Worse Things in Heaven and Earth...
The Swan Song carved its way east for another two days, during which the Yaerfaerda symbol loomed ever closer and closer—or at least that was the best Rainbow Dash could tell. Nick didn't press her about it, but Sinrar certainly had his abrasive list of questions every hour by the hour. She simply told him to stick to the maps and that she'd alert him when they were making a breakthrough. This did little to silence the chatty ex-professor, and Rainbow was almost grateful for when the sun went down, for it meant he'd be retiring to the cabin below.
Regardless of how exhausting the trip was, it was far from desolate. The Swan Song crossed wake with several different ships during the next forty-eight hours. Almost every single one of them was friendly. Two even halted their course to stop and speak with the three sailors, much to Rainbow Dash's and Twilight Sparkle's surprise. They exchanged bits of information and even traded a few helpful supplies on the spot. Sinrar took the opportunity to inquire about the present state of the Nealend Atoll, and the passing merchants gave as much information they could—none of it too charming.
“The place is like a dead rock as of late! No ponies going in and no ponies going out! Everyone who sails these streams knows that the Nealenders are a friendly, chatty bunch! So it's a damn shame that they've suddenly decided to clam shut!”
Rainbow mulled over this while Nick guided the Swan Song on. Thanks to the helpful merchants, they had an extra three day's worth of rations, not that Rainbow Dash was getting worried but the wait for dry land was starting to test her patience. She had multiple conversations with Sinrar, asking if he had any special information about the Nealend natives.
“Oui, they live a simple life. No oceanwide ambition. No need for expansion or property or territorial rights. They've lived off the sea for several years, and over the last few centuries they've dedicated themselves to a casual yet persistent worship of Verlaxion. Not that it's surprising. Nealenders—like most island folk—are polytheists, only they have a special place in their hearts for Verlaxion. Not to mention their sphincters. Bah!”
Rainbow asked Sinrar if there was a special reason for why the ponies of the Nealend Atoll might have broken themselves off from the rest of the seas. That's when Sinrar's amber eyes lit up, and the old stallion spoke of a magnificent whirlpool that had formed centuries ago in the central lagoon situated between the ring of islands. According to oceanographers across time, the phenomenon was one of the only cases of stationary whirlpools in all of the seas. Sinrar himself had come close to seeing it, except that the ship he was on was diverted at the last second. The professor hypothesized that—quite possibly—the whirlpool foretold a horrible geological event that could eventually have consumed the whole island.
And, with that in mind, Rainbow Dash sat on the hull of the Swan Song on the evening of the second day, watching—along with Twilight—as a dull gray ocean met a purple night's sky.
“You've got to be kidding me!” Nick stammered, leaning back with a coy grin as he fiddled with the ship's rudder. “One thousand and twenty books?”
“Well, yeah!” Twilight chirped, grinning.
“She says 'yes,'” Rainbow droned, gliding alongside the speeding ship.
“By the age of fifteen?!”
“Heehee!” Twilight giggled, floating between them. “Yes!”
“She says 'yes' again.”
“But, that's crazy! How can you even keep track of all the books you've read, much less the words in each of them?!”
“Well, granted, not all of them were large books,” Twilight said.
“She says not all of them were super huge,” Rainbow said, stifling a yawn as they skimmed the waves glistening with morning light.
“Granted, they weren't exactly all books either.” Twilight gestured in midair, floating in a circle. “'Book' was more or less the umbrella term that I decided upon when I was... mmmm... nine or eight years old. In fact, a good chunk of them were treatises, pamphlets, magazines, editorials, novellas, memoirs—pretty much anything and everything except for essays and excerpts. Those are too small to count.”
“Mrmmmfffngh...” Rainbow grumbled.
“Go on, Rainbow!” Twilight nodded. “Tell him!”
“What's the matter?” Nick blinked.
“She's going on and on about how not all of them were book books... but just... stuff smaller than books.”
“Ohhhhhhh.” Nick nodded.
“Rainbow!” Twilight pouted in mid-air. “That's not what I said at all!”
“Yes it is.”
“No it isn't!” Twilight folded her forelimbs with a frown. “I said that a great deal of the things I read were treatises, pamphlets, magazi—”
“Right. Diet books. I get it.”
“Don't call them, 'diet books!' That's just... just...” Twilight looked like she was about to vomit. “That's just disgusting!”
“Heh. A little green in the gills there, eh, egghead?”
“For once, would it kill you to be accurate in orating one of the bits of info I'm sharing?”
“Yeesh... do you have to call it 'orating?' That's so lame.”
“It means what I want it to mean—”
“And for another thing, try sharing something that's exciting, Twilight!”
“But books are exciting!”
“Uh huh. Yeah. Sure.” Rainbow turned towards Nick with a manure-eating-grin. “Did you know that—at one time—Twilight and two of my other friends outgalloped a fully-grown hydra?!”
“What's a hydra?” Nick remarked, blinking.
“Mrrfnnghhh... creature of legend...” Sinrar climbed out of the cabin, using his left wingfeathers to brush his teeth. “Grnnnghhh... one hundred to two hundred feet tall... sports a dozen reptilian heads... intense hunger for pony flesh.... grnnngfff...” He spat into the ocean and squinted across the trimaran. “Evidently they're real living bastards in Rainbow Dash's Equestria.”
“No way!” Nick gasped. “A hydra?!”
“Yup!” Rainbow smirked. “Twilight had to leap across a friggin' chasm—no wings, mind you! And her flank was saved by a burst bubble deep in a bog lined with razor sharp death spikes!”
“Wowwwwww...”
“Rainbow...” Twilight face-hoofed, blushing.
“A big methane explosion went POW and sent her sailing sky high! She landed on the other side of the ravine next to my other friends! Survived by a friggin' horn and a prayer! Heh!” Rainbow winked aside at the spectre. “She told me that she first charged the four-headed freak just to distract it. She channeled me big time too!”
“Yes, well...” Twilight fidgeted.
“Hey, those were your words, girl!”
“I'd never been through anything that scary before!” Twilight said. Her ears folded back. “Unless, of course, you count Nightmare Moon.”
“Yeah, well, I can't take the credit for that,” Rainbow said, twirling through a spray of salt water as the Swan Song cruised along. “Nightmare Moon was all you, girl.”
“Nightmare Moon?” Nick blinked.
“Yeah. The evil sorceress doombringer state of Princess Luna,” Rainbow said. “It was the form she took because of an ancient curse. Or... at least... it was...” She slicked her mane back. “Until Twilight, my friends and I friggin nuked her with a badflank harmony beam!”
“Sacre bleu!” Sinrar's eyes twitched. “If I hadn't seen you reduce a ship full of privateers to blood and drool, I'd be tempted not to believe you!”
“And I'd be tempted not to give you a first seat to my next 'bout of awesomeness.” Rainbow yawned, turning about to fly upside down. “Whatever that may be.”
“Don't brag so much, Rainbow,” Twilight muttered.
“Why not?” Rainbow smiled at her upside down. “I was bragging long before you ever 'woke up' and I'll be bragging long after you get your body back!”
“Say... about that...” Nick leaned forward. “When or if you restore your friends'n'such—”
“No ifs there, buddy,” Rainbow said in a firm tone, glaring slightly. “Only when.”
“Erm... right... eheheh...” Nick gulped and brushed his bangs back. “I don't suppose... uhhh... she'd be seeing anypony, huh?”
Dead silence.
“Pffftt-hee-hee-hee-hee!” Twilight hugged herself, giggling in a high-pitched. She wiped a tear from her eye and pointed at the young stallion. “I like him!”
“I'm not 'orating' that,” Rainbow muttered.
“Why not?” Twilight chuckled. “Not like it matters!”
“Orate what?” Nick remarked, muzzle agape.
“Ponies...” Sinrar stood up.
“Twilight, we never know what the First Seed's going to bring!” Rainbow's voice cracked. “Let's leave the chickens and the eggs and the hatching to Urohringr!”
“Orate what?!” Nick rasped.
“Shut your shell holes!” Sinrar growled, then pointed straight ahead. “Feast your eyes!”
“Hmmmm?” Twilight turned to look, and then her smile dissipated. “Oh my gosh...”
Rainbow squinted. She flew higher, ascending alongside the sail. “...is that it?”
“Hmmm...” Sinrar scratched his head beneath his beret.
“Well?!” Rainbow looked down at him. “Is that it, old stallion, or isn't it?”
“It's an atoll alright,” the professor said. He pulled out his map and turned it about in the sunlight. “And—judging from the size...” He glanced up. “It certainly matches.”
Before the travelers, a thick stretch of land occupied the horizon. White patches of sand flanked jungle-green foliage that bent in the tropical breeze. Row upon row of palm trees ate into the partly cloudy sky. As the Swan Song drew closer, even more strips of land could be seen stretching beyond the initial line, revealing a veritable ring of dry earth.
“Wow...” Twilight cooed. She smiled again. “It's picture perfect, actually!”
“Been a long time,” Sinrar exhaled. “I've always regretted missing this paradise. But now...?”
“Whew...” Nick craned his neck. “...you could fit a lot of mares on that thing!” THWACK! “Ow!”
Nostrils flaring, Sinrar turned to look up at Rainbow. “Well, mon petit cheval, where is the beacon?”
“Huh?” Rainbow glanced at him.
“That beacon that you told us about,” Sinrar said. “The one that only you can see? Is this it? Is the Nealend Atoll our destination?”
“Well, totally! I mean, it's right—” Rainbow pointed... then froze in mid-speech.
“Huh?” Twilight turned to gaze at her with a worried expression. “What's wrong, Rainbow?” She hovered up until she was face to face with the pegasus. “Where is it? Where's Yaerfaerda?”
“It's...” Rainbow's muzzle twisted in confusion. “...it's below us.”
Twilight cocked her head to the side.
“Below us?” Nick remarked, rubbing his head.
“Like... below the atoll...” Rainbow clenched her jaw. “Underwater.”
Sinrar turned to look at the atoll. As the trimaran cruised closer, he squinted yet again, ultimately uttering: “How very interesting...”
“What's very interesting?” Rainbow asked.
“The whirlpool.” The old stallion exhaled. “It's gone.”
Rainbow blinked. “But... but how could that—?”
“Guhhh!” Twilight suddenly clenched her skull. A pulse of lavender light issued from her horn.
Rainbow turned towards her with a gasp. “Twilight!” She tried grasping her shoulders, only for her hooves to go through the mare. She winced at the gesture, but nevertheless found the strength to say: “What's wrong? Are you... uh... sensing something else?”
“Mrnnfffgh... yes... a huge surge of energy...”
“Where at, girl?”
“It's...” Twilight hugged herself in midair, continuing to wince. “It's... it's...”
“Yeah?” Rainbow leaned forward.
Twilight looked up, eyes twitching. “...it's beneath the waves.”
“...?”
The unicorn paled. “And it's moving right towards us!”
Rainbow turned towards the island. “Moving right towards—?” Her ruby pupils shrank.
A thick black shadow was surging right at the Swan Song. Just then, the ocean's surface churned with bubbles and foam in a straight line.
“Hard to starboard!” Rainbow Dash rasped. She spun about and practically bucked the rudder from Nick's grip. “Hard to starboard!” Clank!
“Whoah!” Nick wheezed, helplessly yanking the rudder to the side.
The ship jerked to the right, nearly flinging Sinrar off the hull. “Merder!” Rainbow soared over, grasped the stallion's shoulders, and pulled him back.
It was just in time too. For within a few spare seconds—
THWOOOOOOOSSSSSH! The ocean burst skyward with a spray of hotwater. The three occupants of the Swan Song were thoroughly soaked.
Rainbow winced, holding Sinrar close. Just then, something blotted out the sun. She looked up, and gasped.
But all she could see was scales.
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heh. sorry. . . sorry. donthateme
Machine World?
Ahh. . . no not the machine world. Blight? Something caused by it?
EHHHHHHH!??!?!?! . . . and here we go. Sea Serpent. Axan wouldn't come out of the ocean. I don't know anything really about Verlaxion, but. . . I don't think it is one of them. Doesn't exactly fit. . .
geez. i love cliffhangers too.
Much like the Tower in the Blight.
Alright, let's take bets for what this is. I got $5 on Sea Dragon. $10 for it being high on coral.
It was at that point in time Rainbow and Twilight realized that things were going to be far stranger than expected. Giant flying measurement devices weren't expected.
Oh, hell.
Scales. I don't like this one bit.
Taking odds on it being Verlaxion or Axan...
Well, doesn't this sound familiar...
Ummm....wait...
Ummmm....
FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....Okay...wait.
Call me crazy, but I just got this random feeling. This feels a little out of nowhere to be an attack so soon. And we've got a cliffhanger.
50/50 saying they've run into the Eastern version of Stephen Magnet or something.
Ohhhhh fuck.
Yeah, obviously she prefers scissoring.
I just realized something. If all of Rainbow's friends come to life this book... will they be able to follow her to the Dark Side?
Yay, a cliffhanger. One of the many.
Days between islands is a Big array.
If it isnt Verlaxion, is it offspring, given scales its not a Kraken, but giant sea serpent?
Wonder if the previous whirlpool was its cage, and the reason theres no more movement on the islands is because the snakes eaten them?
No wings- yet.
Standing here
I realize
You are just like me
Trying to make history
But who’s to judge
The right from wrong
When our guard is down
I think we’ll both agree
That violence breeds violence
But in the end it has to be this way
Axan? Verlax? Who'll be the challenge in getting Rarity? Whoever it is, this is going to be a lot of fun.
-Spirit
Don't think you can trick us into not realizing that Sinrar is saying My Little Pony by writing it in surrendermonkey.
Also, am I the only one who thought part of this chapter's writing style was... off? As if IC wanted a break and outsourced the writing to someone else?
I was tempted to suggest it might be Verlax, but 1.) That would be a tad anticlimactic, and 2.) I'm not sure that dragons, or the Divines, at least, are big swimmers. My guess is it's some kind of sea serpent. How it relates to the next beacon--guardian? in its belly?--remains to be seen.
img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130301083630/onepiece/images/a/a5/Lord_of_the_Coast_Anime_Infobox.png
5933699
It's possible that this scaled creature is one of the spawn of Verlax. Axan had a sizeable brood, can't see why Verlax wouldn't.
That's not a turtle...
If that's a sea-serpent, I'm betting were gonna see mer-ponys.
And once the merponies appear, my bet is that after Nick starts hitting on them, we discover they are evil when they attack the ship.
Intended pun.
Asian Sea Serpent. Or failing that a giant fish.
Oh no!
Honks in alarm, flailing forelimbs in a panic.
It's the sea serpent from 'Rainbow above a Frozen Sea', come to avenge his hatcheted nose-lantern!
I told you guys! Sea-serpent Shell!
please be a relative of Stephen....
5927513 I misread your comment when I replied, I missed that you said your reaction to it... regardless, I too have now started part 7 and I gotta say the end of the last one, I saw it coming but not in that way...
Here I come
Axan...now would be a very good time to show up if that's your sister.
Verlax might need some talking to.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
5933647 Rainbow's on the Dark Side, remember? It's 'dark' the same way the dark side of the moon is, the observers can't see it, so it's all 'dark and mysterious', rather than 'can't see anything' dark.
5933926 I WILL blow my head off again if you keep that line of thought up.
Although a friendly "sea shell" would be one hell of a twist to mess with us.
Dragons? Sea serpents? A giant fish? I MUST KNOW!!
I don't like this. I don't like this atoll.
5934048
I'm fairly certain it was stated by Celestia that she only had enough power to light one side of the plane. Therefore the dark side is literally a place where the sun doesn't shine. Therefore she cannot be on the dark side of the plane because the sun is shining.
5934178 Wasn't Verlaxion stated to be on the Dark Side? I read 'Celestia can only power one side' as she can only maintain one sun, therefore the day/night cycle exists. The moons the same as the 'Light' side since they can still communicate with Luna...
5934048
That's wrong, though.
5934200 Huh, guess I'm wrong, looks like Rainbow's still on the Light Side, and that Verlaxion wasn't the one on the Dark Side, Endrax is.
5933324 And then the like 20 poirate ponises get trapped trying to sail the tiny School project.
TwiXNick! I ship it! It needs to happen. Also, The monster Ynanhluutr dragon is a wierd type of thing.
Suddenly dargon
Suddenly it's the Nealand Atoll instead of the Nealend Atoll, but I'm not going to complain.
So dragon huh. Think it's a sea serpent type, or maybe it's some sort of sea hydra? Either someone doesn't want her to activate the point or it's some sort of test for her. Wonder if the other points will have guardians as well.
Evidently Rarity's been transformed into something huge and scaled and fabulous.
Giant sea monster!
And they were just talking about hydra's too...
attach.forum.ge/post-29-1396007697.jpg
5933701 It's seamonster Thunderlane!
Oh boy a sea serpent, or at least I hope that's all it is. If it's Veralax they are in deep deep trouble
Maybe it's a singing hippocampus.
There was a whirlpool at the Tower. There used to be a whirlpool at this Seed. Gee, I wonder if that's related.
5933647
Huh, my first thought was Steven Magnet too.
Big fishy!
Neat!
heeheehee. She does that, you know.
Austreaoh
Eljunbyro
Innavedr
Odrsjot
Urohringr
Yaerfaerda
And now, Ynanhluutr.
For the past month i have read the entire Austreaoh series nonstop, ignoring all other story updates in my feed.
Now i have caught up!
I look forward to conversing in real time with you all!
PS, before the tube worlds split into millions of ring worlds, where the skystone fields always there, or were they the superstructure of the tube world that were exposed with the tube world sundering?
5936017
Congratulations on getting caught up!
As to your question, nothing has ever been said about the 'tube-world' made up of multiple ringworlds other than the fact that there may have been one at some point, though it's an interesting question. I'd bank on it being the exposed inner workings of the edges of each ring, personally.
5933408 Hmmm... Okay then! When I'll have more time, I guess I'll join in... Sounds quite promising. :) Have a good time reading! ;)
"Ooooooh. How wooooonderful!" said Steven Magnet
5936543 your examples fit me; sex is rarely described as the epitome of love, which normally means platonic love. However, I'll admit that although Cadence is pink hearts all around, she is an alicorn, and gods generally take love in a more primal way.