Several pale, heavy arches swam over Rainbow Dash's ruby eyes. She gazed up at them as she glided gently forward, only flapping her wings when she occasionally needed to. She led the group slowly through the ever-expansive heart of the underground structure. A thin platform of glowing metal served as their walkway. On either side was a horrendous drop into unfathomable depths. Metal-laced ravines went on beyond sight, adding to the insane vastness of the place.
“Judging from how long we have traveled and at our current speed,” Astral exclaimed from beneath Rainbow's flying figure. “I imagine we've covered no less than four miles through this place.”
“Is there any place that frickin' big?” Rainbow Dash asked. “In the world, that is?”
“Not in any of the history books I've read,” Astral replied. “And, as if you haven't guessed, I'm quite learned.”
“Who would want to build something so big?” Rainbow Dash gazed up at the high ceiling that glowed as she flew along. “I haven't seen any living rooms or nothing: just a bunch of giant corridors and ugly looking machines.” She blinked down at Astral. “Could this be a power plant of some sort?”
“Industrial machines have only existed on this continent for the past three hundred years. It's entirely possible that a prehistoric civilization fashioned mechanisms far more advanced than what's been recorded. But I sincerely doubt that this is a 'power plant,' as you would call it. There's no evidence of a distribution of fuel.”
“Otherwise, there'd be nothing to get the machines moving, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Heh.” Rainbow Dash looked ahead of her slow flight. “I knew I wasn't completely dumb.”
“You're a lot sharper than yourself credit for, Miss Dash.”
“Is this the same unicorn who was about to bite my head off for leading this group into this place to begin with?”
“Consider that the sin of a doubting stallion,” Astral said with a slight bow. “You've not led us astray. Though, I would very much like to know where this corridor is leading us. Surely you are just as immeasurably curious.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Rainbow Dash glanced down at her dimly glowing pendant. She sighed. “So much time has passed by. I suppose it's night already, huh?”
“Miss Dash, I wouldn't doubt it if two days have passed since you freed us from our captors.”
“Two days...” She winced and gazed up at the ceiling. “Ugh. Luna's going to kill me.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “Erm. Nothing. So... uhm...” She smiled down at Astral. “None of those ugly bat-creatures have attacked us. I suppose that's a good sign.”
“Yes. That, or the minotaurs in possession of the second chaos strip aren't able to reach us in here.”
“Would it have something to do with the metal surface of this place?”
“Just about anything is capable of possessing an enchantment,” Astral said. “Given enough time and concentration. If the civilization who built this practiced sorcery, it's quite possible that they created an anti-mana shield when they constructed the walls.”
“Heh. Lucky us, right?”
“In more ways than one,” Astral said with a nod. “Tell me, Miss Dash. Did the Sun Goddess bequeath you the Element of Loyalty personally? Or did it somehow come to you, as if it was your destiny to possess the pendant?”
Rainbow Dash said nothing. She merely bit her lip and flew ahead.
Astral continued, “Because there's an old legend that Wintergaters used to hold dear. It said that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars would aid in the escape of the Mare of the Moon, and the only thing keeping eternal night from bathing the landscape would be the legendary Elements of Harmony. Well, almost a year ago to date, the Mare in the Moon vanished. Ever since, rumor spread far and wide of the Equestrian Moon Princess having returned to earth to once again bless the land with her immortal wisdom.”
“Seems like everywhere I friggin' go,” Rainbow Dash muttered. “I'm always running into eggheads.”
“Miss Dash,” Astral said with a smile. “I know that you are entitled to your privacy. But you cannot hide what's in plain sight. You are the wielder of the Element of Loyalty. The power that went into such an item as you wear around your neck is absolutely astronomical. Without the six pieces of Harmony, this world cannot exist. The rest of the ponies behind us: they can only guess why this place responds to you so. But I happen to know. You're in possession of something that's far more powerful than any of us have ever had the grace to witness. And what's more, I don't think it's all just the pendant that you bear. There's more to it than that, isn't there?”
“How about I get us out of this stupid maze...” Rainbow Dash smiled bitterly down at him. “And then you can spend your precious time doing the college professor thing.”
“Still, it begs the question,” Astral thought aloud as Rainbow Dash flew a little higher. “If just one Element was brought to a place like this, and it's already had this kind of an effect, what would happen if the other five graced this location? Could the machinery come alive? Could the entire facility light up?”
“I don't think you'll ever have to worry about that,” Rainbow Dash muttered. Her prismatic tail drooped behind her. “None of the other Elements will ever see this place.”
“And why's that? Are they being used elsewhere?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash said. “There's only one.”
“One what?” Astral said. When Rainbow Dash didn't answer, his eyes went wide and he came to a hoof-scuffling stop. “There's only one Element?” His jaw dropped. “Since... S-Since when?”
“Since...” Rainbow Dash shuddered in mid-air. Suddenly, she flinched. She turned and squinted down a narrow passageway that opened up into a gaping, metal chasm. “What in the hay...?”
Astral barely snapped out of his shocked stupor to crane his neck and share her gaze. “What is it that you see?”
“Something bright.... something glowing...” Rainbow Dash gazed at the shimmering sight from afar. She licked her lips and smiled devilishly. “I'm gonna go check it out!”
As she zipped away, Astral reached a hoof out in protest. “Miss Dash! Wait! It could be dangerous!”
“Heehee! Yeah? So?!”
“No,” Rainbow Dash said. “There's only one.”
Sounds like the others are gone. DA FU?!
And RD flees from the question using her ADOLAST complex.
Oh jeez, the exposition I craved, now I need more!
Only one?
weknowmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/shit-just-got-real.jpg
Oh geez. We finally got a small inkling into the fates of the other mane six. Doesn't sound too good. Oh no! How can I ship Rainbow Dash without Applejack? I guess Gold Petals will have to do.
This ancient machine place... could it possibly be a ship? Are the Elements of Harmony alien to Equestria? SHIT DID JUST GET REAL! I doubt I'm right though, heh. That'd make it like Night on Witch Mountain, only with ponies. Which would dramatically improve the remake that came out and few years ago, I tell you!
896840 - That made me totally lol!
If you have killed off Fluttershy I will murder you to death. Until you die.
By which I mean, this is TOO GODDAMN AWESOME
She only said they won't be seeing that place. That just means they can't travel, right? ...Right?
902353
Gah, shipping! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Redheart_hmph.png
1049490 Let us hope so. I can't bear the thought of the other 5 elements being...dead.
Kaboom! Bombshell.
-THEpandaman007
ladyoflorien.me.uk/Page95/WideEyed.jpg
IIIIIIt's dashie evaluation time!
(sorry dashie76, crap just went down and i'm missing the regular comment dedicated to laying it all out. don't worry, ill try to stick to the formula better)
So in this chapter, we finally answer that big fat question that everyone has been screaming at their screens for the last 73 chapters. The other ponies of the mane six are gone. However, in true Exploding Colon fashion we are only left with a very vague answer. "there is only one." This could mean that the other five are dead. Or they are just hoplessly out of the picture. Or they have betrayed their elements and lost the privilege of being bearers. My personal theory is that somehow dash has taken on the roles of all six bearers. Somehow the mane six are still with her, not physically, but mentally or even spiritually. Think about it, shes been playing the role of laughter for the last ten chapters. She is generously giving all of herself to help ponies she doesn't know. She treats everypony kindly, even the absolute jerks. IDK
Something else that hasn't been picked up is that we now have an exact time frame. These events take place pretty much one year from NNM's defeat, one year from the birth of the EoH. I have always assumed that the fight with discord was approximately one year away and i'm pretty sure that the fandom in general feels the same way. So perhaps what we have is an alternate universe where dash leaves discord's maze uncorrupted while all the other ponies gave in. Perhaps in this alternate universe, discord won and made ponyville the chaos capital of the world. Celestia is forced to enter a meditative state to contain discord's reign within ponyville. Meanwhile, without the other elements supporting dash, she slowly begins naturally corrupt. She is force to wear the necklace constantly to stave of the inevitable corruption...
I'm just shooting crap that i'm sure no one is gonna want to read. However, if i'm right then I would like to announce that i am secretly the author of this genius fic and thought up the entire plot myself.
...these are my thoughts so far.
-MASH?
897208 Attention Deficit-OH-LOOK-A-SHINEY-THING? I have that...
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So in this chapter, a previous suspicion of mine has been confirmed - something has happened to the other five Elenents. I had to think about this one, actually. I've seen a number of different of opinions saying what could have happened to the other mane six. Since we have no way to know for sure, as of yet, I will give you my well informed opinion. Now, I can't prove this, and I don't have any evidence to back it up, (it's just that sort of sixth sense you pick up after reading books for so long) but I do not believe the Elements are dead. Like I said, I can't prove it, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. And writing this, I do believe I just had an epiphany. Maybe, just maybe, Dash will find new friends on this journey to replace the old as the new bearers of the Elements. Gold Petals could be one. I'm not sure, but it might work. Also, as a side note, I don't think anything is going wrong with Ponyville or Equestria right now. Whatever happened to take the Elements out of the picture, it's gone now. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. 1286593 Thanks once again for your help with this Evaluation Time! I can assume that you are the first member of TEAM EVALUATION! As such, I invented a system we can use for our separate evaluations:
When I evaluate, this is the format:
Beginning: IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Mid-End: These are my thoughts so far.
End: -MASH
And when you evaluate, this is the format:
Beginning: IIIIIt's dashie evaluation time!
Mid-End: These are my thoughts so far.
End: -NASH
Would you mind following this new format? I do value your help as well as anyone else's that is interested in joining TEAM EVALUATION!
P.S.S. You're awesome for liking the evaluations!
...... I kinda figured something like that, but I can't wait to find out more
i.imgur.com/7ozTU.gif
Okay, given the description of the second sequel all six are (hopefully) all alive, but still, this best get explained at the end.
They're.... all gone? I just knew, somewhere inside me, that it would come to this revelation, but...
i46.tinypic.com/29qobvt.png
It's late, and I have work in the morning.... RELEASE ME, FOUL DEMON!
Obligatory "DUN DUN DUN!"
At last, all is revealed!
......not really.
Well, that opened up more questions than it answered.
At last, it has been confirmed that Rainbow Dash's friends are all dead, sort of. We should be getting more answers soon, what with Astral's constant probing. Still, poor Dashie
Called it a long time ago.
There can be only one Element in Equestria! And that element, is MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
And I've read a bit more. And yay for Astral: at last someone confronts Rainbow and asks her a straight question. She doesn't actually answer, but it's something. More questions raised, especially about what's happened to the other five Elements. Dash is clearly severely troubled by the subject. And what the hay is this vast machine doing beneath the earth? Don't tell me it's one of Stable-Tec's other projects.
The ideas are still better than the actual writing. I was unpleasantly surprised by a patch of one of my pet hates, incorrect usage at the end of speech. (eg "Hello." He said.) It seems to have gone away again now, though. Hopefully it won't return. The story is drawing me in enough that I'd have kept going anyway. If only to find out what the title means! (And if it's just a red herring, I'll probably scream. Though only a Flutterscream.)
See? Promises.
If Twilight is dead somebody's gonna have a bad day.
Damn you mysterious rumble for letting the big secret from being revealed!
898758
135 weeks later, I need to tell you that image made me laugh like a lunatic.
5639568
Oh, look, a new person!
I guess I'll see you up ahead.
Only one...called it an hour ago.
Since when indeed, Rainbow? I have the feeling you may be part of the cause rather than the help there
Somepony please tell the canon writers this.
5911464 Ha! I knew that I'd find someone who's around the same point as me!
Well, well............fudge nuggets. Only one element bearer remains.
Ha, ha ha, ha......
I guessing this takes place sometime after Discords initial appearance?
The reason the other element bearers are gone and only Dash remains, is probably due to the fact that she left them behind. Left them to escape to Cloudsdale and then whatever happened, happened.
The rest disappeared. Only Dash remains. Perhaps. I've been totally wrong up to this point though, so I'd love to be proven wrong again.
In fact...
I look forward to it.
Astral keeps asking the right, or wrong, questions to Dash. But at least it's letting us learn more about what's going on. Dash is the only remaining Element of Harmony, so the other five are... who knows. Dead, sealed away, just something that has to do with Discord. I hope I can get a lot of reading done today.
~SolidFire
than you give
_____________________
T_T. Dashie needs a hug.
But if there's only one left, what happened to the other Bearers?
I'm eager to find out in due course.
Or it could use something else, Nuclear power plants don't need such fuel distribution.
This is something that needs to come up in fics, and in actual canon, a lot more.
02/17/2017 21:46 UTC
Wham Line.
Astal's make a lot of progress with getting Rainbow Dash to open up, or is that just me?
5639568
ditto
8034174
ditto
7956224
et ditto
Aw hell.... i knew something happened with that chaos rift back in Equestria
oh that's evil colon! implying something happened to the other mane 5 but cutting rainbow dash off before she can tell us what happened to them, genius but evil
Please don't tell me that they're dead-dead.
You seem to have forgotten 2 words here.
Shining doesn't sound good. The only light so far has been Dash. And the other elements...
I don't like the sound of this.
You really gonna make me cry like this.
Welp. Crud... Uhhh. As much as it pains me, you now need to find new bearers. There are still quite a few things that... Maybe not... Let me think. Discord is likely dealth with for now. Changelings... No Elements needed. Granted, there will be NO wedding at all, given how Cadance lost her would be sister, and Shining lost his actual sister... There will be no school, and therefore no problems with it. Tirek... Now HE might be a problem. I think he WILL be a problem. Because no matter what - he escapes. And while Discord is not exactly a part of the puzzle, they need the chest, and all the keys. Yeah... Thi will be a fun ride for Harmony to try and solve... =/
Oops!
The first night, she said she'd have "two more nights" - the second night she was pursuing the bat monster, so now I guess she's missed the final night of the month.
Theeeeeere it is. Damn it.