Note: All mentioned Equestria locations are taken from the official Hasbro Equestria map. [link]
The nation of Equestria stretches from the southern Badlands and dry desert climates to the northern reaches of the Crystal Mountains. To the east lies the coastal metropoli - Manehatten, Filly Delphia, Baltimare - and the Eastern Ocean, beyond which lies the Griffon populated nations of the Eagle’s Union and the volcanic islands of the dragon nations to the southeast.
On the west coast of Equestria lies Vanhoover and the lush temperate rain forests of the region leading to the Western Ocean.
But no pony ever hears mention of what may lie beyond the Western waters, or what mysteries lurk beyond the frozen north. Surely, in a land governed by deities as benevolent and wise as Princesses Celestia and Luna, and populated by ponies capable of great magics, flight, and ingenuity, the entirety of the world should easily be explored, mapped, and documented. And yet...
Some ponies speculate on the existence of dangerous creatures and dark remnants of Discord’s ancient rule are thriving in these regions. Others simply believe that these regions have simply gone unexplored. The truth of the matter, is something far more unsettling.
“I am Lieutenant Dispar. Welcome to the Astral Frontier,” a stern looking dark great earth pony stated as he looked over the six fillies lined up before him. He had heard of these ponies before - the bearers of the Elements of Harmony - and now he could only hope that what he had heard about their accomplishments held a grain of truth.
“I would request,” he began solemnly, “that while you are here you will not disrupt the work of other ponies and Arisen that are here, and that you will keep any comments or questions to yourself until we have reached the briefing room.”
He locked eyes with the rambunctious pink earth pony for a moment before turning to address the ponies once again. That one, he mused, is going to be trouble.
“Follow me.”
Turning to lead the way to the main building in the encampment, Dispar strode swiftly and evenly to the door, scarlet tabard flowing dramatically across his flank. Upon reaching the building he nudged the door open with his front leg, and then stood to the side as the six fillies proceeded into the building.
After being seated around a long conference table, in the briefing room, Lieutenant Dispar addressed the ponies again.
“As I said earlier, I am Lieutenant Dispar, and welcome to the Astral Frontier, beyond the Frozen North. Incidentally, welcome to the greatest concentration of Equestrian and international military in the world. To begin with, I would like you to introduce yourselves so that I can match names to faces for the duration of your stay.” He nodded sharply towards a sensible looking orange earth pony wearing a cowboy hat on the left of the group.
“Mah name’s Applejack, and I wield the Element of Honesty.”
Dispar nodded in acknowledgement, appreciating the brevity of the introduction. Moving along the group, the introductions continued in a similar vein - even the notoriously rowdy Pinkie Pie staying strangely subdued. After introduction were complete Dispar began the briefing.
“First of all, what do you know of the situation here? And why you’ve been called in?”
Twilight Sparkle answered. “Not much. What we know is that there is some sort of magical substance that is acting with a corrosive nature against the world and that we’re needed to help with holding it back.”
Dispar nodded in thought, before replying. “You are almost correct. The Astral Frontier - what we call the borders between our world and the Astral - is failing. We are essentially under attack not by a magical substance, but by an extradimensional locus.” At the puzzled looks marring some of the ponies’ faces he elaborated, “the Astral is not a substance, it is a place.
“Approximately 400 years ago the dimensional barriers reached a weakened state due an accumulation of uncontrolled chaotic elementals after Discord’s imprisonment a millennium ago. The dimension lying adjacent to ours is more distilled into its components; the atmosphere being of distilled ‘Order-type’ energies, and populated by beings of purified ‘Chaos-type’ energy. We refer to these as the Astral and Astral Demons respectively.
“While most would place the Astral Demons as the greater threat this is not the case. Discord’s prolonged absence from our world caused an imbalance in the Order-Chaos equilibrium in our world which spawned more Chaos-type creatures similar to the creatures of the Astral. However, as these creatures were not part of the world’s natural state the balance was only further disrupted as the chaotic elements could not be counterbalanced by natural rhythms and harmonies.”
Seeing the dawning comprehension on some of the faces before him, he smirked. “That’s right. You sing for a reason.”
For the ponies such as Applejack and Rarity who had rarely engaged in song prior to donning the Elements of Harmony for the first time, this suddenly made a great deal of sense. And even more so considering Pinkie’s chaotic nature and her propensity for breaking into song.
“The controlled nature of music harmonizes ambient chaos energies and prevents them from manifesting in destructive ways,” Dispar explained. “This effect is further amplified by the Elements of Harmony. And this brings me to why you are here.
“The Astral Demons are constantly breaking through the Frontier, however they can be fought. The Astral itself, however, gets pulled along with them whenever they do so. Our world cannot handle the purified Order-type energies of the Astral - and it is these energies that are overpowered the natural ambient Chaos-type energies of our world and corroding it.”
Here, Dispar paused and leaned forward over the table, a dark look overtaking his features.
“The Western continent fell to the Astral 200 years ago. It is no longer on any maps because it no longer exists.” He huffed out breath through his nostrils before settling back onto his haunches. “And that is the kind of consequence we will be facing should we fail here.”
The six ponies went pale, eyes round in shock. The very fate of the world hung in the balance - and though this was not the first daunting task and fearful consequence of failure that they had faced, this was the first instance in which total destruction of Everything would ensue should they fail.
Dispar chuckled dryly. “Don’t look so worried,” he said, tossing his roan coloured forelock out of his eyes. “The rate of Frontier decay is being constantly monitored by the Arisen. At the current count we have over ten years before the barrier fails completely. This is why we won’t be actively reinforcing the barrier this time - we merely want to run some tests with the barrier and the Elements to ensure that they can reinforce the barrier in the first place, the strength of the reinforcement, and any side effects. After a few months of research into the results we’ll call on you again to reinforce the barrier then.”
The ponies breathed a collective sigh of relief, before Rarity spoke up.
“You’ve mentioned these ‘Arisen’ a few times now, Lieutenant Dispar. Would you mind telling us who they are?”
The other ponies nodded in agreement.
“The Arisen are the ponies that make up the bulk of the true military force of Equestria. In short, they are the remnants of an ancient and terrible experiment performed long before the reign of the Celestial and Lunar Princesses began. They are the unwilling victims of necromancy, sealed in stasis for thousands of years. Please don’t fault them for this - despite their frightening appearance, their hardy nature lets them brave the edges of the barrier in a way that a living pony cannot.”
Fluttershy’s wings shuddered in sympathy - the Arisen had surely been ostracized early on in their discovery due to being undead as such a thing was practically taboo in the minds of many ponies.
“In addition to the long years they have spent studying the Astral and living near the Frontier, the Arisen also comprise the greatest knowledge base regarding the entirety of the Astral and its hazards.”
Sliding smoothly into a standing position, Dispar gestured for the others to stand as well.
“At this time we will be moving to one of the science labs to begin the testing. We will also be meeting with our head scientist, the Arisen Idir, who will explain further.”
After following the Lieutenant through the building and to a large warehouse-like room filled with multitudes of mechanical equipment and scientific apparati, the ponies were confronted by their first Arisen.
He stood almost six hands higher at the shoulder than Dispar, and unlike his companion he bore the telltale horn of a unicorn. His colouring was a pale blue-grey that looked almost sickly, and where his legs should have finished with flesh and blood the cannon and fetlock of his forelegs were replaced with clawed mechanical limbs that glowed green in between the joints. His mane was a steel grey and pulled back tightly into strictly wrapped dreadlocks; his tail similarly styled. His face was also entirely covered by a smooth featureless porcelain covering, indentations on the sides where his eyes lay were outlined in dark metal and shone a bright and eerie green. He was clad in a white lab coat through which metallic studs along his spine leading from the top of his crest past his withers protruded.
The only pony not intimidated by his ominous appearance bounced forward cheerfully, and stuck out a hoof to shake. “Hello!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, saccharine sweet voice carrying in the subdued quiet of the lab. “My name is Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet-cha!”
Gingerly accepting her hoof against his own metallic foot the Arisen scientist rasped his reply with his similarly metallic voice. “It is pleasant for this Idir to be meeting you as well. Welcome to the main lab.”
Turning to the other ponies he bowed his head in greeting. “This one is called Idir and is the head scientist of the Astral Frontier. You must be the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. This Idir thanks you for coming beyond the Frozen North for these tests.”
Turning to look at Dispar, Idir continued. “Have they been briefed on the situation? This Idir would like to get started as soon as possible.”
Dispar nodded. “Yes. All that remains in some information on what tests you’ll be running, and then we can all get started.”
“Right.” Idir tossed his head and turned to one of the many work tables scattered about the room. A green glow emanated from his horn as a clipboard and pen floated up to hover in front of him. Gesturing for the fillies to follow him by waving them his way with a foreleg, Idir explained the first test.
“We have managed to trap a sample of Astral matter in a localized barrier which is powered by the large generators on the left wall,” he said as they walked further into the lab. “The first test will be for you to use the energy of the Elements of Harmony on the barrier to simulate the real thing. The energy will be channeled with vocal harmonics and synthesized with auditory wavelengths between the ranges of 200 to 20 000 Hertz -”
“Whoa, there, pal.” Rainbow Dash interjected. “We can’t all be eggheads, dude.”
Idir paused mid-step, glancing back at the ponies behind him and noting the uncomprehending stares of more than one filly in his company. Sighing, the Arisen continued his explanation.
“We will strengthen the barrier by harmonizing the ambient chaos that exists in this dimension, using the Elements as an amplifier, and reducing the driving forces of the corrosive Order-type energies from the Astral and their attempts to reach an equilibrium state. In other words, you will be tightening the dimensional barriers by singing. Furthermore -”
Idir was cut short again, this time by the entrance of another Arisen, this one a mottled green pegasus with mechanized dragonfly-esque wings. “Cheif Idir, you’re needed on the front! An Astral Monster has broken past the Frontier!”
Idir straightened suddenly. “An Astral Monster is no joke! This Idir will be there right away.” Turning to face the ‘Mane Six’ he added, “if you wish to see just what we’re up against follow this Idir! Lieutenant Dispar, this Idir places them in your care!”
Dispar snapped off a sharp salute. “Sir!”
Idir trotted after the Arisen soldier, and after a moments pause and the passing of apprehensive looks between each other, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony nodded to the Lieutenant and followed suit.
Outside the lab was chaos; regiments of Arisen, living ponies, griffons, and even a few armored dragons marched and flew across the expanse of the camp in a northward direction. Looking to the north of the camp the Mane Six came to a stunned halt.
“Oh my,” breathed Fluttershy.
Looking in the direction of the military activity the very ground dropped off in a sharp cliff dropping away into a neon blue ether. A few hundred meters out from the edge shone a golden barrier, separating the physical world from the Astral. In between the barrier and the edge was where the Astral monster was located.
Most of the creature was out of view, hidden beneath the ground level. Stretching over the cliff face was the creature’s head - a great neon blue and purple monstrosity crusted with crystalline armored plating and organic spines and pustules. Great twisting silver tusks stretched out several metres from the corners of its vulpine jaws, each jagged edge dripping with orange ichor that sizzled as it made contact with the frozen ground. A great spined tail waved about in the background, twitching spasmodically in several directions.
It had placed its front limbs on the edge of the world, and snarled as it began to heave itself up and onto the land.
Below its head the military worked to keep it from succeeding. Aerial combat units flew past, launching arrows and other projectiles - some explosive - towards its exposed eyes. Ground units hacked away with sword, axe, and spell at its limbs in an attempt to make it let go of the cliff edge and drop back into the ether. Further squadrons dealt with smaller spined Astral Demons - each less than one metre in diameter - that had followed in its wake.
And a final detachment of Arisen, head by Idir, stood straight and proud as they belted out spell words and incantations in a full-volumed chant, sending the barrier into flaring wildly with each syllable, and the unearthly glow of the Astral creatures dimming a miniscule amount in the same instance.
Lieutenant Dispar barked instructions to bring the ponies back to reality. They would have time to be shocked later.
“Alright, you lot! It looks like you’ll be needed. This is the biggest Astral Monster attack we’ve had in over six years, and I don’t want to repeat that disaster! So,” he half-shouted, snapping the fillies out of their stupor, “I need you six to help us drive it off! To do this you need to channel the powers of the elements of Harmony, and target the Astral Monster with everything you got! Any questions!?”
He looked each pony in the eye, seeing them cast aside their fear and grab hold to determination and friendship.
“Sir, no, sir!” They chanted, complete with clumsy salutes.
He smiled grimly. “Then let’s move out!”
The ponies donned the Elements, and Dispar tightened the straps on his armored hooves. As one, they turned and marched towards the Monster, situating themselves directly in front of it, and about 50 metres from the world’s edge. A smaller Astral Demon broke past one of the ground squads and dashed towards them, teeth flashing in its glowing red maw.
The fillies shied away, Rarity rearing back in near-panic, before Dispar leapt forward, reared onto his own hind legs, and then came crashing down onto the spiny creature, his armored hooves crushing it flat with a sickening crunch.
“Don’t worry about the small ones!” he shouted over the din. “I’ll watch your backs, now blast that thing to kingdom come!”
Pinkie Pie looked at Dispar quizzically. “Where is the Kingdom going?” she asked.
“Not the point, Pinkie!” the others chorused.
“Alright, you guys!” Twilight called out, “Let’s smoke this thing!”
Closing her eyes in concentration Twilight focused on her Element, the very essence of magic itself.
The others followed suit and began to float in a bright white nimbus of aura. The jewel-like appearances of the Elements themselves followed suit, each one emanating a strong magical presence radiating outward from each of the six bearers.
As their auras overlapped, each one grew to encompass all six ponies. Suddenly, Twilight’s eyes snapped open, glowing a pure white so bright it seemed to cast the rest of the world into shadow. A rainbow of colours swirled about the floating ponies and reached up into the air before redirecting and shooting forth with a great rushing noise to crash against the brow of the Astral Monster.
The creature howled in range, lifting one of its great paws to swat at the stinging on its face. As the claw passed through the beam of light is seemed to suddenly lose cohesion, dissolving into blue and purple miasma before draining back into the Astral. From the point of dissolution, the rainbow of magical light coming from the six Elemental ponies seemed to graft itself to the Monster’s arm, crawling across it, leaving only coloured dust in its wake.
As the Astral Monster dissolved, the smaller Astral demons were quickly dealt with by the remaining military forces - more than one such creature falling victim to Dispar’s armored hooves.
As the magical aura faded from the fillies, they gently floated back to the ground. As they gathered their bearings, Idir made his way over to them from across the battleground, absently flinging an Astral Demon off the edge of the world with his telekinesis, splattering a second into paste in the same motion with his clawed mechanical foreleg.
“This Idir thanks you most profusely for your assistance,” he intoned gratefully. “Without your intervention many casualties would have resulted.”
Nodding to Dispar in greeting, he continued. “However, it seems that with the cleanup and barrier work that will need to be done in the aftermath of this attack, the Harmonic tests discussed earlier will have to be postponed. This Idir will contact you when the testing is ready. If you will excuse,” he bowed forward in a sharp, respectful, motion before turning on his heels, and trotting to the other Arisen scientists to begin the collection of Astral Demon organic samples.
Alone with Dispar once again, the ‘Mane Six’ shook themselves of their after-battle jitters.
“Does this mean we’re going back home?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“For now,” the Lieutenant agreed. For now.
Deep within the Astral something stirred.
Fin.
Author's Note
Idir's name means "alive". Also, I drew a picture of him that can be found here.
