. And the last thing I ever wanted to do with my life was let it end by something I could predict.” She stood up, frowning into Whitemane's face. “Would you do any different, no matter how old or how bored you'd be with everything?”
Whitemane gazed in silent reflection. Eventually she shook her head. “No.” She smiled. “No, I suppose I wouldn't be any different. I would, instead, grant you a gift.”
Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed. “What kind of a gift...?”
“Shhh...” Whitemane's horn glowed as she aimed it slowly towards Rainbow's pendant. “This is only going to help you, child. Do not be afraid.”
“Heh...” Rainbow Dash merely smirked as she stepped back, relaxed, and closed her eyes to the glow. “Do you forget who you're talking to?”
And the two of them were absorbed by a bright flash of light.
This story is a multisensual feast. You do setting and natural descriptions perfectly. I can't wait to read more.
Sweet Odin, nearly 3,000 words on this one! Maybe you're figuring it's best to start consolidating them as the chapter limit draws ever nearer?
Epic beyond measure.
Glorious, glorious exposition!
>>“There's nothing in this world—light or dark—that can bring back what I want...”
If this story ends with all of mane 6 permanently dead I will punch the screen.
1118068 It will probably end with RD dying by bringing the rest of the Mane 6 back.
OH GOD WHY IS THIS SO GOOD
I love this story so hard.
HOLY SHIT! So many chapters...
Whoa...
1118087
It's looking that way, but there sure are a lot of hints that RD is also close to being "turned into chaos/Discord." My (hopeful) guess is that finding the prism reverts things to how they were pre chaos rift. Part of me thinks this could all also be a dream RD is having in response to being "Discorded" in the S2 premier, though this story is a quite a bit darker, I think, than to allow that to be the simple case.
HORY SHET
Best Austraeoh chapter evar. By the way, I'd like to say that while normally it gets on my nerves when people write chapters under 1000 words, yours is written incredibly well, and updated quickly. And the fact that you treat us every so often with a big 'un like this makes it worthwhile.
And now that we've had Ms. Wise Sage Archetype explain things and give the intrinsic Hero's Blessing, it's time to kick the plot into gear. SADDLE UP, BOYS. ADVENTURE'S ON THE HORIZON.
My head...my head just exploded...all over the place...
Perk added: An Alicorns blessing (level 2)
(RD got level 1 from Luna)
All these hints at what happened. I want something definitive! Also, what's in that book Dash has been carrying around?
So many questions...
It makes sense now! Dear lord it makes sense! This is an absolutely amazing tale, and I sincerely thank you for writing it.
So much exposition... can't handle... argh!!
(I just exploded from an overdose of compressed awesomeness)
Interesting. Do equestria is a flat plane. Like Narnia is.
WAIT a minute! Earlier she spoke of the equator. How can there be an equator on a plane?
a chapter with ACTUAL plot relevance instead of a sidequest? 0_0 holy mother of Pinkamina Diane Pie...
oh goodness me, so the rest of the Mane 6 are really gone!? D:
this fic is really epic!
Now I'm pumped. You know, it would be really easy to think this story fell into the pattern of saving the world, but this just confirms it's not. The hero isn't trying to reverse the past, because she know's that's not possible, or go against the will of some stupid inexplicable evil. She wants to recreate the elements for some reason, even though she now knows and probably already knew it wasn't neccesary, and im guessing luna and her old fashioned values of adventure and epic questness was the only one to sympathize with her motivations.
She's trying to make the world a better place somehow even though the very nature of the universe is against her, which is something we can all sympathize with. I assume that bronies don't have many real life villians to face, just themeselves, and the nature of the universe. That's the most realistic plot device.
Exposition is nice and all but a lot of the mystery is now gone.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
YYYEEESSSSSSSSSS. Exposition. Moar of it.
Although it was kind of sad. Whitemane basically just guaranteed that Dash was going to die. But honestly...and please don't hate me for this...but I'm not really sure I like the way the exposition turned out. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good fic. And it's really sad that Dash traveling east is a metaphor for her running from her past. But now we also know that Dash's quest isn't really necessary for the Pony Plane's (made it up all by myself) survival. Basically, this chapter just told us that Dash's whole quest is...kind of pointless. Which, to me, just seems really anticlimactic for such an epic journey.
I'm sorry, but I don't know about this. I truly hope that the author throws in something of meaning for Dash soon.
Granted, the Prism is supposed to be able to restore the Elements, which could bring back her friends. I dunno. Whitemane kind of lost me at the opposite sides of the world part.
These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Actually, this just sort of made Dash's quest all that more meaningful. She knows she will die if she does nothing, so she will go on an incredibly long, potentially pointless and probably suicidal journey, because she has to do something with her life before she dies.
"With a question? Or an exclamation?"
Guess I was wrong about my prediction in the last chapter. What a surprise.
I get the feeling I know where this is going. It's really all about the journey with your stories.
This is some deep stuff, man.
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Equator...Circumference?
1564893>>1637003>>1267856
Hey, hey guys, what if the other side was Narnia?
You... you just made everything meaningless again...
*slowclap*
I love it.
Ok, so...
From what I've got, I'm presuming that the rest of the mane 6 are dead, Celestia is probably dead and Dashie is going to die.
So much death...
So much suffering...
Reminds me of 40k...
Okay, so, now I'm really sad. I didn't honestly want the rest of the girls to be dead but it really does make sense given its 'Alternate Dimension' tag. And it also answers one question I had earlier about just how freaking big their world is.
Still holding out for a miracle, given the description of the second sequel, but COME ON! It's kinda hard to come back from the dead!
77 chapters to go!
P.S. Longest Austraeoh chapter to date, Nice!
HOLY SHIT THIS JUST WENT FULL FUCKING SPACE OPERA!!!!!
Holy ****! That is absolutely incredible and really it apply's very well to life itself. I mean if you think about it the people of ridgecrest(hopefully that's right XD) are content to live out life in there small little bubble not really changing anything or making a difference which dash could have easily done but dash decided to make a difference, to stand up even though everything is trying to weigh her down, and make a difference, change the world and do something impossible. You got dash's character nailed down perfectly! Absolutely love it and love the inspiration you can take from! Can't wait for the other 100 chapters haha!
Holy pony... So much exposition. I loved it!
1118068
Some things can never be returned to the world.
So, the world is flat, the main five are dead, the alicorns are aliens, there is a dark side of the world, the universe was created by Discord, the Harmony Prism is the only way to bring the Elements back, and Dash is on pity quest to take her mind off of the fact that her friends and love are dead. In the end, she has a higher chance of death than success.
But she would rather do one thing good for the world before the last survivor of the Element Bearers die.
Godspeed, Rainbow Dash. Godspeed.
1564893
I would comment about how you are wrong about her quest being pointless, but you have already finished this story.
3884780
This just keeps getting better and better.
Oh.
My.
Celestia.
Well then! This is ridiculous. Absurd. Preposterous.
Absolutely epic in every way. This story is all of a sudden so much more complicated and amazing.
If Rainbow Dash is turning into Discord or a draconequus, would she be able to cross the dark world easier if she let it fully transform her? Since, you know... a chaotic being in a chaotic world would make sense. Then again chaos shouldn't makes sense.
“Everything has a beginning, Rainbow Dash,” Whitemane said as she slowly paced past the gorgeous plantlife. “Just as everything has an ending."
Matrix referance? lol
i saw that coming soon as i read the first sentence of this chapter. xP
also, this chapter is Mind Blowing o.o. It answers my question of how come rainbow was traveling so fast, so far, for so long, that she hasnt gone a full circle around the spherical world by now. answer: its NOT a spherical world. its a floating elliptical pancake :D
Finally a plot appears! Abd were what, only a hundred or so chapters in?
fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/150/8/5/dat_plot_by_kinetic_2-d51mcuo.png
Well! A lot happened in this one! Guess I was totally right about the world being flat. I like Whitemane quite a bit too.
I'm really glad Rainbow Dash isn't on a generic quest to save the world. She's doing this because she feels like she needs to.
Clearly the Elements are dead then.. I was putting off the firm possibility and I still will, but now I suppose it will be fruitless.
The world's a pancake??? Somehow I still see their world as at least round and three dimensional, so im stickin with my "Rainbow eventually circumnavigates the world back to Equestria' thoughts.
Also, im assuming that by the newest installment of the series, she has finally at least reached the end of the east, but that's just a guess (or hope)
Her goal has no purpose to anyone but herself apparently. I hope she finds what she is looking for.
So this time I wasn't completely wrong. She knew that the five elements were destroyed, but she doesn't know why RD heads to the MA(Midnight Armory) as the world can be just fine without them. Still, I trust Luna more than Whitemane and I belive that she has some kind of a plan or just knows more than Whitemane about Harmonic Prism.
5793793 She can still circumnavigate the world, it's just that it's not a round ball, but a two sided plane with sharp edges. Dive on right side of one surface and go up on the left side of the second surface. i.gyazo.com/8831b892feea2195a3d52dd696bd18f5.png
Woah. Backstory 2, Backstory Harder.
I have a funny feeling the author forgot about this chapter.
I think I've figured out the point of divergence for this AU, or at least its general vicinity.
6127693
Guess this comment will make sense later then
This chapter was quite something. Whitemane put one hell of a damper on Dash's journey with all that perilous talk and stuff. I hope with all possible hope that things don't go too horribly wrong.
~SolidFire
Well, somebody has been reading Exalted...
Am I the only one that noticed she said RD had to go the second half of this side and the diameter of the other... which means it would be easier to go west...