The Dash Event Files (Part 1)

Official Correspondence

From: Envoy Ambient Waves, Diplomatic Observer of the Zephyr Kingdom To: Her Highness, Princess Acallia of the Northern Courts Subject: Initial Observations — Ponyville Region Your Highness, As instructed, I remain in Equestria under my posting as Spa Maiden. In truth, there is little culture to record at present; the only topic of conversation across the realm is what they have begun calling the Dash Event.  You will have received the official communiques about the sterile accounts of light phenomena, atmospheric disturbances, and “temporary thaumic inversions.” Permit me to tell you what those reports cannot capture. I stood in Ponyville when it happened. I saw the sky rupture into color so bright it burned shape out of the world. The locals name it beautiful; I could not. For one instant, I felt the air vanish from my lungs, as though the sky itself inhaled. Princess Celestia has requested calm and has assured us that the incident is contained. Yet I have written to her privately, and even as my quill touched the page the air around me seemed to shimmer...only a trick of light, perhaps. The ponies here are cheerful still, but it is the brittle cheer of a patient pretending to recover. The pegasi speak in hushed voices about wind currents that curve the wrong way. Farmers complain that sunlight no longer feels warm, only bright. And at night, if you watch the stars carefully, you will notice they pulse...ever so slightly...like the rhythm of a distant heart. I do not write to alarm you, Highness, but to beg a consideration: should the Zephyr Kingdom maintain its observation post here if Equestria itself is changing? My instruments give readings that should be impossible; background mana fluxes that rise and fall with no source, as though the world itself is breathing irregularly. Still, I will remain until recalled. Curiosity wins out over fear...for now. Yet I confess, when I close my eyes, I feel the wind hesitate before it touches me, as though deciding which world it belongs to. With unwavering service, Ambient Waves Diplomatic Research Division, Zephyr Kingdom A followup to https://canterlotavenue.com/blog/2336/consquences-of-the-rainboom-letter-1/