Rainbow Dash High Tails It East
“A dream. A hallucination.” Rainbow Dash gnashed her teeth in mid-descent. She skimmed the eastern edge of the rocky mountain, gliding towards the thick canopy of palm trees waiting for her on the other side. “Some sort of... of... friggin' Herald projection bullcrap. It's gotta be.” She clenched her eyes shut. “Pilate... Ding Dong... you were always the smart ones. What's the game here? What do the Angels of Urohringr want from this stupid nonsense?”
At last, she pierced the jungle layer. Barreling through the leaves, she made a rough landing, scraping her hooves through the soil until she had made a shallow trench. Immediately, she swiveled about, turning her flank to Yaerfaerda.
With panting breaths, she eyed the mountain above.
“Or maybe... m-maybe the Choke's done this to me...” She gulped, then rubbed a hoof over the fresh knot in her belly. “...or maybe those funky flowers I just ate.” She grumbled out the side of her muzzle. “Stupid... Stupid pony... listening to a fever dream. What were you thinking—?!”
“Wooooooo-hoooo!”
Rainbow's features drooped. She gazed upwards with the mother of all pale expressions.
A lavender shape came cruising diagonally earthward like a falling zeppelin. Twilight Sparkle pumped a hoof in the air, a dumb grin across her face as she descended eerily. “You know, all things considered, this is actually kind of exhilarating! Heeheeheee!” The bookworm chirped as her body plummeted into Rainbow Dash...
...only to surge straight through her.
“Gaaah!” Rainbow clutched herself. There was a flash of lavender light, and she spun around—trembling—to see.
Twilight Sparkle rested on the grassy floor—perfectly unharmed. She laid back with her hooves and tail curled above her like a fuzzy purple squirrel. “A-ahem...” She blushed slightly. “Seriously, though, Rainbow, it's time to cut it out.”
Rainbow clenched her jaw tight. She stared straight down at the ground and trotted forward, passing Twilight.
“Hey, listen! I mean it!” Twilight hopped up. “All of Equestria is in danger so long as Discord's on the loose! Don't you care about that?”
Rainbow held her breath. She hobbled over rocks and tree stumps, stumbling her way to shore.
Twilight trotted closely behind the pegasus' swishing tail. “I mean... think of your friends! Think about Rarity! And Fluttershy! And Pinkie Pie—watchyourstep.”
“Ooomf!” Rainbow chest-planted over a rock. She writhed on the ground just a few feet from the eastern shore, gritting her teeth in pain.
“Think about Applejack!”
Rainbow's eyes flew open. She exhaled with a pained hiss.
Twilight came to a stop behind her. “If Discord takes over, they're all in trouble! The Rainbow Dash that I know wouldn't abandon her friends in need! So... please...” She leaned forward, stretching a hoof. “...talk to me, Rainbow. Tell me what's wrong.” Twilight gulped, her voice taking on a pitiable tone. “If... if you let me help you... th-then maybe I can get you to help me? To help all of us?”
Rainbow seethed and seethed. She clenched her eyes shut. “Dead... all of them...”
Twilight blinked. “Huh? What was that?”
“Grnnnghhh...” Rainbow spread her wings, whispering hoarsely yet again. “They're all dead. Dead!” She bulleted forward with a grunt.
“Ohhhhhhhh Rainbow.” Twilight sat back on her haunches, folding her forelimbs. “Learn a new tune already—” When the lavender light dragged her forward, she accepted it with a casual sigh.
Rainbow Dash shot past the crashing waves, soared beyond the foamy ocean swells, and flew over the deep sea. She didn't think—she hardly even breathed. The pegasus simply pointed herself at the distant speck of Yaerfaerda and accelerated.
At last, her lungs burst, and she huffed and puffed in desperation. The “meal” in her belly was enough to carry her forward for hours... even days, she reasoned. Or, at least, she hoped.
“No turning back... n-no turning back...” Rainbow stammered, teeth chattering. “Just. Fly. East.” She gulped hard, smiling crookedly. “That's all there is. Flying east. Eheh... eh heh heh heh heh...” She barked into the sky. “It's always worked before! No reason it should stop working now, right?!” Her muzzle twisted into a snarl. “Stupid Choke. I'm tired of you and your stupid... grnnngh... Chokeyness.” Her wings flapped harder as she ascended, getting a good view of the expansive blue horizon. “Shoulda tried harder to keep the Nebulum intact. Never mind the Heaven Slices. Those tasted like cardboard anyways.”
“Heaven what-now?”
Rainbow's wings nearly drooped. Against her better judgment, she looked behind her.
Twilight soared after the pegasus, gliding along at the same speed. All the while, her limbs dangled like a glowing lavender marionette puppet. “'Nebulum?' 'Choke?'” The unicorn's muzzle twisted. “I don't know, Rainbow. Maybe you are hallucinating.”
An errant squeaking sound came out of Rainbow's throat. Nervously, she darted left and right, throwing her flight into an erratic pattern. No matter how swiftly she swung, spiraled, or barrel-rolled, Twilight remained hovering closely behind her.
“I tried telling you back on the island!” Twilight cackled. “It's no use! It's not going to work!” Casually, the unicorn threw a worried glance over her shoulder at the disappearing landscape. “Speaking of which, I really... really think that you should have stayed there instead of shoving off the only dry land within sight. I mean, it looks to be a pretty big ocean surrounding us, and there's no telling how long you'll have to fly before—”
“Mmmfmnngh!” Snarling, Rainbow dove. She flew low to the ocean's surface.
Consequently, Twilight plunged into the waters beneath her. “Hey! Rainbow, don't—!” Her voice was canceled out by thick, rolling waves.
Rainbow panted and panted, staring down behind her as she glided along.
Through the ocean's surface, a tiny shape soared evenly along, like a lavender torpedo.
Rainbow stared and stared. Squinting curiously, she flapped her wings and lifted up ever so slightly.
Within seconds, Twilight's head poked out of the water. Her obstinate pout was dry as a bone. “Are you quite finished?”
“Luna Poop!” Rainbow grimaced, dropping like a stone. Her belly made a splash against the waves, but with quick wingflaps she was able to ascend without plunging into the drink. Still, she managed a heavy exhale of relief, for the unicorn was once again out of sight.
For now.
Rainbow Dash tried staring forward. She felt her heart thudding through her chest as she fixated on the pinprick glow of Yaerfaerda.
However, as the seconds dragged on into minutes, she found herself squirming in midair. She clenched her eyes, cursed herself breathlessly, and squinted down at the waters. Angling her wings, she ascended once more.
Twilight was already speaking before her mouth cleared the waves. “The coral reef down here is absolutely amazing! Such colorful, vibrant species of porifera! I wish you could see it!”
“Nnnnghrhh...” Frowning, Rainbow looked forward and prepared to dive again.
“Rainbow, wait! Will you just wait?!”
Without looking, the pegasus glided at an even altitude.
Twilight pointed a glowing hoof through the top of the waves. “A coral reef this spacious means that the ocean's floor should remain shallow! Land can't be that far ahead!”
Rainbow blinked forward, for she was already spotting a thin, green light along the horizon, and it was considerably wider and larger than the island she had just abandoned.
“I've no clue how much damage Discord has done to you, but if it'll make you feel better to reach dry land—Gaaah!” Twilight yelped, doing a silly somersault through the air as she lifted out of the water.
Rainbow Dash had taken off, flying higher and higher as she made a bee-line for the large island body looming to the east. As she closed in, she saw rigid brown shapes rising up out of the ground, two and three stories tall: the tell-tale sign of artificial structures.
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In a word; perfection.
I wonder if any of the ponies will be able to see Twilight, or if she is purely in RD's head.
Heh...well, at least she's enjoying herself.
Ugh...she still thinks Rainbow's "Discorded". Rainbow told her directly what happened, and the message didn't get though. Maybe once somepony would just calm down...
Ahh...possible inhabitants. Guess now we may find out if others can see Twilight.
In other news, I'm kinda disappointed it's still six-word chapters. I was soooo hoping for this to happen in book seven:
4596741
4596747
Of course, it could still be edited to six...
It's so nice seeing a truly innocent character, even more so than Kera. This warms my heart, even as it saddens me. Curse these horsewords.
I'm glad she never had to meed he-who-must-not-be-named.
Well it looks like Twilight isn't really willing to listen to Rainbow Dash.
Biggest understatement so far in seven books.
After 1200 chapters, she might not be able to. Old dogs, new tricks, after all,
5787952
Twilight Spookle best pone
5787965
static.fjcdn.com/comments/5494351+_0c4938dea68aae1c73403b53447c642b.jpg
5787965
Oh you know, let me just remove this pendant and see what happens, eh?
i.imgur.com/fuwPUoN.gif
Aww, Twilight is so innocent and pure, shes having fun---- Rainbow needs to calm down... But we can all forgive her that, shes been through a lot.
Speaking of which, why does Twilight not notice her friend's appearance? I mean, she probably looks like crap. As crap as such a beautiful pegasus can look, I mean.
I feel like Twilight right now, being tugged through these chapters!
Heh. I'm really liking Twilight. I wasn't sure how well that was going to work out, but I'm thoroughly enjoying this.
Looks like we might be coming up Verlaxs' domain already. Good chance this book will spend a while dealing with her before moving on.
I'm starting to think that the dark side isn't actually going to be absent of light or even its own sun but called dark because the creatures under Celestia's sun have never been to that side, or its called that because they knew from legend that it was bleak landscape fraught with danger. It will be constantly bathed with chaotic magic this much we do know, maybe Rainbow Dash needs the spirits of her "dead" friend to help her get to the Midnight Armory safely without turning into a chaos beast.... or Verlax is just pulling Rainbows strings from a distance so she can stop her from reaching the armory.
Oh, you think you're sooooooo clever, don't you...
i.imgur.com/MSw656u.jpg
Im puzzled at the state of the island, reef, new shore and such, The wirlpool and hurricane of the Control Tower wouldve been less than a thousand miles off shore, given Dashs flight speed, so that coast wouldve been under continous rough weather with occasional hurricane and tornado incidents?
Either the weather faded off just beyond that first island, where the locals couldnt see it except maybe for cloud and a range they couldnt exceed, or they are looking out, and wondering, what is this change that has occurd at no time in history?
I can't not imagine Twilight being adorable in This chapter. And then she finds out she died. That'll be fun.
5787938
Huh, fancy that, I had completely forgotten about it.
Either way, I guess you could make the argument that hyphenated words are still one word.
Yaerfaerda was lavendaer-coloured, then when ghost!Twilight appeared, it became white and apparently jumped to the next machine site. Perhaps, when RD catches up to it again, we'll have ghost!Rarity?
Going by Zulu, it'd be In-an-shloo-ter. Just looking at it, In-an-hū-ter. Or even In-āhn-loo-ter. What sounds best Jurists?
Twilight, stop, you're killing me here!
Another chapter? Alright then.
And it looks like we're going to meet some new people, will they be able to see Twilight though?
If Yaerfaerda took us so long to translate, I wonder about this.
The best I can come up with is a mixture of Welsh and Norse."Then the host of the house from abroad." Which could make a teeny bit of sense given Twi, but I doubt it. I'll keep looking.Ynan means nothing. BUT Innan on the other hand, that means something. From within. Given Twilight Spookle, seems apt. Hlutr means many things in Norse. Portion, purpose, thing, or part.
So Ynanhluutr means, as best as I can figure, Purpose from within or Portion from within
In Which Old Wounds Are Reopened.
5788128
Yiffyhooters.
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It might be a mental thing on Twi's part. We don't often see ghosts shuffling through small hills, though that may be more due to reality issues.
Rainbow's lucky her gorging on water & food after who-knows-how-long without hasn't made her sick. Twilight Spookle's sure doing a good job as the metaphorical cans tied to Rainbow's tail to keep her moving.
5787952
Thank you for respecting damnatio memoriae!
5787938
Well, if the first six books (half the series, by the way) had the same number of words in the chapter titles as the book they were, I'm going to guess that, now that we're in the second half of the series, we'll have a reverse effect; that is, book seven will have 6 word titles, book 8 will have 5-words, 9 will have 4, etc. until book 12 will be back to 1 word titles.
It's all cyclical.
She doesn't find it odd at all that she was able to breathe underwater?
For being unaware of her fate she's very aware of her condition.
I can't help but feel Twilight thinks she's referring to the fate of Cloudsdale without her again.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
You're worried about the damage done to her?
...
Okay, guys, who's gonna tell her?
5788256
Twilight is quite aware of her ethereal state. And I guess pretty tired of Rainbow muttering the same stuff over and over again while trying to shake her. I'm really enjoying this.
Sassy Twilight is great.
And you're right, RD is behaving a lot like she did when she was Discorded, which isn't helping Twi get an understanding of the situation any easier. That said, I think she is aware that this may not be al of what it seems.
Why is Rainbow Dash seeing Twilight Sparkle? Can other ponies see her? If not, does that make her any less real?
Find out in the next exciting chapter!
Or two.
Or seven hundred.
I am thoroughly intimidated by the... *checks* ....1,913,994 words of which this series is currently comprised.
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Try reading two chapters every day, and you might just be able to catch up in about three years just in time for the ending!
5788267 That does seem to be the case, I'm more confused by the fact there doesn't seem to be any instinctual reaction from her in regards to stuff like that, well that we can see at least.
If I were in her place, getting dunked under water at near mach 1, I'd be bracing and holding my breath just on instinct alone.
Her reaction the second time is more inline due to the time between being dunked and remembering of her current (lack) of a physical state.
While the first time, she didn't even skip a beat when she was raised from the water, which she had to have been in for what seems like less than a minute.
Maybe I'm thinking about it too hard, I tend to do that.
It's a fanfic, I should really just relax.
Sassy Twilight is part of what makes her best pony.
I'm tempted to say that a mare as smart as her should be able to tell that something else is bothering her friend, but then I remember, she tunnel visions into whatever problem is presented at the time, and to her, Discord is still that problem.
All that aside, now I'm trying to think of exactly what Twilight is. She doesn't seem fully ghost like...more along the lines of... a being of pure magic.
Ok seriously, the fuck is up with the name of these stories. Is it a different language I'm not acquainted to?
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It's implied that RD has been at this for a bit already. Twi is just used to it.
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Yes.
5788347 Ah. Fair enough.
5788344 I think it's mostly portmanteau's of Norse words with various other languages.
We see Twilight and go "Awesome!"
Rainbow sees Twilight and goes "Panic Panic Panic Panic Panic Panic
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Mangled Norse.
I wonder if Twilight will take the news that she's dead as well as she's taking her incorporeal nature?
IC, you are positively evil sometimes. Everything Twilight says or does is a personal hell to Dash, who is only being reminded of how she saw her friends die. (Although said death is now seriously in question.) And the tables are only gonna flip as this drags on. Think of how Twilight's gonna take it when she learns that Dash is dying. Think of how the others are going to feel as they too, wake up into this situation. I'm starting to worry about how Fluttershy is going to react if she sees what happens when the pendant comes off.
By the way, we just passed denial, anger, grief, and bargaining in one shot.(Plus some apparently amazing coral reefs.) That leaves acceptance. And Rohbredden.
New characters soon cause new lands. Kinda upset Rainbow Dash and Sparkle haven't connected yet.
5788256 I just noticed your poem line at the end of each comment. It's really nice!
5788411 Shoudl she be able to tell that something is off. Things that look at coral reefs without breathing are not exactly living ponies. (excluding seapones)
Already 164 comments. I just want to know how the heck did you guys get here so fast? I can only track the chapter updates. . .
PHBLEEPthegame
I feel rainbow should have changed a lot physically since the last time twilight saw her. Its odd she hasn't noticed. Rainbow is acting exactly how I thought she would, I feel really bad for twi. I wonder if others can see her.
5788527 Why thank you.
According to my broad estimates, you're going to achieve 2,000,000 words in approximately 48 chapters.
Wow, about time for other corporeal ponies. Or creatures of some sort.
This is a nightmare fuel scenario. Somehow twilight is back as a Qui-gon/obi-wan ghost thing.
NOPENOPENOPENOPE
I'm just here wondering how the hell I need to mutilate my mouth to pronounce the word-fuckery that is Ynanhluutr.