“Are there lots of pegasi like you in the realm of the Sun Goddess?” One of the many stallions leaned closer to the fire so that his face lit up in the night. He and his companions gazed eagerly at Rainbow Dash from where they sat in the center of the camp. “I was told that there were so many winged ponies to the west that they could summon hurricanes by their sheer flight paths!”
“Eh... we pegasi can do pretty cool things,” Rainbow Dash said. She sat on her haunches before the fire, bathed in the mesmerized gazes of so many earth ponies squatting around her. The burning wood crackled and spat ashes beneath her rasping voice, “But we're not in the business of starting hurricanes. Now tornadoes we've been known to do! Especially when it comes to gathering moisture for making rain.”
“Wow, even the rain is monitored where you live...” Another stallion remarked as his brown-garbed companions murmured in awe. “If we had pegasi here who could change the weather, it'd make life easier.”
Another stallion leaned in. “We'd also be out of a job.” He gestured towards the wagon.
Several ponies chuckled while the first stallion rolled his eyes. “Still, the magic of flight is an amazing thing.”
“It can also be a wicked awesome thing.” Rainbow Dash smirked and flexed her wings. “Especially when you know how to use it right...” Her voice trailed off as she saw a familiar blonde sight.
Sun Plate was marching towards the group. He had a tray clamped in his teeth. He laid it down before the many ponies. Once his mouth was free, he muttered in a tiny voice. “There. Freshly cut. Remember, equal shares...”
“Who are you, our mom, Sun Plate?”
“Hahahaha.”
“Heheh—”
“The boy's wise,” Fulltrot said, marching his elder frame into the amber glow as he sat down close to Rainbow Dash. “You should all listen to him. If we don't conserve our food supplies, we'll faint before we get to Windthrow.”
“Right. Enough talk. I'm famished!” Ironhoof said as he trotted by, scooped up a morsel from the tray, and began nibbling on it. The other ponies muttered under their breaths and took their shares as the tray was passed around.
Iron Plate didn't look remotely hungry, in spite of having just served the material. He ran a hoof through his short, golden threads, then glanced across the fire. Upon seeing Rainbow's receiving glance, he once more made himself scarce.
“It must be a great sky city.”
Rainbow Dash snapped out of it. She gazed aside. “Huh?”
“Where you come from,” Fulltrot continued. “There must be a great city in the sky for so many pegasi to be situated in one place. I've been in this world long enough to know that pegasi like to flock together, which is why we rarely see any of your kind this far out.”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “Well, I guess I'm just the one pegasus who felt like stretching her wings a bit more.”
“Stratopolis, perhaps?”
“Hmm? What?”
“The name of your city?”
Rainbow Dash giggled. “Ahem. No. Stratopolis is a myth. There's a reason why that city supposedly 'floated away into nothingness.' It simply never existed to begin with.”
“Nice to know that pegasi have a penchant for storytelling as much as earth ponies.”
“Yeah, if you say so.” Rainbow Dash yawned and leaned back as the tray of food was passed around towards them. “I come from a place called Cloudsdale.”
“Hmmm... Cloudsdale...”
“It's a large city. I imagine you would have... heard of it...” Rainbow Dash was distracted. She stared down at the tray as it reached Fulltrot. The morsels were thin strips of black material. She watched steadily as ponies around her casually took the stringy bits of food and shoved it between their teeth while engaging in normal conversation.
Fulltrot stared at her, taking in her reaction.
Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and tried to keep her smile from breaking. “You... You ponies have a nifty kind of a diet around here...” She gulped.
“So you're Equestrian.”
Rainbow Dash glanced at Fulltrot once more, her brow furrowed
Fulltrot paused the tray being passed between them. “I've been near the borders of the Sun Goddess' land. I know that eating meat around there is more than just taboo, it's even a crime in some parts... yes?”
“Erm... I guess you could say that, yes...” Rainbow Dash briefly lurched, clenching her jaw as if trying to hold her bile in.
“Out here, so far from the Goddess' glory, ponies have to work harder to eke resources from the world. It must come as a major shock to a pegasus such as yourself.”
“Uhhh... eheh... kind of...”
“We're not cannibals,” Fulltrot said with a calm smile. “If that makes you feel any better.”
“Oh. Yeesh. I didn't even... think of that.” Rainbow Dash gulped and stared at Fulltrot. “Though, I can't help but wonder just... uhm... what it is...”
“Let's just say,” Red Turnip spoke from a few spaces away, “There are some cows who talk less than others.”
The many stallions chuckled. Rainbow Dash seemed hardly amused.
Fulltrot saw it. “Do not worry. You've been helpful to this caravan, and it is only right that we paid you our respects.” He cleared his voice and threw it across the camp. “Sun Plate?”
The young pony glanced over from the wagons. “Sir?”
“Go into my personal supply. I think there should be some celery in the green container.”
“But... I thought... you were saving that for your return dinner with your family—”
“And they'll understand when it was necessary for me to show hospitality to a pony who deserved it. Swiftly, Sun Plate, if you could.”
The pony took a deep breath and nodded. Awkwardly, he shifted through the materials in the rear of the wagon and acquired the green edibles.
“The further you fly from Equestria...” Fulltrot's voice stole Rainbow's attention again. “...the more you'll find ponies whose way of life will shock you, maybe even disgust you. And not all creatures you meet will be so willing to accommodate for your sensibilities.”
“Heh...” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “You say that as if I'm not used to traveling around.”
Fulltrot merely stared at her.
She bit her lip and her ears momentarily deflated. Staring into the cosmos and shadows of mountains somehow didn't make her feel this intimidated.
“I see before me a pony who's terribly young, and yet so terribly far from home. And as old as I am, I've never met a soul who would willfully fly herself away from the realm of the Sun Goddess. All I'm saying is that it makes me wonder. Did you really come all this way to sit down at a camp and be appalled by tanned beef?”
Sun Plate suddenly walked up, lying a plate of celery stalks at Rainbow Dash's hooves. Rainbow stared down at them. As Sun Plate left, she looked back up at Fulltrot.
“Believe it or not...” She smiled gently. “Even for somepony my age, I know that there's more than food that a pegasus lives off of.”
“And that brings me to another point of curiosity.” Fulltrot smiled gently. “Does such a pegasus come this far for a change of taste, or because Equestria no longer has that which used to fill her?”
Rainbow Dash blinked at that. She had no response. So, instead, she quietly filled her mouth with celery, her gaze falling into the fire.
At one point, you refer to Sun Plate as 'Iron Plate'.
That was a nice way to explain eating meat. I'm okay with this.
Also,
Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue!
Well. Good to know that they aren't bandits or slavers or something. That's almost disappointing, I was kinda hoping for a 'post apocolyptic' type situation, where a stranger you meet on the road would just as likely attack you as help you. I guess I've been playing too much Fallout lately.
1097090
Yeah, me too. I'm still hook, either way.
Pretty sure that should be Sun.
Man, what the hell is Dash hiding??
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Not much to say about this chapter, except that it's a good thing that the travelers weren't thieves. Also, the description of the meat was quite nice. Hopefully (again) we'll get some more plot soon. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Dash, what are you hiding?! Tell me, tell me, tell me!
-THEpandaman007
Good to see that the stallions are not hostile
Personally, I think that the pegasi would at least eat shrimp or something. It is literally impossible to fly without ample amounts of protein. All birds are carnivores of a sort. Yes, I count the birds that eat bugs.
But, that would make sense that she would be slightly appalled at eating Cow.
1097090 You have. That theme has been overused so much, that if I see one more time, I'm going to report it, or something.
So they eat meat, but aren't hostile, there's not pegasi around, but they've heard of Equestria....
Can't wait to see what this leads up to!
1231619
I think you can probably waive the protein issue when you consider that they wouldn't be able to fly anyway, with their wings being as small as they are. If magic lets them fly with wings too small to generate sufficient lift, magic can probably make it so that they don't need to eat meat to sustain necessary levels of protein.
Mmm...jerky
Tell us your secrets, rainbow mare, if you please.
Okay, they're delivering water, but that could be because there is no disease this far out. My theory is not yet beaten!
I thought she was going to do something mischievous, and she kind of did, when she opted to scare them. And I thought that they didn't know that equestria? Not that that is an issue, and actually I think it's even more interesting. Also, when is Sun Plate going to be Gold Plate? Is this a mistake or was it a detail my brain neglected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yA-2x0jXC0
to me, it is hard to find music that goes with dialogue, but still, this music fits the whole general Wintergait arc.
Maybe her secret isn't hidden in herself but in her Element.
Austraeohaiku
17. Taste
Pegasi are cool
Eating beef is not so cool
Why did Rainbow leave?
And a bonus haiku:
):(
You ought to go back and fix
Inconsistent names
This girl seems to have more names than Bonbon has voices! I thought she was Gold Plate (Gold Petal later on) but it seems to be Sun Plate. And now this? Maybe she has multiple personality disorder?
5257839
Not cool with the spoilers, bro. They conceal about as much as glass. Just sayin'.
The changing of names is distracting. Iron Plate, Sun Plate, Ironhoof, Stonehoof...
The world building is excellent.
I'm guessing this supposedly non-existent Stratopolis will come into play later too?
Dammit, now you're asking intriguing questions! Evil author! EVIL! Though it is something heavy to think about. And to wonder. Why did Rainbow leave. How does the book, her feelings, the Element, her dizzy spells, and discord's eyes all fit in this? I need to find out!
Rainbow, you need to learn that you can't hide this kind of stuff for very long.
5843207 Of course it will.
6108263 Well, it draws it out.
So much dialouge! It's so beautiful! Sheds a manly tear
This story is getting so good! I love how different the world outside Equestria's borders is. It opens up so many new possibilites! And I really like Fulltrot so far. I really respect that he gave Rainbow Dash the food he had been saving for a dinner with his family (which he most likely hasn't seen for a long time) because she was so disgusted by the thought of eating the flesh of something that had once been alive. He could've easily just said "We've provided you with food like you asked, so if you want something to eat then you'll have to deal with it being meat." but instead he was very understanding. I also wonder what's up with Sun Plate. He seems to be getting a lot more attention than the other ponies (Except for RD and Fulltrot). Could he be a possible main character/a character that has a lot to do with the story?
i've read at least one other story where Pegasi liked to eat fish.
Rainbow Dash is hiding something. These ponies eat meat. She's already out of Equestria, or has been for some time, and yet she carries her Element, alone.
Hmm.
It's good to see some goddess mythology going on.
*Slowly puts down the chicken strip I was eating for lunch, deeply ashamed*
8525029
Savage Skies Series?
Hmm, questions that give Rainbow Dash pause from Fulltrot though not in any kind of malicious way. He is a caring and curious old guy.
Again, notably useful references:
Sun Plate = Gold Plate
Iron Plate = Gold Plate
Man, I'm surprised that people can't put things together. I'm aware I can be proven wrong, but the hints have been smacking ya'll in the face.
1) She's alone(claims to be).
2) She has nightmares of her friends being discorded.
3) Her eyes become yellow and red. The very eyes of Discord himself.
4) Her Element(Loyalty) weights on her heavily. As if she has problems with beying loyal for one reason or another. Let me spell this one out. Either she herself can't be loyal, or she has nobody to be loyal TO.
5) She has even craved 5 unspecified names onto a cabin shrine she made. Do you ever carve names onto memorial if they are alive? Also, why only FIVE names?
Come ON, people. You are all smarter than that.
5729426
Oh thank you. Almost thought I was the only one thinking this way
Ah, yes, the old and wise leader.
It's very obvious Equestria no longer has what fills her.
I don't even know if horses can digest meat in the first place?