The ocean was a churning maelstrom of black, thrashing waters. Noise and chaos circled the Scootaloo, and the only thing to pierce the vortex was the occasional flicker of forked lightning. In such hellish flashes, Rainbow saw surging waves coming in to engulf the raft—or at least she thought she had seen them. She was far too busy being tossed left and right across the dilapidated vessel.
“Mmmmf! Grnnngh!” Rainbow gnashed her teeth as her body slammed once more against a swath of shifting logs. In anticipation of the violent storm, she had strapped Luna's satchel to her flanks, and had even gone as far as to tie a length of rope around her hoof, attaching herself to the heart of the wooden raft. The latter action turned out to be a life-saver, for on more than a dozen occasions the undulating ocean had threatened to toss her clear into the drink. “Grkkk... oommf!”
Lightning flashed again, this time in hot blue horizontal branches that illuminated the bulbous black clouds dipping overhead. It was not a rain storm. The weather of the Grand Choke had decided to skip straight on to the cyclones and electrical surges. Nevertheless, the wind spat out wave after wave of shredded ocean water, thoroughly dousing Rainbow Dash's weary, sunburnt body. Beads of moisture ran down her face and collected in her mouth, bringing with it a sour taste that was hardly of any relief to her dehydrated condition.
And just when Rainbow Dash felt certain that the storm had tossed the worst at her, another crest would hit, and the raft reeled so hard that it nearly toppled over completely... only to come crashing back down with an inarticulate splash of salt water and wooden splinters.
Rainbow grunted, grimacing at the sound of splitting logs. With each consecutive wave, she felt the wooden beams pulling more and more loosely apart, and she scrambled all over the surviving craft, using her hooves and wingtips to fasten the rope and twine back in place. This turned out to be a near impossible task, not just because of the extreme turbulence but mostly due to the water that further saturated her scant materials to work with.
“Come on... come onnn!” Rainbow attempted to yell, but her weakened lungs produced as squeak at best. “Celestia!” she sputtered, reeling as more and more sprays of ocean water pelted her in mid-task. “Gimme something to work with, dang you!”
Another streak of lightning. This one streaked past the bobbing image of Yaerfaerda, nearly blinding Rainbow altogether. In the ensuing thunder, she felt the craft rising higher and higher—much more sharply than in any crest previous.
Panicked, Rainbow paused in what she was doing. She twirled East, ran a hoof over her pendant, and tilted her pendant up.
She saw the wave and immediately wished she hadn't. In the brief ruby haze afforded her, it looked almost as if she was sliding up a forty-five degree hillside of pure water. As the raft tilted back more and more, her mind and body knew that there was no chance in Tartarus of clearing the thing. Already she could hear the groan of shifting wooden beams, and so she did that which was simultaneously the smartest and dumbest thing. She dove clear off the raft's side, satchel and all.
Within a second of splashing into the water, she felt the weight of the raft turning over and collapsing behind her. The rope fastened to her forelimb yanked her back violently, and she screamed air bubbles at the excruciating tug on her shoulder's socket. Rainbow somersaulted underwater more times than she wished to count. Her body felt a plummeting sensation, then yanked to another painful stop. Weight and gravity shifted, and she realized she was in a brief bout of calm.
Her twitching eyes looked up through the drink. She spotted tiny, muddled flashes of blue light, along with the looming glow of Yaerfaerda. A half-square shadow hovered between here and the lightning, and she kicked her limbs, swimming straight for it.
“Gkkk-srpkkkkt!” Seconds later, she burst through the ocean's surface. Her anchored limb was numb with pain, so she flung her other foreleg out—catching three loose beams of wood that were spreading disastrously apart. Hyperventilating, she threw herself atop the scant remains of the raft and viciously pulled the planks together. She was halfway through fastening the beams when another wave hit, knocking her over completely. “Ooof!”
Rainbow fell on her back, sprawled out with wings spread and twitching. All of her strength had been sapped in the last murderous impact, and she simply laid there, her spine practically glued to the Scootaloo as she gazed thinly up at the bubbling stormclouds overhead.
Rainbow heaved and shivered. More waves kept coming—each of them far more treacherous and deadlier than the last. She could have been bracing herself. She could have been holding her breath, preparing for another dive as the raft threatened to topple over again and disintegrate, plank by plank. But, instead, she remained still, limp, and immobile.
And then lightning flashed again, bringing with it a flicker of red scales.
Rainbow Dash blinked. Her eyes narrowed.
Another flash: Rainbow saw clouds, clouds, and more clouds. But they were clearing, opening up above her in a wing-shaped hole. As the thunder coalesced, she briefly heard the sound of beating air, and then the clouds closed up behind the mysterious mass, sealing her once again in the hellish seascape.
No amount of lightning could blot out the iron frown forming across the mare's muzzle.
“Well?!”
She hollered against the thunder.
“Well?!?!”
The thunder split in two as she stood up and cracked her voice against the heavens.
“What are you waiting for?!?!”
Waves slammed into the raft. Rainbow fell on her side. She felt a pained gash forming in her side, spilling blood. She growled past it, sputtering past the spray of stinging water.
“Is this what you wanted?!?!” She braced herself against the collapsing raft, only to stomach the next hollering words. “Is this what everyone wanted?!?!” Her angry scowl sliced the storm in every darting direction. “Commander Hurricane couldn't even make it this far, and she didn't even have you to crush her to a pulp!! What in Luna's poop are you hiding from now?!?!”
Lightning illuminated the naked heavens. It was only Rainbow Dash and the storm. It always was.
“Grnnngh!” Rainbow shouldered another churning wave of water splashing all over her. Like a chunk of granite bluffs, she took it, and hollered into the maelstrom. “Come and finish what you started!! Or are you too much of a coward, Axan?!?!” She stood up, leaning her battered body on a broken spoke of waterlogged wood. “Come on!! I'm right here!! Come and get me, ya stinkin' fire lizard!! Nothing's stopping you!!”
Lightning and the storm. There was nothing to yell at but the chaos beyond the darkness.
“What are you waiting for?!?!” Rainbow screamed until there was no breath left. “Bring it—!!”
When the next wave hit, it knocked the wind completely out of Rainbow's lungs. She fell to her side, but there was no energy left to whimper. She simply clung to the wood, riding the tossed raft as it swam sporadic circles across the churning waters. And yet—for minutes on end—as her consciousness dangled by a thread, she continued glaring at the empty heavens, a daredevilish snarl plastered to her face.
And soon enough, all went blacker than the night itself.
I think this sounds a bit like the Everfree.
Ha!
She's crazy, and this is dangerous, but it's not boring.
Always there, aren't you, Axan?
Hang in there, Rainbow.
I have to agree with Rainbow here, what exactly is Axan waiting for at this point? Rainbow is effectively screwed and we know that Axan wants her to complete her mission so why not help at this point? Its not like Rainbow situation can get worse, if she's waiting for the last minute for some reason.
Conclusion: Spike will be the ambassador that spans the Choke, because clearly dragon wings don't give any shits about freaky Choke stuff.
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Use the power of music, Rainbow Dash! Has Rainbow Rocks taught you nothing?
For everyone on the other side of the fourth wall to give up on her.
everypony?
Okay so I guess Axan can still fly here. Unless RD's been hallucinating her each time. And quite frankly I think Axan is her last hope, so she better not just be hallucinating.
5770910 Your new avatar is adorable.
5770934 Axan is a dragon. Enough of your ethnocentric pronoun privilege you cisgendered heterosexual unicorn stallion pony shitlord.
5770920 What if the twist that "no one'e expecting" is that this Rainbow Dash dies and it's up to Equestria Girls Rainbow Dash to become the new Austraeoh...?
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She should have named the raft "Sweetie Belle". They're much more versatile.
5770910
by that thread!
5770959
I don't actually hate the Equestria Girls universe, but I may be a biased opinion on the matter.
You ship anything and anything else- whether they be hatchets and landscapes, or whatever. I ship Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer almost exclusively, and I ship them so hard that I would bore you all to tears if I got the chance to talk about them at any point during this series.
(Un?)fortunately one's dead and the other never existed, so my SunLight must be confined to the bonds of the story I'm working on now.
5770984 I may think it's very thematically flawed, its morals are questionable, and it's mostly a disservice to the entire objective of the series on a whole, but I don't actually hate Equestria Girls either.
Also, SunLight is best ship.
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Mo, moooom, I think the cats in the washing machine again.
No relief for Rainbow pony.
5770910
5770915
5770943
5770916
No Axan.
Rainbow Dash has stood defiant in the face of death before, but back then she always had something to loose.
Now however...
5771024
I don't know though. I see your point it could imply that she was just hallucinating Axan being there. However it could mean that Axan just left and that it was reflecting on RD no longer having anyone to rely on anymore; not even Axan.
5770948 Who are you calling a unicorn? I'm an elk (or, in Appledashery, a pegasus).
5771050
Then why would she have even gone this far? It's pretty clear RD is seeing things.
5770948
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you seem like a good person to fight muh soggy knees with
Didn't someone (that long dead expedition) say that when their magical equipment failed was close to a severe storm?
5771112
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Seeing how Axan is a divine, it would not surprise me at all if she found a way to safeguard her magic against the choke.
At the same time... Dash might be hallucinating from the pain.
And since we're apparently discussing shipping, my three otp's are RariTwi, SilverBelle and SpikeBloom.
-Treachery and deceit, kingdom of conceit Yaerfaerda.
5770994
Oh, agreed.
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Its great tragedy is that Sunset is doomed to die while Twilight will live forever. Its perfection is in its sad fate.
It's an abstract kind of feel.
5771134
>SunLight not detected
>Phoenix confirmed for casul
sorry
5771119 it was just the geographical location.
The storm was, as it was described, "the elements turned against them."
If the anti magic field was just kicking in now, she would be screwed exceptionally hard, though she might be getting close to the other end of the field.
5771145
5771161
I tried to warn you.
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5771182
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5771134
*picks up Phoenix Kitten*
Hmm.
SilverBelle?
*squints*
Hmm.
...
*looks it up*
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...
...
Not bad.
*puts Phoenix Kitten back down*
5771190
You know it bb
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My clairvoyant powers tell me that ship is soon to appear in TGoM even though her whole family is fucking evil
I tried to read your story, I really did, but it was too intense for me already and then I saw the next chapter I had to read was 'Up the Ante'
I can only up the ante so high.
Hmm, another Axan sighting.
If it's the real Axan, then I sympathize with Rainbow and wonder what it is that keeps Axan from helping.
And if it's a hallucination, then what's the significance of that?
5771190 *breaks out into giggles* Glad I could introduce you to a new ship.
5771145 I prefer Sunxie for Sunsetships.
I'm inclined to think that Axan is/was actually there. The only way I could buy it all being in Rainbow's mind is if all of Axan's appearances in the past few books (such as in Durandana) were also hallucinations, which seems like a stretch. Otherwise, I don't see the point of Rainbow imagining it now. I don't see what it would accomplish, or contribute to the story. Possibly to highlight her continued downward spiral in madness, I suppose, but still, it seems like a stretch to me.
More likely, I think, is that Axan has been watching Rainbow from afar, as she's apparently been doing since Silvadel. Which, in turn, gives me a kind of hope. We all know she wants Rainbow to continue her quest, and has only intervened under special circumstances (such as Nevlamas). It makes me think that Rainbow is close to some sort of salvation or respite. Otherwise, why bother breaking up the storm? If Rainbow was so far away from any kind of destination or oasis or whatnot, the only sensible things for an immortal dragon to do are leave Rainbow to her fate or intervene in a more specific way (as in, grabbing Rainbow and carrying her to a safe place). And as for Axan not doing more to help already? If I had to guess, it's because it's Rainbow's journey to make. Sort of the same rationale as not helping a hatching chick.
I guess we'll see. Only nine chapters to go, so it's crunch time.
5770915 I think Axan already has, in a twisted way. Rainbow lost her drive and reason to go on, but Axan showing up made her mad enough to continue struggling once more. Dash needs a purpose to strive for, and lacking anything else, going on to give Axan a poece of her mind is as good as any. Plus, Axan would likely risk angering Verlax were she to directly help our blue pegasus, and we already saw how not pretty a fight between Divines is.
Axan is being Eljunbyro, sort of. Maybe Belle and Pilate never were. Or it is just my mind trying to compensate for a loss it cannot bear.
5771289
5771467
I concur. Impatient YESTERDAYs from dream-Yaerfaerda notwithstanding, I think the journey's the point. There's probably something important that wouldn't happen if the dragons just picked her up and delivered her.
On the other hand, just because Axan wants Rainbow to succeed doesn't mean she actually likes her. She might be enjoying RD's misery while remaining ready to pull her out if necessary.
5771235 Oh, you think your job is over? No, little lady, I do not think so. you have not escaped my ire yet. I hereby demand that you link me to all of your favorite SilverBelle stories immediately. You are not getting off the hook until you can be held accountable for your actions.
5770984
Hmm... I remain neutral about most ships. They can be done well or horribly, depending on the story.
There are so many ways to combine those names, "Twilight Sparkle" and "Sunset Shimmer". Almost any combination works.
The Twilight Sunset
Shimmer and Sparkle
The Shimmering Twilight
Sparkling Sunsets
To name but a few.
Everyone's yelling at me.
5771597 Ire? How did I earn any ire?
But... but I've never even seen so much as a hair of a shipfic for them..it'd be like looking for a Scootatiara fic.
I found 2 of them...do I have to read through them first before presenting them to you oh Empress of Shipping?
5771667 Bring them here and we shall adjourn 'til morn so that we may discuss our findings together.
Chop chop!
5771675 Of course milady, right away.
I found a third hidden in the Filly 5 group.
Finding the first.
Finding the second
Finding the third.
5771203 ...
Oh.
I was wondering why you stopped commenting.
...
Hum.
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Gee... all the angst and dehydration and churning ocean are dramatic an' all... but I sure hope Rainbow finds land soon.
One of the really cool things about this series is all of the cool places the author imagines.
Wait.
Foal
Yesterday
Scootaloo
It's been around 1200 chapters since we've last seen Scootaloo
It's been about 400 since we last saw Shell
1200/400 = 3
Shell-Life 3 confirmed.
5771809 Damn dude. I'm scared.
5771686
Here's a fourth one, though I have no idea about its quality.
5771642
Correction, everyone's yelling at half of you.
Do you prefer being yelled at on the left or the right?
5771809
No. I will not have Shell coming back for a third life. Random math is not a reason to resurrect someone.
Yes, I know you were just memeing.
5771791
Yeah, I was very tired and fell asleep.
5772091 ...No, not here you dolt.