The Seeds Have Been Planted
Rainbow Dash scooped some more rice into her mouth, nibbled, and leaned back in the thick wooden chair situated on the third floor balcony of the tavern. Below her, patrons gathered and gossiped over fires and a buffet of steaming fresh foods. With her rear legs propped up on a tiny table before her, Rainbow munched away, calmly glancing at a map unfolded in her grasp.
“Mrmmfff... okay...” She gulped the latest morsel down and gestured in the firelight. “I think I'm starting to figure this all out.”
“Do tell,” Fluttershy said, hovering over her shoulder.
“Does the good Doctor Sinrar shed any light on this place?” Twilight remarked.
“Yes and no,” Rainbow mumbled. “See...” She pointed at the dividing lines snaking across the illustrated continent. “These are obviously Prefectures. It's just that Sinrar never bothered to label the provinces in this copy of the map.”
“Is it the only map of Rohbredden we have?” Rarity asked.
“No. But it's the easiest one to make out.” Rainbow made the face. “The other one is... full of all these annoying, squiggly lines all over the place. Bleah...” She took another bite out of her bowl of rice. “Makes me—mrmmff—wanna barf just looking at it.”
Twilight's muzzle scrunched. “Rainbow, that's a topographical map. And seeing how elevated you claim Yaerfaerda is, that's likely to be supremely important to us in the near future.”
“Yeah, whatever. I'm trying to make a point here, egghead.” Rainbow finished munching and gestured at the map. “Captain Farouche brought us into—like—a huge inlet, right?”
“That led into the Sunset Tract, yes.” Rarity nodded. “Do you believe that you've found it?”
“Wham.” Rainbow pointed at the illustration of a river slithering its way east. “Right there. And this blob-shaped province? I'll bet my last nostril hair that it's Osmanthus Prefecture. See how the river makes these two big bends and then thins off to the southeast?”
“Riverstem?” Fluttershy remarked.
“Exactly. Up here, you can see the Silt Path. Just a sneeze to the north.”
“Nice of Professor Sinrar to have bothered to illustrate that,” Rarity snorted.
“And here the Path thins and then thickens again, right at the border of Osmanthus and the Prefecture next to it.”
“That was the mountain pass,” Twilight said. “And we've since crossed over into Seed Prefecture.”
“Oh wow...” Fluttershy pointed at the noticeably large, figure-eight shaped province running north and south beyond the horizontal Silt Path on the map. “Look how vast it is.”
“Rice paddies and terraces as far as the eye can see,” Twilight said with a smile. “Nestled between mountains.”
“I do remember seeing some rather large mountains to the east,” Fluttershy said.
“Could that be where the Silt Path is leading us?” Rarity asked.
“Let's not get hung up on the Silt Path, girls,” Rainbow said. She reached for the rice bowl again. “Remember, it's Yaerfaerda that's leading us to AJ. Not the road—”
“Say!” A pink head with a pink mane burst out of Rainbow's chest, grinning. “I just thought of something! Seed!”
Rainbow grimaced, juggled the bowl twice... thrice... and managed to catch the thing before it could fall to the floor. “Hssst... Pinkie...”
“Whoops...” Pinkie blushed coyly. “Sorriez.” She hovered up until she was no longer phasing through the pegasus. “I just got to thinking. 'Seed.'” She pivoted to face Twilight and Rarity. “Didn't you gals say that Professor Sinistar had helped you and Dashie come up with the locations of the Seeds?”
“Sinrar,” Twilight corrected. “And yes. Six locations of supreme importance to the Rohbredden community.”
“And coincidentally where both Yaerfaerda and the entrances to the machine world have been located,” Rarity said. “Each. And. Every. Time.”
“Well, that doesn't sound like such a coinkydinky to me!” Pinkie said, pouting.
“Join the club, Pinkie,” Rainbow muttered, cautiously glancing at a pony patron or two as they shuffled past her seat and on to other parts of the lofty tavern floor. “It's rather obvious by now that—ages ago—Verlax saw fit to mess around with the entrances to the Machine World.” She flared her nostrils, frowning. “Turning them into cultural shrines to control the Six Tribes as well as stupid puzzles to test me.” She sighed. “To bait the Austraeoh.”
“Cool,” Pinkie said. Before anyone could so much as blink at that, she continued: “So that means that you and Sinrar already know where these spots are... kinda sorta... right?”
Rainbow blinked.
“Do... do you still have those notes from when you and Professor Sinrar charted the maps together?” Rarity asked.
“I... hope so...” Rainbow fished through her saddlebag, again making sure that her pendant wouldn't pop free from her tunic in the process. “It's on one of the smaller... simpler maps. Here we go.” She pulled a sheet out, unfolded it, and spotted six marks drawn darkly into the paper. “Hmmmm...”
“Look, Rainbow.” Twilight pointed. “On the edge of the Blight, to the far west.”
“The Tower where I found you, right.” Rainbow nodded. “Then—out there in the middle of the ocean—is the Nealend Archipelago.”
“And southeast of that is Shoggoth, where we got Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said.
“And there's where we got Fluttershy!” Pinkie gleefully pointed at the two narrow remnants of Luminar. “Uhm... eventually. Eheh...”
“Where's the Fifth Seed marked on the map?” Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow squinted at the tiny sheet, then lifted it to look at the far larger map of Rohbredden. She repeated this gesture multiple times, blinking curiously.
“Well?” Rarity remarked. “What do you see?”
“It's... kinda...” Rainbow cocked her head aside. “...smack dab in the middle of the continent. But, like, closer to the southern shore than the northern one?”
“Are you talking about that long narrow inlet?” Twilight asked, pointing.
Rainbow's eyes were directed towards an outrageously thin slice of water that knifed its way upwards from the southern shore, making a thin “V”-shape that ended one-fourth of the way into the heart of the continent. The Fifth Seed was located a few centimeters north of the inlet's furthest tip on the smaller map.
“It's like Applejack's the cherry on the very top of a frozen pie!” Pinkie said, giggling.
“Doesn't sound very sweet to me,” Fluttershy said with a soft shudder.
“My goodness...” Rarity fanned herself. “Seems like Verlax really doesn't want us getting to Applejack very easily!”
“I... don't think even she has a choice in the matter,” Rainbow said.
“You really think so?” Fluttershy asked.
“I thought we had discovered a pattern, darling,” Rarity said. She waved a hoof. “In Nealend, you had to steal the hunt for Ultimo from the locals. Perceivably un-generous.”
“That's a bit of a stretch—”
“I'm not finished.” Rarity continued. “In Shoggoth, you made a bad joke out of the Syndicate by breaking every rule and convention established there and abroad.”
“Heeeeee...” Pinkie cartwheeled through a table.
“And... n-need I remind you of how unkind Verlax wanted you to be in the Quade?” Rarity shrugged. “It seems as though—meaning to or not—this Matriarch has figured out the nature of your friends at each Seed.” She gulped. “Perhaps she's learned through osmosis?”
“She's certainly lived long enough for that to happen,” Twilight said with a nod. “But then the question remains.” She shifted slightly. “How dishonest is she going to want Rainbow Dash to be in order to free Applejack?”
“Huh?” Fluttershy blinked.
“Relax, girls,” Rainbow muttered. “There's no telling what she wants me to do once we get to the Fifth Seed.”
“But the pattern is rather glaring, darling,” Rarity said. “And with each passing entrance to the machine world, Verlax has... erm... g-goaded you into doing more and more severe things.”
“Yeah?” Rainbow growled slightly. “Well I'm not buying into her bullcrap anymore!”
“Ooooh!” Pinkie cartwheeled back. “Dashie said the 'b' word!”
“Pinkie, all things considered...” Rarity gestured. “She heard an awful lot worst at Red Barge.”
“Don't you mean 'worse,' Rarity?” Pinkie stuck her tongue out.
Rarity blinked. “... ... ...huh.”
“Verlax may be super crazy,” Rainbow muttered. “And we all know she's planned a lot of wild things. But...” She shook her head. “I don't think Red Barge was one of them.”
“Well, it's not like an entrance to the Machine World was ever beneath Skagra's operation,” Twilight said.
“Uh huh.” Rainbow nodded. “What's more, there's no hint of any of the Seeds being located anywhere near those muck waters.”
“What are you getting at, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked.
“Don't you get it? Of all the tests that Verlax has been putting me through, Red Barge was not one of them.” Her brow furrowed. “It was a miserable, horrible place—a trial by fire all on its own. But the only reason I got through it was because of Keris... Swab...” She shuddered, smiling weakly. “And you girls...”
Twilight hung her head. “We should have helped you much sooner...”
“That's not the point,” Rainbow said bluntly. “Don't you see? Verlax was... doing so darn much to get us to drift apart.” She gulped. “And I fell into her trap. I ticked you guys off... and f-for good reason.” A sigh. “... but now we're together again and it's awesome.”
“You suppose that it's the one thing Verlax doesn't expect?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow nodded. “It could very well be the edge we need to trump her.”
“Eugh...” Pinkie waved a hoof before her scrunched muzzle. “Don't say that word.”
Rainbow blinked. “What word?”
Pinkie sighed. “Never mind.” She instantly brightened. “So what about the Sixth Seed? Huh huh huh?”
“Uhhhhh...”
“Haven't you girls ever thought about it?” Pinkie backflipped and landed on the table with ghostly finesse. She leaned over and pointed at the six spot Sinrar sketched into the map, close to the edge. “This thingy! This thingy right here!”
“I suspect it's the last entrance to the machine world before the edge of the plane,” Twilight said.
“Of coursies, horsies!” Pinkie's eyes thinned. “But why?”
“I'm... sure the Professor had good reason to suspect that as being the Sixth Seed,” Twilight said. “I suppose, when the time comes, Yaerfaerda will prove whether or not he's right—”
“And I don't doubt it!” Pinkie chirped. “But why would we even need to go there?”
“Huh?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “What are you sniffing this time, Pinkie?”
“I mean, we'll have Applejack with us by that time, right?” Pinkie shrugged. “So why visit another Seed?”
“I can think of one reason,” Fluttershy said. “Rainbow's health. She needs to make contact with the beacons to prolong her life, doesn't she?”
“Yes.” Rarity grimaced. “And... am I-I the only one who's wondered if there'll even be places on the dark side of the plane for Rainbow to 'recharge' as t'were?”
“I've thought about it,” Twilight said with a shudder. “Assuming the worst case scenario, then Rainbow will definitely want to access the ruby flame as close to her departure to the dark side as possible.”
“If the Austraeoh is meant to cross over to begin with, then I'm sure there'll be something to... g-give me more 'juice' on the far side,” Rainbow muttered.
“But do we know that for sure, Rainbow?” Twilight said.
“What, are you trying to make me paranoid, egghead?”
“It helps to be prepared, Rainbow—”
“Let's just worry about getting to Applejack for the time being, okay?” Rainbow sighed. “That's what matters more than anything.”
“Still...” Pinkie tapped her chin, squinting at the last mark. “That final Seed's gonna be a doozy.”
“How do you know that, Pinkie?” Rarity asked.
“Well, we all know that the big bad dragon lady runs this continent, right?”
“Yes.” Twilight nodded. “Rohbredden belongs to Verlax in more ways than one.”
“So, wanna bet that she's keeping a close eye on Applejack?” Pinkie remarked, blinking. “Like a super... super close eye?”
“I... don't get it,” Rainbow muttered.
“What I think Pinkie is trying to say...” Fluttershy pointed at the fifth marking. “...is that where the next Seed is located... makes for a prime location for Verlax to be holed up.”
“Like... where she lives?”
“A Goddess Queen has to have a throne somewhere,” Twilight remarked. “And in the very center of the continent? Where it's apparently the coldest?” A shudder. “Seems likelier than we think... or at least want to think.”
“So then...” Rarity squinted at the last mark before the edge. “What part would the sixth Seed play in Verlax's plan? I mean... what could possibly be beyond the Element of Honesty?”
Rainbow gulped. “Or... perhaps—despite all of Verlax's big winded monologues—she doesn't even expect me to reach it.”
Silence.
“Ehhhh... maps shmaps...” Pinkie waved a hoof, then smiled. “More rice, Dashie?”
“I... think I just lost my appetite.”
“Well...” Rarity pointed out a tall set of windows. “I think I know something that's sweeter than dessert.”
“Huh?” Rainbow turned to look. Her ruby eyes reflected a sheen of pale moonlight. She smiled. “Oh... hey. Will you look at that.”
“Perhaps now's a good time for us to make an exit,” Twilight said.
“Uhm...” Fluttershy gulped. “Better make that a quick exit.” She slid up to Rainbow and pointed down at the lower floors of the tavern. “Look.”
Rainbow did so.
The mares spotted a group of travelers huddled around a stallion as he unrolled a wanted poster illustrating a colorful pegasus. The Rohbreddenites chatted excitedly, gesturing at one another and pointing at their bit bags.
“Awwww fudge!” Pinkie gulped. “The fudge fuzz!”
“Not quite, but I'm not waiting around for it to get fuzzier.” Rainbow rolled her maps up, gobbled down the rest of the rice, and shouldered her saddlebag. “Mrmmmfff... hoof it time...”
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Sinrar's operation ought to be Skagra's operation I imagine.
Woot! new chapter, and it looks like Dashie is getting closer to finding Applejack...
The last beacon is obviously where she picks up Discord. Her friends weren't the only ones to die in the event.
Yeah, there's that 6th seed being mentioned again.
Midnight thinks it might be related to Discord. If Rainbow is going to be facing even worse things on the other side of the plane, she'll need to be able to harness all her abilities. So Discord might be able to give her a way to control her Dashcord form. Seriously doubt that she'd trust him, though...
Yep, signs still point to AJ being in the southern area of Rohbredden.
Aaaaand, it's time to make a quick departure and talk to Luna once again.
I really hope Dashie actually makes it to the Edge either before or during her traverse to the other side. I really wanna see what world-bending hocus pocus is going on in that area.
6737297
I am so hoping that's how it goes down. Because Discord as a ghost forced to co-exist with the rest of the Mane 5 as a phantom attached to RD would be hilarious.
So... moon talk time?
Am I detecting a hint of political commentary?
Dash is going to have to make those with frozen relatives be honest with themselves that most aren't getting their loved ones back. That or it will involve having to tear down all the lies surrounding Verlax.
Not many answers, but a whole lot of questions, and next is LUNA TIME
, Rainbow is going to have a LOT to talk about. I am betting that Luna is understanding, but disappointed, about what Rainbow did.
6737333 Pinkie Pie must #FeeltheBern!
6737285 I think more like it will purge the chaos within her.
----------
Should be Skagra.
Rarity, seeing the pattern.
Oh hey, Moonspeak time.
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
And back on the road again...
So we've got the theme confirmed again... but for the sixth seed, well, there's only one element of harmony left after Applejack, isn't there? How traitorous does Verlax want Rainbow to get? How will she deal with being forced against her very core identity? Her Loyalty?
6737297 Eeyup. That's really gonna be a doozy. And if RD needed to perform the opposite her friends' traits in order to get them (ie: No Magic = Twilight, Stealing The Hunt = Rarity, and so on), getting Discord, she needs to be...harmonious? Sounds anti-climatic.
6737297 I said that back when scarity was freed!
6737297 Nah, too obvious now... it won't be full on Discord - it'll be Lancie, breaking the walls of alt-account Skirts fics to appear in this one too.
I've wondered about the sixth seed myself. I guess it would be too much to hope for that it would cure Rainbow of her condition? Maybe Terrycloth is right, though the idea of a ghostly Discord buzzing around fills me with all kinds of mixed feelings.
Never have Pinkie and I been more in agreement.
Plot Twist: 6th seed produces a ghostly Rainbow Dash. The RD we've been following all along is actually a soulless zombie. Whoops.
6737333
6737359
Why not? They just got off the Cruz.
media.giphy.com/media/xTiTnHXbRoaZ1B1Mo8/giphy.gif
Well more interesting things have yet again been brought up. As much as it makes sense for the sixth seed to be Discord, it almost makes to much sense I guess. What if it's nothing and before going to the darkside she doesn't get a recharge and has to get it another way perhaps? How that would happen I don't know.
6737343
Actually wouldn't it be more likely that Dash would have to convince the citizens that Verlax actually is a god? Perhaps after they stop believing. That would be dishonest, dismantling her lies would be being honest.
6737371 but she needs the chaos on the darkside, easier to sneak by who knows what if it thinks your one of them
The last seed is obviously for Applejack's hat.
I'm not so sure that thing's actually part of her soul, so they're gonna need a separate seed entirely to bring the hat back. Because we absolutely can't have a hatless Applejack.
Inconvenient time for a chat with Ms. Moon, but I'm sure looking forward to more information on what is going on with Cadence and Shining's adventure.
Sith. You mean Sith.
I don't blame you, Pinkie.
So Rainbow will encounter the spirit of Discord at the last seed, only to find that he's actually a pretty decent guy after being exposed to all the harmony on the way there. Then he reveals that pieces of his being are scattered across the dark side and that Rainbow must retrieve them in order to rejuvinate herself and keep flying, but instead she used their power to grant other ponies wishes.
...wait wrong story
hmm, it seems to be implying that the sixth seed will be related to loyalty, but if that's the case, exactly what will be brought back? A form of her from before she was infected? And also, if she does do something disloyal at that point, I'm almost certain that the result will be catastrophic.
I think the last seed will be how RD gets to the dark side, not the actual edge of the plane.
Or it'll be Verlax's hidey hole.
If Verlax is baiting them, then she wants whatever appears at the sixth seed. What is that she may want? Wendigos? Endrax? End of the world?
Talon seem somewhat right to be worried
Pretty sure she'll find the last remaining copy of a Cyan Sings album at the sixth seed.
6737450 The RD we have been traveling with is an amnesiac Discord. We've seen what happens when the Element is taken off. Also, Chaos is Change, and Rainbow has been an element of change more than anything during her travel.
And no one notices Rainbow talking to herself.
It's all good.
Of all the theories I've thought up or heard, I think sixth seed = Shell is the most entertaining.
Interesting...
I'm still uncertain as to Verlax's intentions. While Rainbow seems (justifiably) convinced that she's out to separate her from her friends, I still think that it's very well possible that Verlax simply wants Rainbow to accept that Chaos is a necessary tool in order to save the world.
I just find it very hard to believe that Verlax is truly against RD. While her methods are arguably not very good, I think her intentions coincide with those of Rainbow Dash, merely that she acts on a far larger scale, thus doing so in a way that, if viewed from the perspective of a mortal lifespan, can only be seen as evil.
Unfortunately, in the UK, to trump is a euphemism especially used by children, to denounce those who have just broken wind, especially if its in a loud, prolonged, disturbingly toxic smelling variation.
At least this time Dash managed to get some food before having to move it, looks like is a good thing she didnt pay for that room, or will be paying for one for the foreseeable future?
Now to find somewhere away from the local populance so that when she talks to the empty air, the empty air can talk back, although it would be intresting if the Talon were to have her under observation, in hearing distance first, instead of just dropping straight in like blade and brick tornadoes.
6737837
The small percentage of Wyverns in this part of the world lacking vocal cords is a myth. They actually took an oath of silence in the belief that no other voice could compare to Cyan's. Even if it exists only as a mysterious recording from lands unknown, kept in an ancient shrine on the edge Batpony Country. Perfection revered in silence.
Hell, even Wildcard couldn't help occasionally staring at Dash just because her coat was a certain shade of blue.
On a less absurdly speculative note, what colour would a Discord Yaerfaerda beacon be? Grey? Plaid?
I wonder if maybe Discord planned all this from the start? That his rampage in Equestria was started for the sole purpose of starting Dash on her journey. And what of before he was unleashed? Before his approximately 1000 years in stone? Could he have been the one who cast a certain legendary sentinal on its Equestrian voyage?
Twists and turns are his master plan. All shall return to where it begain.
Before the sundering perhaps?
6737460 Well... The region they're in is certainly Hill(ar)y.
Can we stop this now?
I had honestly forgotten about the sixth seed. Glad to be reminded of it even if the curiosity is killing me.
Hmm...
Speculation about 6th seed? Check. It's probably Discord.
Hoof it out of town? Check.
Moontalk?
....
Where's the moontalk?
6737333 yep...and I hope to hell that's as far as it ever goes. I read these stories to escape from the crap of the real world, and I would hate for it to bleed into my entertainment.
When the going get's awesome, the awesome gets going.
Also Moontalk time! Sounds like a good name for a podcast.
You can't make us.
6738229
I predict that Verlax is actually at the sixth seed, and that it will be her way to the other side.
6738090
Yes. Soooooooooo much yes.
6738125 That is a very, very interesting question. The Discord that Skirts wrote for BP was certainly smart enough, powerful enough, and borderline-omniscient enough for that level of planning. The question becomes why?. What would an avatar of pure chaos gain from the completion of this quest?
6738856 Verlax said it herself, chaos and harmony need each other.
Besides, Discord hasn't ever said outright "CHAOS WILL REIGN SUPREME" or anything like that in cannon. And knowing him, knowing how anfractuous (Huh, first time using that word) his thinking is, it'd be completely reasonable for him to organize the survival of Equestria just to keep having a place to have fun in.
I haven't forgotten about the sixth Seed, but I guess my my prediction for where it would be was wrong. And the fifth one for that matter.
Though I'll jump aboard the Discord-is-probably-the-result-of-reaching-the-sixth-Seed bandwagon.
6739333
Yes! Join the dark side! We have cookies!
Caught back up and the plot's been moving right along nicely. Shame Keris didn't join Rainbow's party to get to the dark side but I suppose he's best with the rest of the talons to hopefully be a voice of reason when the time comes.
This actually brings up a good point, and one I don't think the community has speculated much on yet (I could be wrong). Just how will Dash continue to survive on the other side without a beacons?
6738125
I like this theory, but I don't believe that Discord would have planned it - if anything Discord is part of the larger scheme/plan but not the creator of it. Discord has had plenty of time and knowledge at his disposal to figure out how things worked. Perhaps he realized his part in the plan and worked to fulfill it by becoming 'the villain'.
6738856
What would an avatar of chaos gain from setting Rainbow on this quest? Besides setting Rainbow on one of the greatest quests to effect change (chaos) among every pony she meets and every continent that she travels? Well, preventing the end of the world would be a good reason. After all, if there's no world to influence and change, Discord is nothing. Discord himself being 'killed' isn't really that much of a setback for him if our speculation about the sixth seed is correct.
6739448 What kind?