“It's how tall again?!” Cold Canter's voice resonated incredulously.
“Two hundred and fifty feet,” Rainbow Dash said. “I'm not even joking. I'm a pegasus and I know my heights.” Even at mid-hover, the humongous gates loomed above her. The bone-white material was ancient, made out of compressed stone and mortar that had congealed together over countless centuries from the structure's massive weight. “And it's pretty long too.”
“How long?”
“Uhhhh...” Rainbow Dash flew up, up, up and angled out along the top of the wall. She peered left and right, towards both the northwest and southeast horizons. “I, like, seriously can't see where it ends. But if I could guess...” She narrowed her ruby eyes as her wings flapped on either side of her in the afternoon air. “I'd say the south length of the wall is curved slightly towards the east. Otherwise, it's pretty dang straight.”
“And you're certain it's abandoned?”
“CC, dude...” Rainbow Dash hovered over what was once the gated entrance to the wall. “This thing is smashed to heck! The door looks like it's made of solid oak, and yet it's barely clinging to the hinges.” She glanced down at giant slabs of sundered wood that hung in the sandy, pelting winds. “Anypony with a lick of sense would have fixed this crap by now. If I didn't know better, I'd say it had been pretty smashed for a while.”
“Constructed out of solid oak, you say?”
“Yeah.”
“And I'm guessing it's the same two hundred off feet of length?”
“Pretty much.”
“What in industry's name could have broken the thing apart?”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but lingered. She gulped and stammered, “I have no clue, C-Squared. Hang on a bit. I'm gonna have a look on the other side.”
She flew through the gate, ducking flakes of ash and sediment that rained down on her from the blowing winds. After a good fifteen, she finally pierced the far side of the immensely thick wall. She blinked and stopped in place.
At first her heart skipped a beat, for she felt as though she was looking at a boneyard. After blinking, she realized that she was peering down on the pale rooftops of a tiny city. Several domed structures and rectangular walkways stretched below. Half of the buildings were collapsed, with several chunks of stone and concrete forming piles of refuse within the ovegrown streets.
“Yup... Definitely not Dream Valley.”
“I beg your pardon?” Cold Canter's voice reacted.
“Shhh. I'll give you an update in a moment!” She dove down.
Hovering closely over the two and three story structures, Rainbow Dash got as close a look of the ruined townscape as she could afford to. The pale-white buildings may have once held color, but their surfaces had faded over years of arid exposure to the elements. Everything may have been decrepit and demolished, but she'd be lying if she said it was completeyly devoid of life. Grass and vegetation—the first green thing she had seen in days—were growing in various spots. Water troughs, windowsills, and aqueducts were overgrown with flora. Soil collected in the former plots of land where wooden houses once stood. Even a few flowers dangled out of collapsed huts and imploded storage crates.
Lining the edges of several of the buildings—especially the larger ones—were brown and black splotches of discoloration. Even after innumerable decades of neglect, Rainbow Dash spotted the unquestionable signs of burn marks. Looking deep into the windows and doorframes of houses, several piles of ash rested where furniture had once been. In abandoned gardens, hollowed husks of charred wooden trees stretched skyward forever.
“You still there, C-Squared?”
“At your beck and call, filly,” his voice replied.
“Every street is empty,” Rainbow Dash said, gliding just a few feet over the ground as she passed through a rubble-strewn neighborhood. “Looks like the ponies here had a thing for stone. But it didn't save them in the end.”
“Save them from what?”
“Looks like a fire,” Rainbow Dash said. “I'm guessing that they had to abandon the place from a terrible blaze.” She paused, perched on a hollowed-out schoolyard, and turned around to look at the large, smashed gate. “Or worse.”
“You are sure there are no other equines around?”
“I dunno about you, but I'm not prepared to look into every single building of this place.” She flew up above the rooftops and looked towards the east horizon. “Besides...” Her eyes narrowed as she spotted several splotches of curious structures dotting a long, brown plain. “I'm willing to bet that this isn't the only town. I'm guessing this was some sort of settlement built for ponies who looked after the gate. I heard Stalliongrad in Equestria had a wall with similar townships.”
“Stalliongrad. That's a pretty name for a metropolis.”
“Yeah, well, it was pretty in name only,” Rainbow Dash said, grumbling. “Hold on a second. I'm about to do something I haven't done in ages.”
“What's that?”
“Visit a library, I think,” she murmured, flying down into a large, half-collapsed building with several rows of dust-strewn bookcases. Her hooves made echoing, scraping noises as she touched down and marched through the misty archives. Each time she breathed, the particles in the air undulated around her. Squinting, she glanced down at the overturned shelves and nudged them with her hooves. She dug and dug until she found a rectangular structure. Pulling it out, she gave it a good shake. The dust fell off to reveal a book, but its pages were too torn to even consider reading.
“Finding any records?” Cold Canter's voice eventually asked.
“No such luck,” Rainbow Dash muttered, rummaging through the piles of papery debris. “Too bad I'm not an egghead, or else I'd be perfect for this thing.”
“Not much of a literary figure?”
“I fell asleep once to the Pegasus Meteorological Manual.”
“Then how did you ever make a living in Equestria?”
“I let my coolness outweigh my dumbness.”
“How quaint.”
“See? My lifestyle kept me from saying crap like that.”
“Like what?”
“'How quaint.'”
“Don't be so foolish.”
“Shhhh... Dead civilization, remember?” Rainbow Dash kicked at the pile one last time. A cloud of dust flew up, and she coughed savagely in the wake of it. “Unngh... Yeah. This is lame.”
Something glinted in the corner of her peripheral vision. “Mmmmf... Huh?” She turned to look. There was a partially buried container embossed in gold. The shine was barely noticeable, considering all of the weathering that sand and grit had done throughout the years. Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash trotted towards it and gave it a meager shove with her forelimbs. The thing turned over and crashed against the marble floor of the library. Flecks of metal and glass flew every which way, but something with a bergundy binder had survived the ordeal. Reaching down, Rainbow Dash picked the book up—and did a double take. “Whoah...”
“What is it?”
“Something familiar,” she murmured. She turned the book around until she saw the image that was plastered to the front of it. It was a circle with two curved lines attached to the sides of it. Curiuos, Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches, opened her saddlebag, and produced the medallion from the corpse. She flipped to the side of the coin opposite from the engraving of the two mesas and the palace. To her fascination, the emblem matched the symbol on the coin. “I think I may have found the survivor's neck of the woods.”
“You don't say?”
“This book has the symbol from the coin that was found on him.”
“What's the book about?”
“Well, it has no title, but it was placed in some special container, no doubt something that was on display in this place at one time.” She opened the book and blew the dust off. Squinting, she flipped through several pages. “Hmmm...”
“Is it legible?”
“Yup.”
“That's remarkable...”
“Not really,” Rainbow Dash murmured. “I've traveled a long, long distance and the same stuff seems to come out of all ponies' mouths, regardless of what goes in it.”
“How's that?”
“There's a place called Windthrow where they like to eat things that used to walk, sleep, and ask that other creatures not eat them.”
“Your civilization is purely vegetarian?”
“We're sane, if that's what you mean.”
“I applaud you for being civil and open-minded up to this very moment.”
“Jee, you're welcome.”
“I'm glad Desert Light was willing to part with so much lettuce for you.”
“I could have asked the guy for a grilled cheese sandwich, but something tells me he would have shoved his horn through my throat.” Rainbow Dash stopped murmuring in time to focus on a single page. She read out loud: '...to his brother's brother, give equal share, for the sake of equality and justice, for such is the Silvadelian way...'”
“Are you reading?”
“If I thought that last stuff, then I'm ready to have my head examined.”
“Sounds like a book of social etiquette and customs.”
“You guess well,” Rainbow Dash murmured as she turned the book over and over. “This is full of boring scenarios of ceremony and stuff, but the same name appears over and over again: 'Silvadel.'”
“The name of the province?”
“That's what I'm thinking. Still, no word of how everything hit the fan.”
“Well, if it's a published and manufactured book, I doubt it would have been made after a terrible apocalypse.”
“Guess there's only one way to learn more.” Rainbow Dash stuck the book into her saddlebag, stretched her wings, and propelled herself east out of the library. “Here's hoping I can see more stuff before sunfall.”
FIRST
To view
Hmm -- I am a province it seems now... How provincial....
Go ahead though -- I don't have an issue with my name being used thusly.
Skill Book Read; Etiquette of Silvadel: +1 Speechcraft
1.bp.blogspot.com/_nRX7pjA7Riw/S-1Swy7WeVI/AAAAAAAAAH4/Qdt7jHfFjkE/s1600/grilled+cheese+festival_logo.gif
1316403, interesting. Post-Apocalypse scenarios hold a special place in my heart, I am excite about these next few chapters, especially since we're in prime reference territory for things like Fallout.
So, to recap: Giant Oak Gate, Gilded Constitution/Book o' Social Norms, World-Ending Fire, awesome.
Objective Completed: Investigate the mysterious structure.
New Objective Added: Learn about Silvadel from the book.
I will say though this is really weird.
Can anyone tell me what this fic is about before I commit to this relatively long read.
And then Rainbow Dash had a Fallout adventure.
1316503
It's about Rainbow Dash flying east.
1316526
D:
It is worth the read. A lot of it is going east though -- but the story does start to reveal itself somewhat as you go along. Don't expect to know anything before about part 50.
1316537
You'll seriously miss out on a lot of the fun if I explain anything, just read it. The chapters are short, you'll probably catch up by tomorrow or Sunday. Don't forget to read the comments!
Trophy Get: Page Master- Read book that isn't about chaos, elements of harmony, or Daring Do.
Inventory Item Added:
1 Book on Silvadel
1314895
No clue :L
Possibly in grilled-cheese sandwich rehab?
Oh, this is such a cool setting. I'm looking forwards to an awesome arc :D
*New Location Added: Ruins of Silvadel*
Can't help but have this going through my head right now.
Hon, you already said "poignant" not too long ago...
Do you think the author plans it out, or just makes it up as s/he goes along?
then suddenly....DRAGON ATTACK!!!!!
really, i expect this to happen. you see, i have derived a pattern from dash's adventures:
STEP 1: Dash leaves a civilization and flies west (i.e. from ponyville --> windthrow, windthrow --> ponyville 2.0, Darkstinia --> whoknowswhere)
STEP 2: Dash is distracted by some odd feature in her surroundings (unnatural cave, strange hot springs, deserted town)
STEP 3: Dash travels deeper until she is cut off from the out side air
STEP 4: Dash relaxes and allows herself to be cut off from the outside air (trapped in cavern, trapped in cave, trapped in stone library)
The next step can be predicted
STEP 5:
ProfitDash is sprung on by some large scaly creature that wants to eat her (eels, hydra-thing, dragon) , this creature will have been hinted at in previous chapter (eggs/smooth walls, hot springs in a frozen wasteland, giant broken gate/burn marks). This will cause dash to use her element in a powerful way that we previously didn't know/ fully realize)Challenge completed: Channel your Hidden Egghead!
Twilight Sparkle would be proud. Or is. Whatever, point is you're acting smart.
Books read: Way too many/Way too many (1/1)
Visit Library: 1/1
+2000 EXP, +5 to numbers, +5 to brain size
This chapter is proof that living in a gated community does not necessarily mean you are any safer than you would be otherwise.
1317056
Flies WEST? What is this blasphemy? West is the very antithesis of everything she holds dear!
1317549
And all this time I thought it was a typo...
...what have I done
Our great author overlord, Mr. Colon, is clearly amazing. Grilled cheese...
Great chapter! WANTS MOAR!!!!!!
1316545>>1317888 No stop think about Mintelles grilled cheese addiction he's still going through rehab
1317549
I haven't seen many gated communities with walls 250 feet tall that vanish over the horizon. I'd be willing to bet some things are different here. Just gotta let RD do some post-apocalyptic digging.
i42.tinypic.com/2r7llhd.jpg
Title Obtained: "The Bookworm"
-Minty
dusty library
Gah! Stop making me want grilled cheese! Its one in the morning and I have no bread. Cheese slices on their own don't exactly cut it...unless...my room mate has bread...time to don the ninja costume. I knew it'd come in handy. Anywho, Dash has clearly stumbled upon Kvatch and is about to be set upon by hordes of daedra, flame antronachs, imps and stupid annoying triceratops things. That, or she's just gonna read a book with absolutely no interruptions whatsoever Onward!
"Feet? Really? Not hooves or trouts.... feet?"
1316505 Who wouldn't want one?
IIIIIt's Dashie's Ultimate Marathon Evaluation Time!!!!!
Hmm...so it seems that the stallion was a resident of Silvadel. Is the settlement itself Silvadel, or is the settlement a smaller outpost of the province of Silvadel? Regardless, it seems this town had been stationed to guard and maintain the giant gates of the desert here. But I wonder why such an enormous defensive system was put into place. It's not like there was anything hostile in the desert waiting to attack. Although I suppose the sandstorms could have warranted such a wall. But somehow I don't think so...It seems very mysterious to me. Also, I noticed that it has been quite some time since Dash has spoken to Luna, so perhaps we'll get some of that soon. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Alright, this is number four, I think. Six left until the minimum of ten. Yes, I'm still doing that.
At 12:42, the dead of night, I keep telling myself "Just one more chapter... just one more chapter..." and yet there is no break in the.... interesting-ness? (that sounds just about right) of this story. I need to be up and functioning by six, so this may be one of the last chapters I read for the day... night.... whatever. Anyway, about the story itself- glad that Dashie made it out of that trackless expanse of sand, though this city ain't exactly a bright omen. It smells fishy, and by fishy I mean dragon-y. If only Twilight Sparkle were here to delve into the knowledge of this lost library, she'd eat that stuff up..
Stalliongrad totally needs to become fking canon.
As much as I love this, I think it is time for me to sleep. Night y'all.
As much as I love this, I think it is time for me to sleep. Night y'all.
>Curiuos, Rainbow Dash sat on her haunches
Do you mean "Curious"?
Objective added: Silvadel exploration.
Silvadel, hmm? Let's check this place out. Danger ahead...
'Rainbow! Did you kill the colossal titan?'
'OH yeah! Can't you see its giant dead body?'
...
'Are you being sarcastic?'
'OF COURSE I'M BEING SARCASTIC'
And now we're in Attack on Titan, suddenly.
Ah, nothing like exploring a dead civilization.
Equestrian written language is seemingly universal across the disc? That says something, though I'm not sure what.
"It's made out of solid oak"
I'm more interested in where they found a tree that size.
This town is giving me EoP vibes.
1316403 How quaint.
1316503 too late... Rainbow dash flies east, that's all to be said
6401188 twilight tree House? Though amiditly she was near a forest
Unicorns canonically hate cheese.
I wonder what music would fit the mood, something from Halo probably.
03/29/2017 23:00 UTC