//------------------------------// // Catching Up // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Breakwater’s cabin, which was also doubling as their dining cabin and general meeting area, was kind of crowded with four or five creatures in it. Even though it was fairly sparse to begin with there wasn’t a lot of room for them. He had a small cot in one corner, a desk in the middle, and a few chests lining the sides of it. A couple of small windows at the back gave them a decent view of the water they were passing by, but not much else. Generally, it kind of fit with Breakwater’s personality and nature. If Applejack was captain of a ship, Rainbow imagined she’d have a similarly simplistic cabin for herself. They didn’t even actually have enough chairs for everyone so instead they all stood around the desk and started eating like that. An oil lantern overhead was currently unlit, but having something enclosed like it to give them light when the sun went down was a lot safer than using simple candles. Breakwater had also drilled it into her skull how dangerous any sort of flame could be for a ship. The only other things of real note in the entire cabin were a painting on the starboard wall of a much larger ship traversing rough waves in the middle of a storm. And on the opposite wall a wooden plaque with the words “My gift to you” carved into it was nailed up. Breakwater hadn’t told her what that was about. Rainbow Dash figured she’d have plenty of time to ask him about his personal belongings later, right now it was time to eat. The cheese was tasty—she had absolutely no idea what kind of cheese it was, but it was yellow. That was good enough. The milk as well was surprisingly still fresh and tasty despite being at least a few days old now. However it was stored in that barrel down there it did a good job of keeping it from going bad. She vaguely recalled learning about the Aux-Lemm corporation and Vissidians using magic spells to keep fruit and vegetables fresh while they were transported long distances. For all she knew magic was involved with this too. If that was the case though they shouldn’t really have to worry about the perishable food spoiling in the first place. The lack of preservation might’ve been a cost of the divide between The Hundred Kingdoms and the northern reaches of the continent. Finishing up the carrots and slice of orange she had (making for a very orange meal), Rainbow cracked her neck and watched the others as they finished. Later today after Breakwater ate his lunch she’d probably be right back to learning sailing stuff. Before that though there was a decent amount of stuff on her mind, and now seemed like the best time to talk about. “So anyways, I kind of had a question to ask,” Rainbow Dash said to the others. “Yeah?” Daylight Gleam raised an eyebrow at her as she swallowed a bite of cheese. “What are we doing?” “What?” “I mean—what are we doing?” Rainbow repeated. “I got caught up in the moment and never asked before coming aboard, and kept forgetting or getting distracted, or interrupted, but I never found out just what you guys are looking for and doing out here on the Grand Ocean.” “Ohhh… that would be important to know,” Gilbert nodded. “I’m pretty sure we told you about why we were coming here back when we met in the north at the Yak checkpoint...” Daylight Gleam rubbed her chin and thought back. “Well maybe you did but I totally forgot,” Rainbow shrugged. “That was a pretty long time ago after all.” “True,” Daylight agreed. “Now that you mention it, with the frantic nature of our reunion and then the quick pace we set on getting back out onto the ocean, we haven’t really had a time for us to just sit down and talk to each other,” Gilbert said. “I’m sure there’s much more to discuss than simply filling Rainbow Dash in on the purpose of our journey again. You must have quite a few tales you’d like to tell as well.” “You’ve got that right,” Rainbow nodded. “Well then how about we catch up? After all we’re already taking a lunch break,” Gilbert suggested. Daylight and Senax shared a look with each other and shrugged. “That sounds fine to me,” Senax said. “I suppose the first order of business then is to fill you in on why we’re out here in the first place,” Daylight said. “Re-fill you in, that is.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Oh just go ahead already.” “Well you remember how I deferred to Senax about deciding on whether or not to bring you with us? That’s because despite me doing most of the talking when it comes to our little group—this is her adventure we’re on. Not mine or Gilbert’s anymore,” Daylight looked over at her merpony friend. “Do you want to take over?” Senax nodded with a polite smile on her face. “Yes, thank you.” The merpony took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. “Essentially, the reason the three of us came to the Grand Ocean was to search for the long lost home of my people. The lost throne of the merponies that exists somewhere on the ocean floor, the city created by the great Ponyseidon, ancestor of all merponies. Merlantis. Ages ago, for reasons lost to time, my people were cast out of the Grand Ocean and our ancestral home was lost to us. After generation upon generation of my people forced to live elsewhere, I finally decided to take our reclamation into my own hooves. I joined with Daylight Gleam here and then we found Gilbert before traveling to the ocean.” “There was another reason we came here,” Daylight frowned and shook her head. “But, ugh, just forget about that.” “Indeed,” Gilbert snorted in annoyance. “We joined up with Breakwater quickly and started searching for any possible clue to Merlantis’s location before we realized that we needed to search for something else first,” Senax said. “What?” Rainbow Dash asked. “As it turned out, there were many rumors, old tales, and legends among the societies and civilizations out here on the Grand Ocean and even some up in The Hundred Kingdoms pertaining to Ponyseidon and Merlantis. Most had forgotten about what merponies were specifically—fortunate for us since we didn’t need that sort of attention—or that Ponyseidon was one, but they hadn’t forgotten about the three ancient and mystical treasures of my people. While no one knew the location of Merlantis… or had any supposed map leading there, there was a common legend that had been passed down from generation to generation,” Senax sighed and took another deep breath. “That the Trident of Ponyseidon, his greatest and most powerful treasure that gave him control of the ocean itself, is still locked away deep below in the heart of Merlantis. And that the only way to find it is to first find the Necklace of Knowledge, which leads the way to it when worn.” Senax closed her eyes and shook her head, rubbing at her forehead in exasperation. “I had no idea that things were so complicated… but this legend has persisted for centuries here. Perhaps now you’ll recall, but I did tell you about these sacred treasures when we met—but I had thought that when my people were originally scattered that other tribes had taken the Trident and Necklace. It seems I was wrong. Furthermore I had no idea that the Necklace had that sort of power...” “And of course because of these legends, pirates and other adventurers have been searching for the treasures for hundreds of years,” Daylight scowled. “So we have some competition,” Gilbert added. “We’ve now followed dead end after dead end trying to find the Necklace. Any rumor of golden treasure, no matter how small or unlikely, but its all ended in empty hooves. I never even cared about any sort of treasure to begin with...” Senax sadly looked down at the table. “All I wanted was to find the home of my people—to return us to where we should have always been. The Trident that controls the seas? No, unlike the pirates searching for it, I would only ever want it as a memento of our great leader and progenitor. Merlantis is my goal, so I can go back and get the rest of my fellow merpony tribe and bring us all home.” “I hope we can find it then...” Rainbow Dash said. “Me too. It’s been so long that we’ve been out here looking though. Right now we’re on what may turn out to be just one more wild goose chase… but I hope not,” Senax said. “There are still rumors to follow, and old treasures to discover. We haven’t run out of those,” Daylight said. “Considering how long its been I have to admit to being surprised that the Necklace hasn’t already been found. The ocean is a big place but it seems there are only so many islands where it could’ve been taken to,” Gilbert said. “There are plenty of other legends of the Grand Ocean that have nothing to do with Merlantis and Ponyseidon. Legends of vanishing islands and other ancient civilizations. No one has discovered those either, have they?” Daylight shrugged. “I believe the Necklace must be somewhere special and not just randomly plopped somewhere, otherwise such legends likely would’ve never formed. But who knows, as Senax has said we haven’t had much luck.” “Maybe the winds of fortune blow for us now that we’ve joined up with our friend here. Perhaps we’ll get lucky?” The optimistic Gilbert said as he clapped Rainbow Dash on the back. Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Hey, it’d be pretty cool if it works out like that.” Daylight Gleam rolled her eyes. “Indeed it would be.” “Either way that’s how things are at the moment. We keep searching and searching for the Necklace or any sort of clue about Merlantis. That’s what we’ve always been doing,” Senax said. “Are you sure those treasures are even real? Like just saying, not trying to be a jerk, but its been so long and you even admitted you didn’t actually know what happened back then. Are the Necklace and Trident really out there?” Rainbow asked. Senax and Daylight shared a brief look and Senax nodded to her unicorn friend. “She said how there were three artifacts of Ponyseidon’s, didn’t she? Were you maybe wondering what the third one was?” Daylight said. Senax stood up and moved to one of the chests in Breakwater’s cabin. Smaller than the others, it had a combination lock on it as well. Her scaly hooves moved quickly over it to enter the correct combination and it popped unlocked. Removing the lock, she opened the latch on the chest. There seemed to almost be a sort of golden glow coming from inside. Senax looked deeply at what was inside the chest before she reached her hooves in and took it out. “This has been passed down in my tribe for as long as anyone could remember. Since the beginning when we had to live away from Merlantis,” Senax turned and showed Rainbow Dash the thing she was holding. It was a spiral bronze-metal horn of some sort that glowed with golden runes Rainbow couldn’t begin to decipher. The wider end open enough that you could stick your hoof in it, it tapered down to a point at the other end where it looked like you could fit it into your ear. “This is the Horn of Listening. The third treasure of Ponyseidon,” Senax explained. “It’s a magical artifact that allows you to hear far off into the distance wherever it’s pointed.” “Huh,” Rainbow Dash blinked at the proof of the legends being held before her. She was used to magical artifacts and ancient treasures, from the Elements to the Crystal Heart to everything she read about in the Daring Do books. While this wasn’t quite as grand as those, it had the same kind of mystical aura. She didn’t doubt its power at all. “It’s also exceptionally good as a makeshift club for braining your enemies over the head with,” Gilbert nodded. Senax frowned. “I am very unhappy with how many times my people’s sacred artifact has been used that way...” “Well, uh, I’ll try not to do that with it either,” Rainbow grinned. “As far as we can tell it’s indestructible anyways,” Daylight shrugged. “Still...” Senax pouted. “Anyways-” Daylight continued. “That’s why we’re out here and that’s what we’ve been up to pretty much from the moment we passed the south of Griffonstone and the Dragon Lands and came to the Grand Ocean. Our journey doesn’t stop until we find Senax’s home.” “That’s a pretty awesome journey to be on. I’m glad I joined up with you for it—not just for me but because I think I can really help you,” Rainbow said. “Thank you,” Senax smiled. “You’re already on quite the journey of your own too, aren’t you?” Gilbert asked her. “Yeah, I am, but that’s just the thing. For me it’s about the journey and all the fun I can have and awesome stuff I can do on it more than the destination. And all the ponies in need I can help. So even though I’ve got my own future goal—it wouldn’t be half as awesome of an accomplishment if I didn’t do stuff like this on the way,” Rainbow looked out the back windows of the cabin at the open ocean. “What is your true goal then if you don’t mind me asking?” Daylight said. Rainbow Dash didn’t. Am even bigger grin stretched across her face. “My goal? I’m aiming to be the first pony to ever fly all the way around the world. I started back in the middle of Equestria, went north, went over the north pole and have been traveling south since. I’ve seen… a lot of stuff on the way. I’ve dealt with… a lot of problems and fought a lot of villains. I’ve made mistakes, and done things I regret, but I’ve also met so many amazing ponies and saved the lives of a ton of others. I’m doing something that no one has ever done before and for a long time I didn’t even know I was going to do it. I just wanted adventure. Now I’ve got a goal and once I’ve reached it it’s going to be something ponies remember for a thousand years.” She finished with clapping a hoof to her chest and looking forward with the most gallant expression and pose she could manage. “Impressive,” Daylight Gleam slowly clapped her hooves together with a wry smirk on her face. “Pff, yeah, yeah...” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Well seriously—it is. You’ve just got an even more grandiose way of putting it,” Daylight said. “Flying around the entire world… that’s really something. I had never even thought if that had been done by anyone before.” “An awesome goal for an awesome pony,” Rainbow shrugged. “As something of an adventurer myself, I would be quite interested to hear about what you’ve been through since we parted ways back in the north in more detail,” Gilbert said. “What did you find up there exactly? And what have you found so far on this side of the world?” Rainbow Dash let out a deep sigh. “This is going to take a while if you really want the full story, Gilbert.” She smirked. “Fortunately for you, I love giving the full story. So as it turns out… the north is a big place, and a lot of different ponies and creatures live up there. A lot. And the first thing I met when I flew into the True North was a really nasty monster called an Ice Sentinel...” “And I said goodbye to her… and left her there in Arondel with Rosalie and the others...” Rainbow Dash said, a few tears gathering at her eyes. “I’m sure she’s doing great but… yeah, yeah I miss her.” “Oh, Rainbow Dash...” Senax stepped forward and wrapped her in a warm embrace. “You’ve been through a lot.” “I tried to keep to the cool stuff but at the end there I just… just needed to talk about that,” Rainbow returned the hug. “Saying goodbye to my own beloved companions is something I don’t look forward to,” Gilbert smiled sadly at the others. Daylight Gleam was meanwhile thinking to herself. “Harlequin Grey… why does that name sound so familiar?” “That wasn’t the last part though. Before I made it to The Hundred Kingdoms and then found you guys again I stopped by in a swamp,” she chuckled. “Heh, and I kind of promised one of the ponies living there that I’d share their culture and what they believed in with other ponies so it’s not forgotten. You mind hearing about the religion of a bunch of ponies who live in a really big swamp?” “I’d love to hear about it actually!” Gilbert enthusiastically stated. “Okay… swamp education is a go...” Rainbow Dash smirked. In Rainbow Dash’s recitation of her travels, she had told them pretty much everything she had been through and every important soul she had met. Even her sadder tales in Oreville and Pinetree Warren. The one thing she hadn’t brought up was her. Because… yeah. They had all pretty much lost track of time while Rainbow was telling them of her travels and only Senax remembered midway through it that she should probably bring Breakwater’s lunch up to him. Now with Rainbow Dash done with filling them all in on what she had been through and where, it was practically closer to dinner already. “Though we’ve been in her talking for far too long I’m glad we could catch up,” Gilbert said. “Breakwater will want us to get busy again though. Especially you.” “Yeah I know,” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Your stories were rather amazing though. And I thought I was a well-traveled pony,” Daylight Gleam said. “What can I tell you, I like being special,” Rainbow shrugged. “Certainly seems so,” Senax smiled. “I’ll go up and take over at the helm again now, and you can get back to your lessons with the captain.” “Thanks. Just what I wanted.” “We all had to go through it,” Daylight smirked. “I know, geez,” Rainbow Dash playfully punched the unicorn in the shoulder. She then blinked and tilted her head to the side. “Err… come to think of it, I have another question.” “Well what is it this time?” Daylight asked. “Where are we going?”