Utaan

by Imploding Colon

On the Shoulders of Immortality

The ponies of the Stardust's outer deck were silent for a prolonged period of time. Thunder continued its deafening salvos, adding extra ripples to the choppy ocean surrounding the cruising vessel. Lightning pierced the heavens, illuminating the very edge of coalescing mists due east of that terminal location.

"This... this was a good thing," Rarity was the first to murmur. Only Rainbow and her close friends could hear her quiet tone against the bedlam. "We heard from our loved ones. They heard from us." The ghostly fashionista gulped, pivoting to give the others a fragile smile. "It will be enough for all of us to go on, you think?"

"Mmmm... I reckon," Applejack slurred.

Pinkie Pie spoke in a strangely sobering tone: "But will it be enough for us to return?" Her mane hung glossy, straight.

Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle winced. For another lapse in time, nopony said anything.

At last, Remna took a deep breath and said, "I am surprised that you went along with it."

Rainbow Dash glanced over. "Went along with what?"

"Deceiving all of your supposed loved ones," the draconian mare droned. "Now they'll live on in their fragile mortal lives, not knowing the chaotic fate of their soul-selves."

Rainbow shuddered. "Look... both Luna and Celestia was on board."

"I can trust alicorns to be untrustworthy," Remna said, raising an eyebrow. "It hasn't surprised me in millennia. But you?" Her nostrils flared. "It would seem as if my sister's trials have tempered your resolve."

"Look..." Rainbow frowned. "Until I can actually do anything about it, I'm not gonna say anything about it!"

"The Rrainbow One strrives to not cause needless panic," Kepler said from where he gripped the rudder-wheel above. "To underrstand morrtals, you must have been one forr farr longerr than Morrtuana's magic has afforrded you. The fearr and terrrorr that comes with being finite is an all-consuming thing."

"Just because I'm royally-freaked-out about the whole 'soul drift' thing doesn't mean I gotta make the others on the light side suffer the same pain, Axan," Rainbow Dash clarified. "We're all making journeys of our own, y'know. And when it comes to understanding things... well." She took a deep breath. "We're pretty much all on the same page."

Remna merely nodded. "Very well. I concede to your decision... not as if I have any say in the matter."

"Dang straight." Rainbow breathed, staring out at the chaotic tempest. "Part of being awesome and responsible is knowing to wait until the ball's within your court before presuming to talk smack. Y'know what I mean?"

"No."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Why do I bother..."

"I feel as though we lost more footing than we gained in the conversation with the alicorn sisters," Remna said.

"How so?"

"I always knew that the alicorns' wisdom was a superficial facade at best, but I actually found their degree of ignorance rather surprising."

"And for all Verlax and Endrax have done," Rainbow droned. "Have either of them gotten us closer to the Midnight Armory?"

Remna was silent.

"If there's anything my journeys have taught me, Axan," Rainbow said, "It's that immortals have as hard a time figuring out the whole 'Urohringr' schtick as mortals do. But... all that being said... I've gained a lot of insight from ponies and... mmmmm... dragons that live far longer than me." She bore a tired smile. "I can't expect them to solve all of the puzzles for me, but they've certainly put me on the right path."

"All of my siblings have succumbed to madness," Remna muttered. "I fail to see how they have been helpful."

"Even Sturke?"

"She is a peace-loving Divine who surrounds herself with ponies." Remna gnashed her teeth. "She's the maddest of us all."

Rainbow Dash giggled raspily. Twilight and Applejack couldn't help but smirk.

"But Endrax..." Axan sighed, her hard green eyes squinting across the waves. "I had thought she ventured to the Dark Side ages ago to assist with the salvation of this world. I'm starting to think—from the prevailing patterns before and behind us—that such is not the case."

"You never know, Axan," Rainbow said. "Maybe when we cross over to the Dark Side, Endrax will be waiting right there... willing to lend us a claw to the Midnight Armory. That'd be awesome, right?"

"If Verlax could not find her, then I do not see how we can."

"Well then, maybe we gotta remember just what got Mortuana to believe in you, girl," Rainbow said. "When she had every reason to let you rot back in Wyvern Point."

Remna glared at her. "And just what was that, pray tell?"

Rainbow smiled. "Hope." She took a deep breath. "Wasn't that the same thing that sent Endrax over to the Dark Side to begin with?" She waved a hoof. "Wasn't that what got you to spare me when everything was royally screwed in Silvadel?"

Remna said nothing.

Rainbow gazed east, past the faint gold aura leading into the emptiness. "Hope is the greatest map you'll ever have," she said with a soft smirk. "And the roads are paved in awesomeness."

Twilight Sparkle smiled.

Fluttershy and Rarity exchanged glances.

"Also doughnut sprinkles!" Pinkie Pie added.

Rainbow rolled her eyes and facehoofed. "Yes... well..."

"I've been thinking," Remna muttered. "About Endrax."

"Ahem..." Rainbow looked up. "Yeah?"

"She ventured to the Dark Side for one express purpose," Remna said. "To secure the Midnight Armory and make it safe from chaotic influence."

Rainobw gulped. "And with three whole armies bearing down on her... that couldn't have been an easy task."

"Indeed. But what if she succeeded?"

"Succeeded in doing what?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "You mean in opening the Armory?"

"She is a Divine, Austraeoh," Remna said. "Assuming she could enter the Armory... and could somehow withstand the magical 'trials' that the alicorns had left their through their essence... then the Prism would not be accessible to her—or at least not in such a manner that would be fortuitous to the restoration of Urohringr."

Twilight murmured: "The Prism waits for a Spark."

Rainbow looked at Remna. "You think she could be... like... 'holding the door' for me?"

"Assisting the Austraeoh is the ultimate task I could ever perform," Remna said. "For the Divine of Shadows, it would likewise be the same."

Kepler interjected: "My frriends... we arre speaking of countless eons of the noble Endrrax perrforrming such a mighty feat!" His spectacled eyes narrowed. "With all of the prressurre from the thrree warrring factions, could these herroics even be maintained?"

"The sarosian baddies on the other side would have ripped a living dragon apart!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, frazzled. "You've seen Enix and her friends when they're in bad-guy-mode! Imagine a million of them in the dark!"

"And dun forget them ravenous changelings," Applejack added.

"And the Night Shard." Fluttershy gulped. "Uhm... whoever they are."

Rainbow exhaled. She looked at Twilight. "It's... an awful long time to gung-ho it alone."

"Indeed." Remna nodded somberly. "All things considered, my eldest sister must be dead."

"Now now now hold the sound stone." Rainbow waved a hoof. "You of all pon—er... dragons shouldn't sell Endrax short!"

"It's the most logical conclusion," Remna droned. "Especially considering that Verlax never found her."

"Verlax was a friggin' bucket of angry cats! And about as dumb too!" Rainbow stuck her tongue out. "Come on, Axan. Isn't the eldest Divine—like—the smartest and most thoughtful?" She gestured. "Like... she thinks in future-mode... and crud."

Remna exhaled. "Indeed..."

"So... maybe she's... like... got something cooked up that will help us all in the end." Rainbow cleared her throat. "I mean... I know that Luna and Celestia didn't go fully into it, but it's rather obvious by now that I'm gonna have a tough time once I enter the Midnight Armory." She brushed her short bangs back with a jittery hoof. "Like... mentally... and temporally."

"Indeed."

"So—like—what if Endrax knows that?" Rainbow bore a hopeful smirk. "And what if she's figured out a way to assist me that the alicorns never thought up? Cuz... like... they never anticipated that a mortal would be the one to acquire the Harmonic Prism!"

"Austraeoh..." Remna spoke in a defeated tone. "I cannot presume to speak for the wisdom of my eldest sister, but Divines—much like mortals—oftentimes find themselves thinking on their scales."

"Eh?"

"I've only ever been capable of saving you spontaneously," Remna said. "In the moment. And—at best—those have been awkward, miraculous affairs." Her nostrils flared. "Endrax is up against insurmountable forces that are all vying for the exact same piece of real estate. Whatever 'solution' the Divine has thought up... odds are it exhausted itself eons ago."

"I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves then," Rainbow said with a shrug.

Remna stared somberly at the pegasus. "And at what point will you no longer be able to pay the price of discovery?"

Rainbow was silent.

Remna continued, "At what point will you run out of immortals to assist you?"

Rainbow fidgeted where she stood. She glanced at her friends.

Just then, a loud shriek filled the air—piercing its way through the thunder.

Rainbow, Remna, and Kepler glanced skyward. Bodies crossed the forked lightning, returning to the Stardust. Enix and her nightblood wingmates hovered close to the bow, gesturing east.

"Blood of Luna!" Enix exclaimed. Her slitted eyes narrowed darkly. "We have arrived."

Rainbow Dash blinked.

"Wowie!" Pinkie hovered. "That was quicker than expected!"

"It must have been because of the smoother waters," Fluttershy said.

"Let's all remain calm," Twilight insisted. She looked over at Rarity. "Rarity? How about it? What do you sense?"

"I sense... I-I sense..." Rarity's lips quivered. Her coat paled even more as she turned to gape at her friends. "...nothing."

Comments

[Czar_Yoshi]

"I can trust alicorns to be untrustworthy," Remna said, raising an eyebrow.

You can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for...

[Tim the Planes-pony]

7594597 Because you never know when they are going to do something....Incredibly Stupid.

And once again Axan shows that for all of her smarts gained from millennia of living, she still has not attained understanding.

[aRestlessCreativeGamer]

Remna continued, "At what point will you run out of immortals to assist you?"

Well, however you decide to view it, the only help the immortals have been good for so far is offering advice and info(with the single exception of Whitemane and her shield). And I kinda hesitate to call Mortuana immortal as she is dead, so she doesn't count. So immortals haven't exactly been very helpful overall, depending on how you value the information received.

[IceKitsune]

Time for the finale to this book to begin everyone.

[alamais]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Endrax may be involved with one of the sides in the Trinary War (or hell, maybe more than one). The Night Shard seems most probable, but time shall tell. One might think winning the war would be the goal, but even if you could and did, what then? You're probably commanding a bunch of chaotic 'allies', so if you get the Armory but then don't try to get inside (or 'try' and fail for a long time), you become a target. But if you have three factions, and if you can keep manipulating things so that no side wins, then you keep them focused on each other for as long as necessary.

[Sir Mediocre]

7594789 Stupidity and success dance hand-in-hand to a silly tune, and sometimes flail about explosively amid the onlookers.

[KMCA]

7594597 Honestly.

[adlbeay]

Axan was right about the how the Divines are dying out. Both Nevlamas and Verlax died from participating in this Austraeoh schtick, and I'm guessing that Axan is next in line, with her mortal body. If Endrax is really dead on the dark side, then the only one left will be Sturke, who happened to have stayed the furthest away from the Austraeoh business.

East horse is lethal to ancient dragon divines, is what I'm saying.

[Leftover of Saikano]

Or the Night Shard, all of them together, are the Divine. Like Lilin from Evangelion.

[Cynderfall]

The Void.

[Nevlamas]

I like how all of Remna's ominous droning that followed her rant about the alicorns' naivety really tells us nothing but that she has no idea either.

"I can trust alicorns to be untrustworthy," Remna said, raising an eyebrow.

Oh shove a Silvadelian in it.

Rainbow looked at Remna. "You think she could be... like... 'holding the door' for me?"

Really?

No one?

Fine.

[Revan]

Alternate Chapter title:

Edges of Planes and Sanities

[The Chronicler]

I'm willing to bet Endrax and her brood are the Night Shard.

[Merula]

"You never know, Axan," Rainbow said. "Maybe when we cross over to the Dark Side, Endrax will be waiting right there... willing to lend us a claw to the Midnight Armory. That'd be awesome, right?"

>inb4 they find Endrax

Over the edge we go!

[Hazard]

There's no point in sweating it yet rainbow. You have yet to even cross over.

7596481 that was my thought as well. I guess time will tell.

[MercySewerPyro]

I actually kinda wonder if Endrax will turn out to be another Big Bad. She could... Although, it's just as likely that she'll turn out to be an ally, if they find her alive at all.

In other news, long time no comment.

[General Lemarc]

7596481 Probably

[NeverEatTheLemonsAlone]

Endrax is the leader of the Night Shard. Calling it now.

[kihutaja]

Chrysalis actually gave some information about Endrax's fate back in Urohringr:

"... Once reunited with Tchern's hive, the Twin Queens shall be unstoppable. At last, after thousands of years of chaos, we will unite the fragments of Endrax and lay claim to the Sarcophagus of Ages. Both the Sarosian and Night Shard armies will be driven into ruin, and we will have our rightful claim to the powers of harmony and chaos that keep this plane adrift."

Rainbow Dash's pupils shrank. "The 'Sarcophagus of Ages...'" She blinked. "Wait, you mean the Midnight Armory?!" She frowned. "And just what in the buck happened to Endrax?!"

"She was nothing but a relic of the Age before the Sundering," Chrysalis said with a flickering smile. "Her vigil was over long before it began. The Three Armies overran her bastion eons ago..."

Too bad Rainbow didn't ask her about Endrax after she was defeated, the way she asked and got plenty of info about Verlax.

[deltablaze22]

7596481 7644118 this has been my theory ever since learning about the night shard so its cool having someone else share my thoughts

[Super Trampoline]

7595085 that's some 1984 shit
"Nightshards and Changelings have always been at war. "

[arancaytar]

"Deceiving all of your supposed loved ones," the draconian mare droned. "Now they'll live on in their fragile mortal lives, not knowing the chaotic fate of their soul-selves."

Yeah, I'm gonna go with Need To Know, Axan.

Do they need to know that Urohringr is going SCP-2718 / Nethersphere on their souls? No. No they don't. It won't make them avoid death any more than they already would.

"I sense... I-I sense..." Rarity's lips quivered. Her coat paled even more as she turned to gape at her friends. "... nothing ."

Yikes, that's creepy.

[Mynillion]

"Dang straight." Rainbow breathed, staring out at the chaotic tempest. "Part of being awesome and responsible is knowing to wait until the ball's within your court before presuming to talk smack. Y'know what I mean?"
"No."

Is it too late to ship these two?
If Endrax is still around and not in 'shards' as Chrysalis monologues so long ago lets hope she's saner than Nevlamas and Verlax were.

[Wildfiretiremile]

So here’s something I’ve been dwelling on.. the world was a giant ring that split what split it how did it split and how does the world connect the light to the dark of the ring since it was just 2 sides.

[meanderingNekomata]

My guess, Verlax didn't find Endrax alive or dead, so she's gotta be out in space looking for the rest of Urohringr

[Tim the Planes-pony]

Rainbow smiled. "Hope." She took a deep breath. "Wasn't that the same thing that sent Endrax over to the Dark Side to begin with?" She waved a hoof. "Wasn't that what got you to spare me when everything was royally screwed in Silvadel?"

Hope sustains during periods of difficulty, it is a priceless asset to have.

11/10/2019
16:48 UTC

[Future Regret]

He better of expounded in the Night Shard before the forever hiatus because I’m curious.

[hypervelocity]

"Look..." Rainbow frowned. "Until I can actually do anything about it, I'm not gonna say anything about it!"

Well yeah, what would be the point in saying she's gonna fix everything when no one knows what's causing all of the souls in the plane to not go where they're supposed to go. That would just be more chaos we don't need.

"I sense... I-I sense..." Rarity's lips quivered. Her coat paled even more as she turned to gape at her friends. "... nothing ."

Cool, that's reassuring.