Missing the Mystery

by James Pwyll

Missing the Mystery

"Okay, you're getting closer...closer...closer...now go get it!"

Pinkie's words echoed in Twilight's ears as she continued on, totally blindfolded, with the pin in her mouth. Anticipation was gripping her now, and before long she could feel the pointy object between her teeth finally puncture the surface of the unseen board before her. Finally letting go, and after taking a moment to lick away the metallic feel off her teeth, she used her magic to take her blindfold off. Smiling, she looked on at the completely accurate aiming of the pin, which had placed that tail onto the image of the donkey perfectly. "Good to know I can get one of these party games right."

A giggle to her left caused her to turn, and she now gazed to Fluttershy, who approached her slowly. "I know the feeling. I got this game wrong a hundred times before I finally got the pin in right."

The two mares laughed together, and as they looked back to the rest of the group, most of whom were enjoying all the snacks Spike had laid out on the table for them, Twilight sighed. "It's good you were all able to come over. I don't know how many moments like this we'll be able to have once I sit on Equestria's throne."

Applejack, who had just finished downing a mug of her home-brought cider, grinned widely to her. "Aw shucks, Twi, we'll always find time fer this!"

Rarity, who herself was content to just have a small cup of tea, nodded in agreement. "Indeed. No matter how busy our lives get, spending time with one another will always be something we will strive for."

A quick chuckle from above caused them all to glance in its direction, just in time to see Rainbow descend down, before leaning casually on the Cutie Map in the middle of the chamber. "What's the old saying? Wild horses couldn't keep us away?"

Pinkie looked to her with confusion. "What's a horse?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Dunno. Heard it from some of those other versions of us when they were passing through from that yacht thing of theirs. I think it's like a pony, but bigger."

Pinkie considered that, then gave a shrug of her own. "Well, whatever it is, Rainbow's right. If there's a get-together with friends to be had, you can count on ole Pinkie Pie to be there!"

Twilight smiled warmly to each of them, then let out a contented sigh. "I appreciate that. All of you. With so many changes happening so quickly, it's nice to know there's friends in my life to keep things anchored."

Rarity giggled. "Oh, to be sure. Why, who knows how bizarre your life would be if you didn't have ordinary days with us?" She then considered her own words. "Although, things tend to get bizarre even when your with us, so..."

The group all laughed together, after which Fluttershy turned to look to Twilight. "So what was it you were doing earlier? You had quite a few papers with you when we got here."

Twilight gave a quick shrug. "Oh, just a few communiques between us and the Dragon Lands. Dragon Lord Ember has really taken to the whole 'frequent communication' thing that leaders have to do these days."

Fluttershy smiled. "I'm glad she and her dragons have been getting closer to us. I never once thought we'd see the day when we'd consider them friends."

Rarity, brushing aside some of her mane, nodded in agreement. "Quite, darling. Were you to tell me that there would one day come a time when we could walk right into their homeland and walk out completely unharmed, I'd have likely called you mad."

Applejack tipped her hat to the rest of the group. "Eyup. Things are changin' alright."

"Yeah...they are," Rainbow agreed. Though there was something in her voice that caused all of her friends to look to her. It wasn't a sound of sadness exactly, but more like a thoughtfulness. It was the same kind of tone a pony might speak in when they were rummaging around in their attic and come across some old photo of bygone times. Rainbow, after a few moments, realised that her friends were looking to her with confusion, and so turned away, getting back to some of her own cider.

Twilight, by contrast, didn't seem willing to let the matter go. "Are you okay, Rainbow?"

Looking back to her, Rainbow put on a smile that all of them could tell was forced. "Oh yeah! I'm great! The party's fun, and..." But one look at her friends' incredulous faces made it clear that she wasn't getting out of this. So, with shoulders slumping, she started to speak genuinely. "It's just...I've been thinking about all these changes. Us being friends with the dragons, the Changelings, going out into the world and doing all the things we've been doing."

Pinkie tilted her head slightly. "But...you like all that stuff, right?"

Rainbow perked up, smiling widely. "Oh yeah! It's been great! We've made some awesome friends, gone to cool new places and done some big heroic stuff! There's nothing to not like about that!"

Applejack arched an eyebrow. "Granny Smith once said somethin' ta me. Anythin' a mare says before the word 'but' is a load o' manure."

Rainbow, after taking a moment to enjoy the rather flabbergasted way Rarity looked to their farming friend after that, returned to her prior look of thoughtfulness. "But...do you guys ever feel like life is...ugh, I don't know how to say this. Like life is...less than is used to be?"

Naturally, a remark like that earned her even more confusion from her friends than before, prompting Twilight to step forward. "Rainbow, I'm not sure what you're talking about."

Frustrated, Rainbow took a moment to get her thoughts in order, which her friends were kind enough to let her do, before starting to explain herself. "Okay, imagine you're a kid, watching a magician do their tricks. You think it's the best thing ever, and you're filled with all these questions. How do they do that? What else can they do? Just how far can this go?" She grimaced. "And then you grow up, you maybe learn more about magic tricks, about how they're done, and sure, it's interesting. But at the same time you think maybe you spoiled things for yourself by finding out how they did it."

Applejack leaned in and whispered to Rarity. "Somepony's been hangin' with Trixie, ah think."

Rarity smirked to her, but then turned her gaze to Rainbow. "This is all fascinating, Rainbow, but I fail to see how this relates to what you were saying earlier."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Think back then. Back to about the time Twilight first came to Ponyville. Back then, we didn't know all the stuff we know now. We didn't know all the legends we heard as fillies were true. We didn't know who or what was out there, beyond Equestria. We didn't know about all the things the world had to offer. And now we...now we do!"

Twilight smiled. "Well that's good, isn't it? Surely it's beneficial to all to expand our knowledge and understanding of the world and all who live in it?"

Rainbow sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Scientific progress, leaning more, all that good stuff. I get it, and I agree it's better to know more than less, but...don't you miss not knowing?"

Twilight hesitated. "I'm...not sure I understand."

Rainbow pointed to her. "Before you make a discovery, you feel excited and totally pumped for what you might find. You're ecstatic over the possibilities. You feel wonder, awe, all those great feelings. And when you finally get the answer to the question...does it feel as good? Does having the answer give you the same rush that you might have felt back when you were still thinking on what it might have been?"

Twilight opened her mouth to reply, only to be struck with the embarrassing realisation that she didn't actually have a good response to that. Fluttershy, seeing this, decided to speak to her childhood friend in the Princess' place. "Do you really feel that way, Rainbow?"

Rainbow gave a firm nod. "Not always, but yeah it makes me think sometimes." She turned, pointing to the nearest window. "Back in the day, we'd look to the horizon and wonder. What's out there? Who's out there? What kinds of adventures could we find there?" A look of slight sadness came to her. "Now? Now we know." She pointed again to the window. "That way leads to Yakyakistan." She turned again, pointing in another direction. "That way has Griffonstone." Another turn. "That way takes you to the Dragon Lands." She gave a shrug. "Met a dragon the other day. Did I tell you? He's one of those young ones that Ember's been encouraging to visit Equestria. His name's Bob. Says he'd like to take a job at a newspaper place one day."

Pinkie giggled. "Sounds nice! Hope he gets it!"

Rainbow gave herself a quick facepalm. "Yeah, so do I, but that's not the point! When we were young there was all this unknown stuff about the world. But now we know the unknown stuff! It's part of our lives, it's part of our world, and it's...ordinary now!" Her shoulders slumped again. "It's like...like...like..."

"Like the fantastic has become mundane."

All eyes turned to the other voice. It was Twilight, who had been silent since Rainbow's question to her earlier. And speaking of Rainbow, she slowly nodded to her friend's words. "Yeah...that's it exactly." She took a moment to rub her temples, as if this conversation had caused some mild headache in her. "Look, I don't want to sound like I'm unhappy with our lives. They're great. But it's almost like something special has gone out of it with the more and more we know about the world. Like having our questions about the world be answered has made the world less wonderful. The world's not bad, don't get me wrong. There's good stuff out there. And good people too. Ember, Thorax, the Yaks, all the places they live. That's all great, and I want them to stay part of our lives. But...ugh, I don't know! I don't know what I'm talking about now!" she declared with frustration.

Twilight took a few steps closer to her. "You know...I think I understand."

Rainbow looked to her, uncertain. "You...you do?"

Twilight gave a single nod. "I do. And you're not wrong. Mystery was something that shrouded all of Equestria back when I first moved here to Ponyville. Wherever you looked, there was something we didn't know, something we thought we'd never get to go and see, or perhaps some part of our past that we'd just always assume was a fantasy. But as we've grown, as we've gotten older, that uncertainty has cleared, and we're left with answer after answer after answer." She smiled slightly. "I like answers. I like knowing how the world works and just what's out there. I like that the blank parts of the map are filled. And chances are that'll continue for us long into the future." Her ears drooped, if only slightly. "But there's no denying that the grand sense of excitement that came from not knowing has gone as a result. And like you, I miss that." She turned to the rest of her friends, all of whom were listening eagerly. "Do I want that ignorance to come back? No. And I don't think Rainbow does either."

Rainbow shook her head. "Heck no!"

Twilight smiled to her, then continued. "But I'd be lying if I said there wasn't some small part of me that misses the days when I could look out from my window, out as far as I could see, and actually question what was out there."

Silence fell, and everypony clearly had a lot to think about. But when it all ended, Fluttershy approached, looking to Rainbow and Twilight, before settling on the former and smiling. "Things have changed...but we go through those changes together. And I think...however hard it might be to lose some wonder in the world, it's worth it if it means we have more friends in our lives."

Rainbow blinked to her, glancing quickly to Twilight, who nodded to her, before chuckling slightly. "You know what, Flutters? I definitely can't argue with that."

Author's Note:

Sorry if this one feels overly-wistful. It was just something I thought about one day

Comments

[Ninjadeadbeard]

This was a really sweet... no, bittersweet read. I kind of perfectly encapsulates the right sort of nostalgia one gets thinking back on the show. I could actually see this scene taking place in a sort of alternative version, or later addition to the last Donut Joe's scene.

Thank you for this. It was very artfully done.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

Nicely done. Good bit of introspection on Rainbow's part. And a nice way that it concluded, too.

[B_Munro]

Nice. I too suffer from Excess Canon. [1]

[1] And Seriously Problematic, WTF Hasbro Canon, but that's life in Bronyland.

[Yutah123]

Well, if you can't look at the horizon and wonder what's out there...

You can look at the skies and wonder, what's out there.

[GamePlayer64]

I think what Rainbow is talking about is, The unknown is known, there's something they now know, anything they dream is now... A reality. They're now omniscient and something new will never happen.

[GamePlayer64]

10292023
New Cloud cities with pegasi.

[Yutah123]

10292062
You're not looking far enough.

[GamePlayer64]

10292095
I know what you're talking about but given its time, the only thing advance in technology is the steam train and with the magic of friendship is everything, why bother to make any changes.

[FanOfMostEverything]

On the other hand, the unknown invaded the capital during the Friendship Festival and petrified sixty percent of the royalty, so there's something to be said for knowing what's out there.

In all seriousness, I do understand where Dash is coming from. Play any 4X game and you eventually go from brave explorer to resource optimizer. Still, you can't befriend or learn from fantasies.

10292023
Or, alternatively, look at the mirror portal and wonder what else could be out there.

[Yutah123]

10292101
That reminds me:
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/a/a4/Map_of_Equestria_2015.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151205072352
On the map of Equestria, there's literally "Undiscovered West" and "Into the Unknown" to the far north, and who knows what lies on the other side of the Griffons and Dragons.

You may have learned a lot about your immediate surroundings, Rainbow, but there's still a lot more than that. So, go, and fly West. Or East. Or— Just pick a direction and you'll get somewhere.

And the mirror portal indeed. Now we're talking big. Entire universes with brand new species with unique cultures in unfamiliar environments...

10292098
You gravely underestimate the power of curiosity.

[Forthwith]

Man, I've been rewatching the entire series recently, and I really get where Dash is coming from. There was so much wonder and mystery to play around with in the early seasons, casual little tidbits of canon handed out to us that we had to stitch together into a coherent narrative. Now we just know so much about the universe that much of the mystique of the unknown is lost to us. I miss those days when AUs now were just extensions of canon. As on point as it was with the show's theme, I think the S6 finale with the changelings hit me the hardest in that regard.

At any rate, good job.

[Bandy]

Really intriguing ideas! For a story that's mostly static and very dialogue-heavy, this flowed easily. Growth means change, and change is scary. I feel for poor Rainbow Dash!

Thank you for sharing, author!

[Vaguely Demented]

Try boosting the smug feeling you get from knowing more, perhaps it will even the scales. Or perhaps not what works for my demented self doesn’t work for a lot of others.

[zeusdemigod131]

... ya ever wonder why despite Zecora and Iron Will being introduced early on, and Twi's magic show for the Saddle Arabian dignitaries being a big thing, we never got any information on where Zebras, Minotaurs, or Saddle Arabians live?

Like, we know more about Kirins and Breezies, two races who showed up for one episode each, than we do about Zecora's race, and she's in the opening credits.

Edit: Also, Saddle Arabians... probably just called horses in universe, yes? no?

[Zobeid]

This is good. It reminds me of some things in my own RL experience. However, two points…

1. I always assumed there’s a whole wide world like Earth out there, and everything we’ve seen in the show is just one little corner of it. There’s still plenty of room for Jules Verne style adventures. Especially in FiMFiction. I mean, just consider the whole Austraeoh (AKA Rainbow Dash Flies East) saga for example.

2. Everything after season two is just a sort of weird fever dream anyhow. (Quibble Pants told me!)

[The Iguana Man]

You know, as much as Dash and the others quite rightly put some emphasis on the upsides of knowing more about the world, this does bring to mind something I've been thinking about for a while, both in general and in relation to the show. It's a phenomenon I've observed in many writers and creators that... well, I certainly wouldn't say it's anything necessarily bad by any stretch, but I'd argue that it's not necessarily positive either and that it can be a problem. It's a concept I had a difficult time thinking up a name for and the best I can come up with is "Khoraphobia"* - roughly translated: "a fear of negative space".

It's not perfect, but I feel it does somewhat describe how many writers seem extremely reluctant, even afraid, of leaving anything in their world unexplored and unexplained. If there's any gap in the world as presented, no matter how obscure, it must be filled in.

Now, obviously, there's nothing wrong with explaining such things in and of itself, especially not if you do have ideas or answers that you want to include. But at the same time, I think the idea that you're obligated to explain everything and that any worldbuilding gap is a failure of the creator is just not true.

There's nothing wrong with leaving parts of your world unexplained, mysterious or just untouched. In fact, doing so can often enhance the world and the story, whether it's something specifically conveyed as a mystery of the world, like Tom Bombadil; something that's presented as a thing to allude to but is best left to the imagination, like the first Wizarding War against Voldemort or the Eugenics Wars; or simply something we just don't really need to know beyond the broad strokes and sentiments, like how and why the Doctor left Gallifrey. And that's not getting into the stuff that invites fan speculation, which I'd say is a good thing for a work to do.

Take, for exampe, what was, for the longest time, probably the show's biggest gap and the fandom's biggest mystery - the question of Scootaloo's parentage. Now, regardless of what you or I think of any given answer to the question, I think that the speculation and the sheer volume of different and imaginative answers was both fascinating and a great exercise in group creativity. Yes, even the arguments.

But that's not really the point. Because, of course, the show did eventually show her parents. And, in my opinion, it didn't do it half badly. And yet, when that happened, I remember a number of people saying things along the lines of "well, at least they're finally explaining it." And while I can understand that to a degree, I have to ask: was it really so vital that they do?

Again, it wasn't a bad thing that they did, but... did not knowing who her parents were or what her home life was like make, say, her devotion to and idolization of Rainbow Dash any less endearing or her developing relationship with her any less powerful and heartwarming. Were her talents less impressive or her insecurities less charming or interesting simply because we didn't know exactly how she came to have them? Getting an answer provided context for those aspects, certainly, but was it needed for her to be a great character? That is a semi-genuine question and I'd be interested to hear opposing viewpoints, but I wouldn't say that it was.

Again, if you want to explain something about your world, you should absolutely go ahead. But I don't think you should feel like you have to. Even ignoring the possibilty of such answers being bad and harmful to your world (something I'm sure many a Harry Potter fan could attest to in recent years), the fact is... it's okay to have unexplored areas and leave a bit of negative space in your world for us to speculate in.

As 10292149 and 10295096 pointed out, there is still some mystery in the world and the Zebras, Minotaurs and Saddle Arabians were left unexplored. Maybe it was a deliberate decision, maybe it was an oversight but either way, it is absolutely fine with me.

Anyway, apologies for the long, rambly post. Then again, perhaps a contemplative comment is appropriate for an self-admittedly "overly wistful"** story. Either way, I hope I at least made some sense in this meandering attempt to get my thoughts down.

<sub>*Derived from the greek idea of "Khôra, the closest I could find to an idea of negative space in the language. Also, the "kh" is pronounced with that slightly strangled "h" sound, like the spanish "Jimenez" or the scottish "loch". This is important to distinguish it from Choraphobia, the fear of dance, which I feel safe in saying no one associated with ponies suffers from. Also, it's convenient as it means I don't have to force in a Legend of Korra joke, since I haven't watched it.

**By the fic's admission anyway. Can't say I agree - I think it's just the right amount of wistful.</sub>

[DawnOfsnow]

I liked this story! It was sweet with a hint of philosophy

[Needling Haystacks]

10296017
I thought that was Season 3? :P