The Chapel of Sanity
Dash led her strange guest away from the machine to another section. "After we had so many casualties from mental breakdown, I wanted to get more resources in here so help is as close as possible. I cleared out some rooms in this hall to create what we like to call the Sanity Department."
It was another area of clinical white walls, this time bathed in the warmest, most soothing light possible. The nearest door read, "Office of Mental Health, Patient Entrance". Next to it was a large window. Through the frosted glass they could see a waiting room lined with chairs, though they couldn't see who was inside.
"We should talk to Doctor Brightmind," Dash suggested. "I think you'd like talking to her. Not that you have issues, I mean." Actually, she hoped the shrink would get him talking about all his issues. Doctor-patient confidentiality be damned, she needed to read all of the psychiatrist's notes on him.
"That's alright. I can get a taste from these." A shelf by the door brimmed over with pamphlets with large print and colorful pictures. Some of the workers could not read very well. Yeshua winnowed through them with his hoof, reading off the titles.
It's Not Your Fault
Saving the World One Rainbow at a Time
It's Okay to Be Depressed
How Potions Can Improve Your Mental State
He seemed disappointed. "That's all I needed to see." He looked back at her and said with a slight but sincere smile, "I'd rather talk to you, anyway."
Oh great. She still couldn't figure him out or how they were supposed to know each other.
He moved on down the hall to the second door. An engraved brass plate marked it as the "Harmony Chapel". Yeshua seemed chagrined, and remarked, "This seems out of place."
Dash shrugged. "Some ponies need different kinds of therapy."
He opened the door and stepped through. It started to swing shut behind him, but Dash caught it before it could knock on the door frame. She hesitated, but reluctantly went in after him.
It was not a large space, but the high ceilings and the stained glass made it feel open. Of course it was not real sunlight behind the windows, but in the stark world of the factory, the bright colors were uplifting. Three walls were covered in wood panels, one wall was decorated with a stylized mural which highlighted the role of rainbows in the magic cycle.
A white pony was sitting statuesque, perched on a cushion in the middle of the floor. As he held a meditative pose, Gauze Wrap seemed to be the centerpiece of the place. His eyes were tightly shut as he continued the ritual that had been interrupted earlier.
To Dash's surprise, the newcomer did not walk out into the space. Instead, he traveled along the wall, making a beeline for a figure crouched in the corner. The worker was on his knees, quivering, apparently praying, unable even to lift his head. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Have mercy!" he moaned. "I don't want to do this anymore."
Noticing their approach, he nervously got up and tried to put himself together. He wouldn't look up at them. He clearly would have preferred to slink off without being noticed.
Yeshua put his hoof on the trembling pony's shoulder and assured, "Go in peace. Your prayers have been heard."
The worker looked up with a tear, and maybe something like hope briefly flashed across his face. He nodded nervously and excused himself, hurrying back to his post.
"So do you know that guy too?" Dash wondered, but didn't say anything.
Gauze Wrap had noticed them and approached to greet them. "Welcome to our little chapel." He cast a disappointed glance at the tail retreating out the door. "Sorry you had to deal with that, his faith is a little weak."
"A little faith is enough," the stranger said.
"I suppose you're right." The worker-turned-priest shrugged, and invited, "Come, let me bless you."
He motioned for his guest to follow back to where he had staked his claim in the center, but this time he sat on the bare floor and gestured the newcomer to take the cushion. The "inspector" took the seat he was offered.
Dash followed halfway, but hung back.
"Won't you join us, Loyalty?" Gauze Wrap said hopefully to Dash, like he always did.
"You don't have to call me that. I think I'll let you two do your thing." Dash stayed in the back of the room. At first she had such a good feeling about the chapel, but she had grown more uncomfortable in it every time she visited. She always got the uplifting sensation like something wonderful was about to happen, followed by a crushing certainty that it never would.
Gauze Wrap offered his hoof according to polite tradition, and Yeshua accepted. The white pony looked up at the light and brushed his red mane out of his face. As though reading poetry, he spoke sweet and steady.
"Praise Magic, power of the Elements together.
Praise Honesty, I have been true, stay true to me.
Praise Kindness, I have been kind, be kind to me.
Praise Generosity, I have given, give unto me.
Praise Loyalty, I have been faithful, be faithful to me.
Praise Laughter, I have brought joy, bring joy to me.
Praise Harmony! As I have been in harmony with all your ways, bring me peace."
The plain seeming unicorn listened, and allowed a polite pause before observing, "That's a very nice prayer. But the way you said it all depends on how good you are, not on the goodness of Harmony."
"Exactly! You are very discerning," Gauze Wrap said happily. "Why should we ask Harmony to bless us, if we're not willing to do what it takes to deserve it? But you and me, we are doing the will of Harmony, so we can pray confidently and know we will be rewarded."
"Is it wise to ask for what you deserve, in a place like this?" Yeshua asked doubtfully. "How do you know you're doing the will of Harmony?"
Gauze Wrap looked at him with sympathy, and explained, "I know when I first learned how all this works, it was hard to accept. But now I consider the whole factory a temple. The Temple of Rainbows. Harmony gives us life and friendship. But there are some ponies who are not faithful to Harmony, sinners who do the work of chaos." His body language and tone conveyed that the wicked ones he referred to were somewhere out there, not anypony he was speaking to. "But by offering sacrifices, we give magic back to Harmony and restore balance. We get rid of the offspring of sin, and the ones defiled by its curse—the ones who don't have cutie marks, don't have destinies, and are destined to cause chaos in our society. Harmony is pleased by our offerings, and once again replenishes the land."
He put his hoof to his chest. "It's not my job, but my calling is to bring kindness and peace to the workers and even to the sacrifices, to help them redeem themselves by nobly offering their bodies to the rainbow. You are also here to aid us and do the work of the Sun Bringer. This is how I know we are in harmony, both of us."
"In harmony with whom?" Yeshua asked again, entirely unfazed by the long-winded answer.
"What?" The pony priest grew confused.
The mysterious unicorn clarified, "Harmony means unity, agreement, being in tune. So who are you in harmony with? When you pray, who are you speaking to?"
"I'm in harmony with, well, Harmony…" Gauze Wrap was taken aback by the boldness of the questions. They were so basic that they were hard to answer. "I mean, we're in harmony with each other."
"That can't be all there is to it," the newcomer countered, pressing the issue. "Changelings are in harmony with each other, literally. They're a hive mind."
Dash remained aloof but leaned her ear to their conversation. She still needed to figure him out.
"Harmony is…" Gauze Wrap wanted to continue in his peaceful tone, but he was starting to get offended. "Don't say such things! We are in a holy place! When I pray, I am not just speaking words to an empty room, I am connecting with the elemental magical forces that created this world! Harmony sustains us, binds the universe together. I live by the Elements in every aspect of my life, I epitomize the magic we create here. I bring kindness to this dark place. I give generously of my life. I uplift the spirits of the lowly with laughter, my loyalty to Celestia and Cloudsdale is unquestionable. I am in Harmony, and I do the will of Harmony!
"The elements are principles. If there's a "will of Harmony", now you're talking about a person," Yeshua put the pieces together as though the connection was obvious. "The person who made ponies and gives each one a special gift."
Dash usually zoned out during religious stuff, but listened to every word this time because it was so bizarre. Not only that, but a pit formed in her stomach when she thought about Harmony as a person. She couldn't express why, but the more he made sense the more uneasy she felt.
He continued in a level tone, but each question was sharper than the last. "What elements of his personality makes you think that what happens here is okay? His generosity, or his joyful laughter? What would he think if he saw you—would he appreciate your kindness when you're telling lies to children? Or would he applaud your honesty when you kill them. The changelings deceive, then they drain the life out of others. If you sacrifice others to save yourself, tell me again, who are you in harmony with?"
The pious pony's eyes bugged out. "You're mad! Insane! Who has ever heard anypony say such strange things? I don't care who you are! You blaspheme Harmony, you slander me, and yet it's you who is the discord in this holy place!" He stood up straight and pointed his hoof to the door. "Get out. I don't care if you outrank me, I don't care if you have me sent to the machine. Get out of here now, and on the way out you can go straight to hell!"
Dash realized with a chill that Yeshua could be incredibly dangerous if he got truly angry. She couldn't see his face—was it too late? She jumped out into the middle of room, and interposed herself between them. "Nonono WAIT, Please don't-!"
Though upset, he was composed. He was obviously frustrated, but she was surprised to find a note of sadness in his expression. She could see right away that he was no immediate threat, other than the vague existential dread.
He sighed. "Your calling was comforting and calming the ponies in the hospital where you used to work. Now you're no different from Lobo."
"Wh—what did you say?" Gauze Wrap stammered in utter consternation. He tried to rally some withering retort, but found himself speechless.
"Look, can we just continue the tour?" Dash asked assertively, pretending that she hadn't just lost her composure a moment ago.
"Of course," he assented. The two of them stepped out without another word. Gauze Wrap was still staring straight ahead, motionless. She closed the door, relieved to have them separated again.
"So much for a low profile," Dash quipped. "Why don't I just show you the lab, okay?"
As they walked, she felt the need to speak up. "Go easy on that guy. I don't care if you agree with his ideology, we need him. Gauze Wrap is part of the original crew, one of the few workers who actually understands the machine. He kinda helps keep the others sane. He's good at calming down the fillies, too. He thinks he's a good person, so maybe he is, right?"
Yeshua looked at her doubtfully. She knew it was flimsy, but the way he looked at her irritated her more than if he had given her a lecture.
She continued to vouch for him, at the risk of overselling it. "We even let him go see his family on holidays—it would be a little too suspicious if nobody who came in here ever came out. His psych evaluations are something else, they say there's no risk at all of him exposing the factory. He believes in what we're doing, and believes in keeping it secret."
"Is that the only reason? He's the only one who gets any holidays, besides you."
"He gets out because his dad is rich," Dash admitted. "I do because I'm famous after what happened with Twilight and the Elements."
Not that Dash was interested in praying, but she was embarrassed that she didn't even know who she was supposed to be praying to. The Elements of Harmony worked when she needed them to, and that's all she ever cared to know. Celestia was the automatic answer that jumped to her mind. But she knew that was wrong. First, she knew Harmony was around before the Princesses, so they couldn't be one and the same. Even if Celestia was supposed to be some kind of incarnation of harmony, Dash had lost all sense of awe and wonder while doing her leader's dirty work. Aside from the sun, Celestia's power was all bureaucracy and machines. No, instead of an answer, Dash's mind kept coming back to, "Who does this guy think he is?"
Out of nowhere, she was compelled to speak her mind. "I don't really care anymore if we're doing the will of Harmony, or in Harmony with the Creator, whatever the lingo is."
She unloaded. "I can't connect with the Element of Loyalty anymore. Otherwise we could just use the Elements to fix everything. That's what they're here for, right? It still has my lightning bolt, like it wants me to use it, but it won't light up or do anything for me, like it's broken. I thought I had some kind of magical destiny, but I guess that's not really what it's cracked up to be. I feel like Harmony has abandoned us. Abandoned me."
"It really hurts to hear you say that. Do you think Harmony abandoned you, or you abandoned Harmony?" he asked, and paused. She didn't answer. "Who changed?"
Dash's heart sank really low. Was it his words, the sorrow in his voice, or just that she had allowed herself to imagine for a moment that everything was a mistake. Worse yet, she had imagined, even hypothetically, that things could ever get better. Before she showed too much embarrassing emotion, cynicism returned to wall it off.
"Well that's great for you, I'm glad you're still better than us," she quipped sharply, but it came out more hopeless than angry. "I don't know if you're immortal or whatever but we regular ponies kind of need magic to live. If Harmony would abandon us and leave us to die, then how is Harmony any better? Why shouldn't we do… what we do here. We're just doing what we can to survive."
"Faith hasn't solved our problems," she concluded bitterly, "so we've turned to a more scientific approach. I don't know if they have any science where you come from, but I know someone who can explain it to you. Dr. Atmosphere not only designed the machine, but proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it's the only way to save Equestria." She hastened ahead, and further conversation was dead.