It Came Upon a Midnight Dash
Rainbow Dash drifted forward, legs dangling.
She had no power over it. She had no power over anything.
The concave world rolled beneath her, its continents and oceans undulating through the darkness.
She gazed dully ahead, her sunburnt features struggling to come up with words.
Whimpers lit the wind.
Her hooves brushed against jagged twigs.
She looked down to see that she was gliding along a forest of petrified antlers.
Far below, through the mess of bones and rib cages, she saw five equine figures doubled over, weeping.
Just then, the air shook.
"Foal."
Thunder.
"Yesterday."
With the voice, the figures disintegrated, blowing away in clouds of ash.
Rainbow's breath sucked in. She looked forward, eyes tearing.
Yaerfaerda occupied the entire eastern horizon.
"FOAL."
The seas evaporated.
"YESTERDAY."
The stars fell.
Rainbow opened her mouth to scream, but only a pitiful ringing sound came out.
Rainbow Dash's soaked ears rang, deafened by moisture.
Warm waters crashed against her body, coalescing around her fuzzy head and thoroughly soaking her mane. Just as quickly, the waters receded.
She stirred, curling tighter into a little blue ball with a foalish trilling sound.
Within seconds, the water returned, splashing against her yet again.
Rainbow's face grimaced. She was only aware of the extreme dizziness once it began clearing from her mind. She opened her eyes with a gasp, spotting a mess of dark sand and grit.
Rainbow Dash sat up, shivering.
Night had fallen, bringing with it the rising tide. If Rainbow Dash had slept any longer, she was certain the dreaded ocean would have swept her away entirely.
Breathless, she crab-walked away from the pounding surf. She bumped into a wooden partition, and it was then that she remembered the discovery she had made inside the earthen burrow. Just like that, a disgusting sensation returned to her gut, and she clutched her stomach in time to withstand the first few waves of nausea.
Almost wretching, the mare hopped to her hooves with a burst of strength. She shuffled aimlessly in a direction—any direction—and found it taking her south along the sandy shore where the Grand Choke dipped into the expansive ocean.
The uneven sand felt strangely painful beneath the petite pegasus' hooves. Her pack and satchel felt heavy—at least heavier than normal. With animalistic grunts, she peeled the bags off, tossing them angrily to the soft earth as she continued trotting off in an unspecified direction.
She came to a stop minutes later, frozen on the eastern crest of a slope sand dune.
Nostrils flaring, she pivoted about, squinting eastward.
Yaerfaerda loomed at a great distance, hovering above the quivering horizon. The lavender beacon cast no reflection against the waves. It made no movement—neither rising nor dipping. As long as Rainbow Dash breathed, the beacon levitated far ahead of her, unwavering.
The mare's nostrils flared. Eventually, she plopped herself down on the edge of the dark-lit dune. She hugged herself, rocking back and forth, her vision growing foggier and foggier as the tears returned to her eyes.
By that time, the moon had become a thin crescent. The stars overhead shone brighter than ever, giving the atmosphere an ethereal hue that reflected off the dark waves with a silver sheen.
Rainbow Dash shuddered. She bit her lip, fought it, but ultimately had to say it.
"I love you... I need you..." She sniffled. "...but I left you guys weeks ago. Just... j-just like I left them months ago." Tears ran down her muzzle, and she shivered. "Belle... Pilate... Kera... Roarke..." She shook her head, clenching her eyes shut as the words finally burst out. "I g-gotta let you go. I... I-I love you guys t-too much to fall apart on you. I'm all th-that's left of the journey. I'm all th-that's left of Harmony..."
She covered her face, sobbing into the ocean winds.
"Please... please don't hate me. I would never d-do anything to ruin what we are. I would n-never... never..." She whimpered, her crying voice soft and squeaking. "I will live on. Some way... some how... I will reach the Armory. I will make awesomeness happen. I will... Celestia help me, I will... I will I will I will I will..."
The stars glittered silently, their lights eventually dying out one by one with the advent of morning, much like Rainbow's soft cries.
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What the heck does those words mean? We still aren't any closer to getting an answer on that one.
Hope Dash recovers in someway, otherwise all the Goblins will find is her backpack, and the message, Kilroy Woz Ere.
Forward, dashki, for ze motherland!!
Well, looks like Dash saw through her hallucinations. I wonder how she'll cross the Grand Sea. Also, did she just abandon Luna's satchel? Or was it just the bags Azira gave her.
Yet again, the words, with no more insight as to what they stand for.
EDIT: Depending on how you interpret her words, she's either been travelling the Choke for weeks or months. She might still be talking to her imaginary friends, or she abandoned them weeks ago, which means she's been travelling the Choke for months.
-Spirit
Woo, acceptance.
You've already gotten so far, Dash. Don't fall apart now.
We believe in you, Rainbow.
Go get 'em, Dashie.
Plank for two minutes, ):(. Knock 'em out!
5736950
There was some speculation that she was talking to imaginary friends in order to not go crazy. She knew they were fake, but to pretend they weren't was easier.
The hardest part of love,
And the rarest part of love
And the truest part of love
Is letting go.
Gee I wonder who those might be.
Good to see that Rainbow Dash loves them enough to let them go.
Let's see what starts to happen with maybe making a raft.
And there it is! Make a mental note of it! This is the point where Rainbow began to believe in a future for herself!
5737178
Hard to tell. Were they the survivors that headed west from east or were they the former Element bearers? I believe it's possible it could have been both.
5737178
I'm betting on Luna, Celestia, Sombra, Chrysalis, and Tchern.
5736956 I read the 'you guys weeks ago' as leaving the Noble Jurists; and the 'them months ago' as leaving Equestria.
5737526 I considered that as well. I forgot to put it down, though.
sorry, celstia can't help you right now, she's busy
and luna won't be much help either, sad to say
Honestly, I was hoping for some more searching in the caves.
I bet she'd get the raft she's gonna use out of them.
I wonder what it is about this ocean. The journal entry seemed to associate the hallucinations (if that's what they are) on it. Does it have to do with the hypothesized chaotic energies of the Choke? Or is it literally something in the ocean itself (since Rainbow only seemed to be effected when she was near to it)? The river Cocytus from Greek mythology comes to mind.
Also, I'm really hoping the Val Roans finished that raft before they Donner'd it up. Or, got it close enough to completion that Rainbow could do it herself in a short amount of time. I don't really see any other way forward.
5738073
One would hope that Axan might lend a hand... talon? Wing?
failing that, yes, a raft.
5736453
The internet never forgave, and it never forgot. Eat mor chikin.
Poor Rainbow...
Come to think of it, Dash's tent could make a nice sail.
5737526 that's what made the most sense to me
I was wondering when we'd get another vision. The five equine figures... the other Elements, or are they somepony completely different? If they are the elements, and this is another plane (think the Unsung Realm from Background Pony, it certainly seems bleak enough) rather than just a hallucination, then does that mean they weren't erased from existence entirely, contrary to what Luna/Celestia told dash ?
whatever the answer, at least Dash has realised she has to let the jury go before she can keep going east. It's not been healthy for her to hold on like that.
"I love you... I need you"
Six little words?
Grand choke rainbow will be awesome to see.
5739335
I know what you're thinking, but those six words seem to begin with "I wish I..."
5736956
5736886
Bit late on this one, but it seems that most of the letters of Yaerfaerda came from Foal and Yesterday. The letters that are in Foal and Yesterday, but are not used in Yaerfaerda are olst. Rearranged: LOST
I wish I hadn't fallen behind to the point that the comment section is all the way at another book at this point.
Welp, anyway. This whole section kinda reminded me of early in Stephen King's Dark Tower Series.
This has been the part of the comment section that is three weeks late.
That is all.
5775216 That might mean nothing, but... Who knows, it might mean everything.
That dream has changed, but we still have no idea what the hell foals and yesterday have to do with anything.
well... I was right. Rainbow's 'insanity' wasn't quite real insanity. there were a couple of spots that hinted as much, like the moment where she asked Pilate to scan the corpse, her reaction to it not happening was kinda along the lines of, 'oh....yeah...he's not here...Don't give up the memories, just let go of the pain.
Also the moon is a crescent, so its been about 15 days? nearly a new moon. Though it could've been several months...curses
5927256 Stretching Foals and yesterday as ridiculously far as I can to support an absurd theory,
Maybe Dash is pregnant?
Visions and double visions.
6087877 I don't think Roarke was properly equipped for such a thing to occur.
I wonder if if those two words are what Yaerfaerda means?
6087877
6575676
Yep! Yep! She sacrificed her womb for an extra mana core, and even with Gender changing spells / potions. She'd lack the body parts needed to get Dash pregnant.
Oh will you shut it, mysterious vision voice!
And now to let go of the friends you made on this journey, for now at least.
07/24/2017
14:37 UTC
I just remembered, wasn’t an ocean foreshadowed way back in the first book. I think it was.
Relevant Clip (I’m so sorry)
No guesses as to who these are.
Don't worry Rainbow. Your friends aren't with you physically, but there's no doubt that you carry them in your heart.
9822479
I'm chuckling, but I also want to punch you.
Where the north wind meets the sea,
There's a mother full of memory.
Come, my darling, homeward bound,
When all is lost, then all is found...