The Fire In Your Eyes
Claws.
Serrated and slicing.
The metal surfaces of the room turned red.
She lashed out at the full length of a steel leash.
Corpses lay in piles around her.
Shrieking, she ripped and tore at the dead flesh until all the blood was drained.
Snowclouds.
Starlight.
Fluttershy's and Rarity's gasping faces.
"Twilight!" Rarity. "She's waking up again!"
"Something's wrong..." Fluttershy.
"Guys!" Ariel. Limbs rippled in Rainbow's peripheral vision. "She's waking up! At least... I think she's—"
"Good gods!" Kepler leaned in, brushing his claws across Rainbow's forehead. "She still shiverrs! And that feverr..."
"They sound so worried," Pinkie Pie.
"Dang it, is Rainbow back or isn't she?!" Applejack.
Remna's voice growled from an unseen location. "Has the Austrraeoh's spell ended?"
"I can't say forr surre," Kepler.
"Well find out for sure!" Remna.
"Give him a break!" Flynn. "It's confounding me as well!"
Ariel grimaced. "Why is she still suffering?" She looked worriedly at the others. "Has a spell ever lasted this long before?"
"We must keep movin'." Bard. "Hurry. Dubya's spotted windigoes to the north!"
"Stay off the road!" Logan. "Those frozen wraiths aren't the only things we're trying to avoid!"
"Bard..." Echo. "Are you sure this place we're heading to is safe?"
"I swear on my life. Now let's move. Move!"
"Just hold on, Dashie!" Pinkie. "You hear that? Bard and the Herald are going to get you safe."
"Everything's going to be alright." Twilight. Trembling. "Please. You must remain calm..."
Darkness.
A slave shrieked as his front left leg was savagely torn off.
Lightning flashed over rolling ocean waves.
"Holy shit!" another sailor shouted as the claws next sank into his chest. "Aaaaugh!"
"What is this thing?!"
"She's turning! Turning into a monster—!"
"The pendant!" Monket shouted. The Slaver of Waves pointed across the water-soaked deck. "Put it back on the Rogue!"
"Aaaaaugh! Goddess! I'm dying—!"
"Do it! Sompeony! Or we're all dead—"
"HRESSHAAA!"
Blood stained the mast as the ship tossed.
Rainbow Dash sputtered.
She sat up, convulsing.
Starlight hung above windblown trees.
The mare's bloodshot eyes rolled back as she shook... quivered.
"It's Rainbow!" Ariel. Hoofsteps. Bodies. "She's coming to!"
"Is she still afflicted?" Flynn.
"Aye!" Kepler's tusks. "Still consumed by herr spell."
Remna: "Is this normal?! Is this something the angels' ancient texts prophesied?!"
"I cannot say. She has fully perrforrmed Yaerrfaerrda, or so we have thought!"
Flynn. "What about the Sixth Seed?"
"I've no clue what could possibly be therre, my frriend!"
"Omigosh! Omigosh!" Twilight materialized from a lavender void. "Rainbow! You're back! Pinkie! Go wake the others!"
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow whimpered, her eyes flickering red-on-yellow. "So much blood..."
"What on earth is she rambling about?!" Ariel.
"Is there anything you can give her to sedate her?" Echo.
"Is that safe, ya reckon?" Bard.
"Just do it." Remna. "Then we'll search for the Sixth Seed."
"Only the Austraeoh can find the way to it." Flynn.
"Then... then just..." Remna fumbled for words.
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy. Applejack's and Rarity's gasping voices accompanied her. "Rainbow, stay still!"
"Just relax until the spell has finally passed, darling!" Rarity.
"Please... n-no..." Rainbow Dash cried. "Keep me here." Her eyes teared. "I don't want to dream again."
"You'll be..." Twilight stammered, trying not to tear up. "You'll be okay! I-I'm sure of it—"
"It's going to t-take me back..." Rainbow Dash wheezed, her eyelids fluttering shut. "Sharper." Heavy. "Bloodier." Sinking. "Twisting. Turning."
Black.
Keris heaved.
Gargling his own blood, he crawled up the steps.
She stalked him, climbing the walls and ceiling of Red Barge's prison.
The Lieutenant's claws slipped on rusted surfaces as he struggled to get away.
Hissing like a cat, she finally pounced him... dragging him back into the chamber strewn over with the rubble from their fight.
"Mrmmmffnghh..." The griffon struggled, attempting to fight back. "Grnnngh!"
She repaid him by shattering his arm. Crack!
"Aaaaaaaaaaaugh!" Keris threw his feathery head back, shrieking.
Rainbow heaved and heaved.
It was a full minute before she realized that she was awake.
The mare lay on her back. The sound of wooden wagon wheels rattled on either side of her.
The tops of trees and wooden poles drifted before a canvas of nebulous starlight.
"Mrmmmfff... help..." Rainbow whimpered in a cold sweat. "H-help me..."
"Shhhhhhhh..." A wet cloth dabbed her forehead. "We're getting you somewhere safe, Rainbow." It was Ariel's voice. "Bard says we're almost there."
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow sniffled. "Apple... Applejack..."
"You need to rest, okay?" Ariel insisted.
"Applejack!" Rainbow cried harder.
An orange face phased through Ariel's forelimb. "I'm right here, sugarcube." Freckles matched the starlight. "Yer gonna be just fine." She smiled warmly. "That's the honest truth."
"Mrmmmfnngh... going to..." Rainbow wheezed. "Gonna die..."
"That's not true," Ariel said, dabbing Rainbow's forehead again. "Kepler says your health is fine. It's just that there's some sort of flux between your body's leylines and the pendant you're wearing." She gulped, but managed a thin smile. "We're all certain it'll pass in time."
"See?" Applejack raised an eyebrow, smirking. "The purdy lady says you'll be fine. You trust these Herald ponies, don'tcha? T'ain't nothin' to be 'fraid of."
"Not... gnnngh... afraid..." Rainbow stammered, ears twitching. "Don't... don't want to g-go, Applejack..." She gulped. "Without... without telling you..."
"Tellin' me what, darlin'?"
Rainbow clenched her teeth. More shivers overtook her.
"Everything will be fine, Rainbow," Fluttershy's voice came out of nowhere, gentle but firm. "You and Applejack will have time to talk. Right now... rest."
"So... so dark..." Rainbow laid back, squinting up at the starlight. "...don't... understand..."
"Shhhhhh..." Ariel leaned in, giving Rainbow a friendly nuzzle. "That's it. Yes. Just relax."
"How... long h-have I been... like this...?" Rainbow gulped. "...feels like f-forever... but it's still nighttime..."
"... ... ...it's three o'clock in the afternoon, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow blinked, her fever briefly overwrought by confusion.
Ariel's hoof gently patted her shoulder. "Welcome to the Twilight Lands."
Rainbow's eyelids grew heavy... heavier.
"See? T'ain't so bad." Applejack leaned in, tilting her head back. "It's like the heavens themselves decided to go dim just to lull you to sleep. Not a bad idea, if you ask me." She closed her eyes, humming a countrified lullaby.
Rainbow listened.
Rainbow drifted.
Rainbow...
Cosmos.
Nebulous bands.
Twists.
Turns.
Through the emptiness, a curved shape drifted.
Full of life.
Full of death.
It floated forever on its own...
...until streams of harmony galloped towards it.
And when they convened, a light was born...
...and so too was a shadow.
Rainbow's eyes fluttered open to more starlight.
Her head was sore.
Her body—numb.
And yet... the shivers were gone.
"Mrmmmff... Applejack...?"
"Shhhh..." Twilight's voice. "Just a moment, Rainbow Dash."
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow stirred. "It... it was a lot more peaceful that time." She gulped. "Twi... I-I think I'm getting better—"
"Shhhh!" Twilight insisted, glaring past the wagon where Rainbow lay. "That's very, very good, Rainbow. But hush just for one second." The unicorn gulped. "Something's happening."
"Hmmmm?" Rainbow's ears pricked towards the sound of an ensuing argument.
Two stallions were shouting at one another. One belonged to Bard. The other—much older... raspier... angrier: "Dammit, Johnny! I ain't got time for this nonsense! Yer brothers and sisters have enough on their hooves between the livestock and the fungae! Now, from what the messengers be shoutin', we've also got ancient windigoes to deal with! So you and yer dag-blame'd freeloadin' bum friends can go findin' shelter elsewhere!"
"For the last time, Blue, step aside!" Bard growled. It was the most discordant noise Rainbow had ever heard from the musician. If she wasn't shivering a few seconds ago, she certainly was now. "T'ain't no request! We're stayin' here for a spell and that's final! Now I know for a fact that you ain't got nothin' in the east barn save for all the junk you never use!"
"I've been renovatin' the east barn into a temporary silo for the harvest!"
"Bullshiet! Yer just sayin' that to get me to turn around, Blue."
"How would you know?! You done tore off when we needed you most! Now, after all these years, you come limpin' back like we owes you a single dayum thang—"
"How many times could I have gone to the Azure Prefectures and reported yer ass?" Bard growled.
"Reported my ass?! Pffft! What for, Johnny?! You've lost all yer marbles or somethin'?!"
"For murder and infanticide! That's what for!"
The older stallion was silent.
"But I didn't," Bard continued. "And that's the only reason this farm of yers is still standin'. And believe you me... I didn't do it for you. You ain't worth shiet. My brothers and sisters, on the other hoof—"
"It was you, Johnny," the stallion growled. "It was all you and you know it." A huff. "Why else did ya run away like a dayum coward?"
Voices muttered nervously. Rainbow saw Twilight and Pinkie's ghostly figures stirring. For a second, she thought she heard the metallic rattle of Logan and Wildcard unsheathing their weapons.
Bard brought the moment back to calm silence as he firmly spoke: "I left because I was the better stallion, and I wasn't gonna let this farmstead sink all because I wanted more than anythang to see ya end up six feet under."
"And now you've come back to change thangs. Haven't ya?"
"Yer right about somethin', alright. Leavin' ya alive was a mistake. But, just like old times, I've got bigger responsibilities to carry. And you just ain't worth it." Heavy hoofsteps. "Now step aside. I'd threaten to beat ya to a pulp... but I've done it before and I sure hate to repeat such a lame chorus."
"You... yer not welcome at this ranch! Do ya hear me?!" Blue rasped. As the wagon rolled by, Rainbow caught sight of an elder stallion with a hunched frame and bony limbs. "Turn back around this moment! Or I swear—I'll sick Tim on you and he'll rip the whole lotta ya to pie—"
"Tim ain't gonna do nothing no-how!" Bard grumbled. "Least of all to me. Now, we're takin' shelter in the east barn. If you wanna stop us, Blue, then I'm certain Dubya here can teach ya a thang or two about how brittle yer bones have gotten."
The old stallion opened his muzzle to say something, but a death glare from a passing griffon's goggles froze him in place. He stood still, shaking in anger, until the wooden archway of a gate blocked his figure from Rainbow's vision.
Rainbow tilted her head back. Her nostrils tickled with the smell of mushrooms, livestock, and fertilizer. She saw silos, a windmill, rooftops...
Then she saw nothing... for she had passed out again.
Green hills.
Brown dirt.
Gold-thatched rooftops.
Ponyville.
A cool breeze settled over the quiet village.
And... in the center...
A concrete sarcophagus stood.
It sealed away a fluctuating rift.
And in it... darkness...
And in the darkness...
Warm, gentle humming.
Rainbow's eyes fluttered open. She lay back on a soft bed of hay.
Sharp farm instruments dangled from a high crossbeam. Pale spiderwebs draped across an arched ceiling. Old window panes—glossed over with time and translucent dust—glowed with cold blue twilight. The empty lengths of a barn hung over Rainbow, kissed by silver shadows.
The humming continued, lulling Rainbow to the surface of wakefulness. At some point, the voice shifted, the singing reaching a tone of finality.
Rainbow's lips moved with the melody: "A cutie mark won't change you. No matter what you get."
Applejack sat up, adjusting her hat from where she "perched" on a lofty window pane. "So you was listenin' the whole time!"
Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. "Do you only know one lullaby?"
"Heh... singin' was never really my strong suit." Applejack smirked as she stared out the window. "Big Macintosh, on the other hoof—"
"Grnnngh..." Rainbow Dash winced, flexing stiff muscles as she sat up. "Mrmmmfff... ouch..."
"Whoah, now!" Applejack "kicked" off the window, drifting down until she was at Rainbow's level. "No sudden movements. After all... you was out of it for a week."
"Guh!" Rainbow's eyes bulged. "A week?"
"Err..." Applejack winced, blushing slightly. "Or maybe just a few days. It's pretty hard to tell in this here part of the world: 'the Twilight Lands' or some such." She squinted up at the silver-blue rays of light wafting dimly through the dusty windows. "All I gather from the Heraldfolk is whatever we gals happen to hear. They dun talk to us too much. Reckon it's 'cuz they don't see or hear us. Heh... Still... ya think they'd figure we was all hangin' around you, whether you was awake or not."
Rainbow gulped. "They mean well. The Herald, that is." She winced as she stretched her neck muscles. "Mrmmmff... they're probably super distracted because I've scared them out of their wits with this fainting crap. Plus, they've been through a lot. Mortuana was their mental and emotional center... and now she's gone..."
"Yeah. Twilight's told me all about her." Applejack turned to look at her anchor. "You feelin' better, sugarcube?"
"I am, actually." Rainbow exhaled. "Also... the visions are less... erm..." She gulped. "The nightmares are gone. That's what matters the most."
Applejack nodded. "Well, good thang, that." On a dime, her face muscles shifted into a beaming smile. "Say! Look at what I can do!" She did a backflip—a backflip that turned into a spiraling corkscrew leap that took her phasing through several farm instruments and hay bails. "Wooooo-oooo-ooo! Spooky, ain't it?"
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile. "It sure is nifty."
"Heh heh heh!" Applejack guffawed, phasing through wooden support beams. "Golly... if I could move like this back home, I'd get the chores done in a quarter of the time!" She winked down at Rainbow during her latest flyby. "Bet I could even give you a run for the money during the Iron Pony Competition."
"Yeah, well..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "No flying, remember?"
"No." Applejack stuck her nose up as she landed before Rainbow. "I said 'no wings'"
Rainbow Dash giggled in a high-pitched breath. "Yeah! You did! You totally did!"
Applejack lifted her hoof.
Rainbow Dash hoof-bumped her... only to remember she couldn't. Her blood went cold as she saw her hoof phasing through Applejack's, and she was dragged bitterly to the silver-blue moment at hand.
Applejack cleared her throat, saving the day with a warm breath: "Of c-course, Pinkie Pie taught me how to move around in this... er... spook form. None of the other gals could be bothered with coachin'. Guess they're a bit too wraped up in all this... 'Ostrich Row' business."
"Yeah..." Rainbow shuddered. "I think Pinkie Pie is the only pony for whom being a ghost never gets old."
"Reckon so."
"Uh huh."
Silence.
Rainbow avoided Applejack's gaze. "So... uh... where are the girls?" She cleared her throat. "Or the Herald, for that matter?"
"Well, you were out of it for a long time... even after we showed up here," Applejack said. "The Herald are outside... gabbin' about one thang or another. The girls? Seems as though they've got an awful lot of room to fly around now that I've been... erm... 'awoken' from the 'Vanilla Zone' thingy."
"Right..."
"Reckon they're out explorin'... listenin' in on the Herald and such." Applejack breathed. "Shucks... I can't imagine havin' even less space to stretch our ghostly legs! Like... poor Twilight! Must have been like Tartarus bein' stuck in a room with you."
Rainbow winced. "Yeah..."
"Er... eheheh... I ain't meanin' nothin' bad by it, sugarcube!" Applejack waved. "Just that it sounds—"
"Imprisoning. Right. Got it." Rainbow bore a gentle smile. "It was super awkward at first. Thankfully, Twilight's had more room with each friend we've freed. And Rarity? She gets her much-needed snuggles out of Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie too."
"And you... heheh... a free spirit like yerself must feel like yer bein' weighed down at times."
"Believe me, AJ," Rainbow Dash spoke. "After such a long time without you gals?" A deep breath. "Let's just say I'm not anywhere close to complaining."
"Heh... well said."
"And this place..." Rainbow stood up on wobbly legs, gazing about the barn. "We're at a farm?"
"Eeyup!" Applejack nodded. "A full-blown twilight ranch! It's a mighty breath of fresh air, if ya ask me!" She floated up next to a window. "Though... they sure are growin' some mighty strange crops over yonder." She rolled her green eyes. "And dun you get me started on the livestock."
"Oh?"
"Mutant space cows from the look of thangs." Applejack chuckled. "With glowy horns and nonsense! I dunno whether to milk 'em or spear 'em!"
"Heheheh..."
"Heheh... yeah... it's..." Applejack gulped, shivering slightly. "It's somethin' else, alright."
Rainbow breathed calmly. "It's okay to be freaked out, AJ." She brushed a hoof over her head. She winced slightly; her mane hair felt longer... almost feathery. "The rest of the girls sure as heck were."
"I'm sure. 'Cept maybe for Pinkie Pie." Applejack nodded. "Still, I can't afford to be scared none."
"Honestly, Applejack—"
"Honestly, Rainbow Dash." Applejack drifted back down, landing gracefully. "I can see that a whole lot of crazy shenanigans have taken the edge off our best friends. Twilight, especially. The poor filly can't handle thangs she can't understand. That was the case back in Equestria with hydras poppin' randomly out of muddy bogs. But now... with all of these windigoes and... Robo Reddenauts..."
"Rohbreddenites," Rainbow corrected. "It's a huge world, AJ. Bigger than all of Twilight's books. But she's managed to cope a lot more strongly than she might make it look. Believe me."
"Oh, I do." Applejack turned to face Rainbow. "No kiddin'. I believe you whole-heartedly. The girls too. I..." She suddenly stopped in mid-sentence.
Rainbow blinked at her.
Applejack cleared her throat. "You... uh... you was callin' my name somethin' fierce for most of time you was sufferin' the spell, sugarcube."
Rainbow gulped. "Yeah..." She hung her head.
"N-nothin' to be ashamed of!" Applejack said. "I mean... eheh... I'm a mite bit flattered." She cleared her throat. "I always aimed to be the kind of mare that the rest of y'all could lean on. And..." Her teeth showed. "It just kills me to be the last one pulled out of them underground machine doohickeys. I mean—not to knock y'alls strength and fortitude—but oh how I wish I coulda been there to be a helpin' hoof when thangs got nasty!"
"Nothing you could have done, Applejack," Rainbow Dash said. She immediately winced at saying that. "I-I-I mean... erm... because you and the girls don't have your bodies and—"
"No, I get it, darlin'." Applejack nodded. "In fact... a whole lotta thangs are startin' to come together."
Rainbow Dash said nothing.
With a calm, serious breath, Applejack trotted towards her anchor. "Rainbow Dash... about..." She fidgeted. "...about the thang you asked me... when you first brought me back and that 'Verlax' lady was lyin' dead on the floor—"
"It was never your decision, Applejack," Rainbow Dash grunted. "So quit while you're ahead."
Applejack placed a hoof over her chest. "I never said it w—"
"I made the choice to lie. Nopony else!" Rainbow Dash fumed. "Whether or not Verlax painted all the arrows of time to point me in that direction, it doesn't matter. The ball was in my court. I made a play." Her nostrils flared as she stared off across the barn. "A lot of ponies are going to suffer for it... but a whole lot less than those who would die if I simply chose to drop that ball." Her eyes clenched shut. "At least... that's what I'm having to tell myself."
"Just calm yer withers, Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed. "I know that you did what ya felt was best! It's just that... a lot of time has crawled on by since what happened in this here kingdom's capital and—"
"—and you've had the opportunity to think it over and realize how much of a moronic dumbbutt I am." Rainbow huffed, folding her forelimbs and glaring off. "Yeah. I get it."
"No... no! Heavens to Betsy!" Applejack tried stomping her hoof—only for it to phase through the floor. "Will ya just let me talk?!"
Rainbow Dash sat, huddled and shaking.
Applejack exhaled calmly. "I have had time to think. But also time to listen... to look... and to observe. And... sure... maybe I had more than a few misgivings about what went down in that 'Frostknife' place..."
Rainbow facehoofed with a sigh.
Applejack trotted around. "...but that dun matter to me anymore. In fact, it never did! Truth be told, I kept worryin' and frettin' over somethin' else." She gulped. "Rainbow... will you look at me?"
Rainbow didn't move.
"Lift yer eyes, sugarcube. Please? I'm askin' ya nicely."
A sigh. At long last, Rainbow raised her gaze. A pair of glossy eyes stared back at Applejack. Dull rubies.
Applejack's ears drooped. She maintained her composure, although her voice didn't: "I've been wonderin'... where exactly my best friend went..."
Rainbow's ears twitched. She struggled to keep from shaking.
"These eyes..." Applejack shook her head. "They ain't yers. And yet... the rest of you is here. It's almost as if..." She exhaled with a shudder. "...somethin' was stolen from ya. Time and time again."
Rainbow said nothing.
"There was always such... fire in them peepers," Applejack said, her voice lifting in warmth. "Such dang determination. Almost too much. There was times back in Ponyville when I'd roll my eyes at how often you'd go in over yer head... chasin' monsters or kickin' dragons or whatnot. But... those incidents only ever annoyed me. At yer best—as well as at yer worst—you were only ever a nuisance, Rainbow. You and yer hijinks pestered me somethin' awful." She gulped. "I never thought I'd ever have to actually be worried about ya..." Her jaw muscles tightened. "...until now."
With a grimace, Rainbow looked aside—
"Please dun look away, sugarcube. Not yet."
Sniffling, Rainbow stared back. She was shivering now.
"What burns me the most..." Applejack stepped closer. "...is learnin' that all of this didn't happen overnight. How long ago did ya leave Ponyville? A year? Two years? I was gone for so long, Rainbow. We... yer friends were gone for so long... when you needed us. It's... a cryin' shame that loyalty should go alone without others bein' loyal to her." Applejack swallowed a lump down her throat. "If we could have found some way to wriggle out of the darkness sooner, then maybe we would have saved that fire in yer eyes before it disappeared... the only fire that matters."
Rainbow trembled. In a foalish voice, she said: "It's not your fault I can't... look you straight in the eyes, Applejack."
Applejack merely blinked. She stood in place, listening.
Rainbow exhaled: "You may not have been with me all those months of flying... of fleeing the crud that went down in Ponyville." She sniffed. "But your strength was, Applejack. For... f-for so long... adventure after adventure... challenge after challenge... I kept asking myself—sometimes in secret—I'd say: 'What would AJ do?' And though a lot of the stuff that I did was crazy... and other stuff impulsive. I... I only ever wanted to be..." She sucked in her breath. "...the kind of p-pony that you could r-respect." She pressed her lips tightly together. The first of many tears trickled down. "Mmmm... the kind of pony I'd see in a reflection and think: 'this is the best of the best'. Because that s-sure as heck wasn't me..." She shuddered. "Face it, AJ. I let you gals die b-back in Ponyville. I was too brick-headed and weak and Discord took advantage of that. You all kicked the bucket b-because of me—"
"Oh sugarcube—" Applejack took a step forward.
Rainbow stumbled back, flinching. Panting. "And... and time blew by. Those adventures turned to perils... those challenges into nightmares. And the only way I could get any stronger... to keep myself and the legacy of you girls alive was to do more and more things that a pony like you wouldn't and... and..." She seethed through her teeth, glaring past her tears. "Did Twilight and the others tell you? Huh?!" She gulped. "Did they tell you the sort of crazy, selfish, chaotic things I did to survive?"
Applejack stared at her. She eventually nodded. "They told me some... yes." She cleared her throat. "But... I dun rightly think any of them know... like truly know what you went through. Nopony but you, that is..."
Rainbow whimpered. Her chin shook as she said, "I miss that fire too, Applejack. I miss the fearlessness... the courage... the awesomeness..." She cried. "More than anything, I wanted for it to be there when I met you... so I could stare you in the face and know... as you would know... that you were looking at a good pony. A pony whom you could be proud of... but freakjobs like Verlax... and Shell... and Chrysalis... they took... th-they t-took..." She sank to the floor, sobbing. "I g-gave it up, Applejack. I dropped the ball too early..."
"Rainbow..."
"Mmmmm..." Rainbow Dash curled up in the hay, covering her muzzle with shivering forelimbs. "Some loyal pony I am. Can't even k-keep myself together." She sniffled. "I wish I could say I was sorry... but sometimes I wonder if I even feel that anymore."
"Now none of that, y'hear?" Applejack squatted beside her, limbs phasing through the stalks of hay. "Shhhhh... dun be so down on yerself."
"Why n-not?" Rainbow Dash hiccuped on a sob. "I'm not the same me that you knew. You said it yerself—"
"And you think I'm any less proud of ya?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Trials like these? They change ponies for sure. We can both admit that—"
"Should have... tr-tried harder... committed—"
"We can both admit that." Applejack frowned. "Now stop yer fussin'! Ya hear me? Quit it!"
With a jerk, Rainbow Dash looked up, teary-eyed.
"You've flown a long, straight path," Applejack said. "Any other pony in yer position would just crack under the pressure. But you?" She shook her head. "You've pushed yerself to the limit. Beyond it even."
Rainbow Dash whimpered: "I'm not sure I like what I-I've found on the other side."
"You mean the company of friends?" Applejack smirked. "Both old and new?"
Rainbow blinked.
"You've brought us back from the dead, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Who else in this world can say the same?"
With a shudder, Rainbow murmured: "It's only b-because of the Austraeoh."
"No, it's because yer awesome," Applejack retorted. "And... y'know... maybe the only thang you've lost is the ability to remember that." A warm breath. "Well... you ain't quite so alone no more. So how 'bout lettin' yer friends help ya kindle the flame some?"
Rainbow exhaled. She wiped her cheeks dry, murmuring: "I... don't know if that's even possible..."
Applejack only smiled. "And who said you couldn't look at me and be honest?"
Rainbow blinked.
Applejack stepped back. "Let's go for a trot. Get you some fresh air. Take thangs one step at a time, ya feel me?" She winked. "Loyalty wasn't built in a day."
Rainbow snorted. "...that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say."
"Heh... we can work on that too." Applejack stifled a chuckle. "Come on. I've been dyin' to show you Johnny's farm."
Rainbow Dash stood on wobbly legs. "Who... mmmm... who's Johnny?"
"Ya know... the feller with the guitar," Applejack said.
Rainbow blinked. "...Bard?"
"Everyone around here calls him 'Johnny' for some reason."
"Huh..." Rainbow stared into the silver shadows. "...guess there's no end to the secrets."
"Yeah, well, he's got an honest heart. At least, I think so." Applejack shrugged. "Dun ask me why. Still..." Applejack rubbed her head under her hat, gazing off. "He dun seem awfully happy about bein' back here. Same can be said of that cross 'Blue' feller."
"Blue?"
"Yeah. I think he runs the place."
"... ... ..." Rainbow Dash stretched her wings, trotting towards the barn door. "You know what? Maybe it is high time for a walk..."
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7238584 I totally agree with your statement about the illustration bringing the characters to life for me. I'm definitely a visual learner, and that single drawing of the Noble Jurors really helped sparked my imagination in the relevant books. If we made this a group project to collect the individual descriptions (or if by some miracle, IC has a handy character sheet he could post for us), maybe we could scrape something together...maybe I'm just hopelessly optimistic because it's the start of the summer, but I think we can make some good progress with this.
[youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=76WJJ57YoG0]
Woohoo, AJ--continuing to be the voice of readers (like me) who have no idea how to pronounce those tongue-twisting polysyllabic names!
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Book marked. Still, the fact that even there, the descriptors are missing from quite a few important areas. Which'd be nice to know exactly what X looks like. Of course I've mentioned in at least the first 3 books, that the ending of the stories need an appendix at the end showing who looks like what. It doesn't help of course that finding what anyone looks like is like playing Where's Waldo, with pages where Waldo got drunk and forgot to show up.
Looks like it's time to crack open Bard (Johnny)'s past a little more.
That conversation between Rainbow and Applejack was something else. My word.
You know what's really a mood whiplash? I just finished watching the new episode right before this chapter was posted. Comparing the friendship and cheerfulness there to what's going on here, it's a feels trip.
*hee*
Well at least they're far from Frostknife now... I hope we get more of these moments.
Making Will Mad - Cloudkicker
7238603
Indeed! Granted, Austraeoh Fact Checker could probably regex up some descriptions in a fraction the time, but I'm actually rather looking forward to the idea of doing it the old-fashioned way.
Research!
I am finally a character
, I think. Wonder what I am like.
Now that that bit of joy is over, AJ is trying to be the voice of reason here it seems. Not easy to do in a world that has gone mad.
So... They're in Blue's farm. Blue. Blue.
If this old pony's complete name is Blue Harvest, I'm gonna—
7238719 An airplane ponpon is what you'll be.
Poor Rainbow...... I'd be screaming my head off if I had those types of visions... and now we find out where Bard came from... this is gonna get crazier before it ends...
Alright Bard, let's see what you have in store for us.
Will Bard be entering the music contest held at The Golden Fiddle Inn?
Did unlocking AJ give Dash the story memory nightmares, or is it the driftoff of Verlaxs curse?
Bard's real name is Johnny, I can't
Love that heartfelt conversation between Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Not gonna lie, I almost cried.
Fitting that the first place Rainbow visits after awakening Applejack is a farm. Come to think of it, she visited a university after awakening Twilight, a city of greedy mafia bosses after Rarity, a dull, dreary, ultra-serious boring place after Pinkie, a violent pirate ship after Fluttershy... each one is kind of fitting in its own way, either by association or by contrast. (And she'll visit a very chaotic place after Discord).
Also, I was literally mentioning that it was odd that Bard has not gotten any backstory about five hours before this chapter was published. *puts on tinfoil hat*
7238708 Well, funny thing: according to AFC's blog from a month ago, he now has an AFC, Jr. to take care of, so he's taking the summer off.
But, as you said...research! 
I wish i could say something other than 'interesting', but really, that sums up my reaction at the end of most chapters, and it's only going to become more so.
so, um....Blue ain't soundin like a good fella.
THE FEELS
Heh....oh Dash, it doesn't matter what 'verse you're in, you just can't spit it out...
looks like she hasn't moved on from Eros in regards to AJ.
But.. well, I guess we'll see when that subject gets broached.
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
Nebulous chapter
A chapter with some surprising feels. I'm a little surprised that AJ is taking all this in stride as well as she is, out of any of the six (besides perhaps Rarity) I would have expected her to be hit the hardest by the news of what happened. However, it is most certainly for the best. Rainbow needs these talks with AJ to find herself again, to get back onto the path of being awesome. It's pretty neat that we'll get to delve into Bard's past too, I was expecting them to go to some kind of mercenary hideout or the like.
Hmm, could this mean something more - or is this just a strange way of saying RD's mane is growing back and she's not used to it?
Well, that's not ominous or anything. They must be getting close to the Dark Side if they're entering such a strange land already.
7238722 Well, Blue does say
I just had a thought.
Many commenters, myself included, have been wondering if the last seed would involve Discord. But suddenly, I'm not so sure.
All the other seeds have involved a subversion, in one form or another, of their respective elements (reviving Twilight in the place with no magic, being unkind to revive Fluttershy, lying in revive Applejack, etc.) And now we're coming to the last seed; the one, presumably, attached to Rainbow. And, being attached to Rainbow, the beacon's crazy strobing colors may indicate her discorded state.
My thought is this:
What if, at the Sixth Seed, we will see not the revival of someone dead (since Rainbow isn't dead) but instead the removal of her chaotic affliction. And what if doing so will also require a subversion, this time of loyalty. I'm wondering if Rainbow's Ponyville friends will end up sacrificing themselves to cure her, and the subversion will consist of Rainbow having to let them go, even if only until the Midnight Armory.
I kinda hope I'm wrong, because I don't want to see them go now that we finally got them back together, but I just got the feeling all of a sudden.
Bard... Johnny...
Johnny Guitar?
7239178 I've been saying for a while, Discord will not be revived by the sixth seed, it will instead purge his essence from her, though it seems as though each ghost that was freed weakened the element's ability to hold back the chaos energy within her, resulting in the more frequent and severe dizzy spells.
Though your idea of sacrificing of the ghosts to trigger the purge does sound like something that ):( would pull.
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[youtube=gpCUMdfRa9w]
It was all Bard.
7239212
It was a JC reference all along.
...Johnny? Guess it's about time we found out more.
So many things just beneath the surface...
Thus begins "Appledashery 2: east horse edition"
7239199 "I was always a fool..."
Odam we in the Bard arc now. Prepare for more feels, friends.
Oh, AJ, never change. Never stop being best pony.
7239383 My god, that would be amazing.
The Twilight Lands sound like an amazing place to explore, sadly we'll only have a couple chapters to do it.
Well, here's to Bard having aided in the murder of a foal. Let's see how that will develop.
We are finally going to learn a whole lot about Bard this time around. Good, time to shed some light on him its been far too long at this point.
Play it again, Johnny Guitar...
Have you guys ever imagined something so hard that you saw, heard, and felt the sensations?
That just happened to me with the italicized sections, in first-person.
It was kind of ick.
When I think of a place of eternal twilight, I think of the trolls from The End of Ponies. For me, it's a fact that they will appear, but are probably reserved to add variety to the dark side.
7239178 The multicolored light means Rainbow will summon Celestia to that sunless place.
7233592
I think you might be surprised... I just pulled together descriptions of the Heraldites and associated parties in a few hours. I had to dig a little for a couple things, but for the most part the relevant descriptors were there right when they were introduced. I've done an exhaustive search and we still don't know everyone's cutie mark, but other than that there are enough details to visualize all of them. I'm going to post it in the Austraeoh group forum once I finish formatting it, so if you or someone else wants to update the wiki that'd be useful too.
Man, that was a great bit of catharsis after recent events. Glad to finally have apple horse back.
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WE DON'T JOKE ABOUT SUCH THINGS!!!
Okay ... in all of your dialog. You have "name" and that's it. What in the hay is after those though?
It's bad grammar to just go, "here's some dialog," [Insert name].
______________________
Skipping this chapter [read part of the first two sections]. There's absolutely nothing in the speakers actions. We have either a Name followed by a period. Or things like "Kepler's tusks". And that's it.
With all the great dialog up till now. This is jarring to read. Not to mention nowhere near IC's usually standards of grammar.
7240179
I think the reason it is written like that is because IC is reflecting Rainbow's thoughts. She is only barely conscious, and she hears some dialogue and thinks, "Twilight" . Or "Bard". I think she is just recognizing what is going on.
7240244
Even then there are inflections, emotions relayed, and other descriptors that would come through that aren't here. I mean it's not the first time Dash almost died from her condition, or was thrown throw a loop because of it. And everytime before this chapter we get descriptors, some saidisms. and a showing of either emotions or actions.
Then of course you have the bit of "Kepler's tusks". That's all. But just having a name, or a name tucked between dialog. Is bad form. Heck the first time I saw it, I thought it was a typo. Before realizing I skipped entire names of who was talking because there's practically nothing there.
Final Seed confirmed!
*sniffs* Who's cutting onions in here?
7240179 Those lines of dialogue end in full-stops (periods, ellipses), not commas. That changes it from an independent dialogue plus a dependent speech tag into two independent clauses. They're treated as two different sentences. And if one or both of them is a fragment, then that's not bad form, that's an artistic liberty.
Don't think about it from a rules-and-logic perspective. Think about it from an author's-intent perspective. If the author is repeatedly breaking a rule, it's pretty obvious they're doing it on purpose and for a reason. Instead of trying to correct, try to understand and accept.
Good artists follow rules. Great artists break them. (Tastefully.)
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7240179
7240520
I was initially thrown by the dialogue tags myself, but once I realized what was going on it made a lot of sense, and did a great job of illustrating Rainbow's mental state. She's been drifting in and out of consciousness for most of a week, and this is the first time she's been submerged so deeply in her chaotic side without actually turning into a beast (and thereby losing/suppressing the memories). She hears sounds that some part of her brain puts together into words. Some other scattered part of her connects a voice to a name. Bits of her visual and auditory processing pick up random other things. But without her higher brain functions, none of it gets put together into a coherent mental narrative.
I personally found it both creepy and moving, in the sense that it gave me a wonderfully horrible sense of what Rainbow is experiencing. I've had my own moment of being way too high on (thing) because it was adulterated with (other thing), and this is both accurate and freaky as hell.
7240994
I personally find it jarring but at least I can see your PoV. Might try giving it a re-read later. Gives a thumbs up and a cookie.
7240520
I thought after your whole, "I'm so tired and attacked by you." Speech, and the mods talking to both of us to drop things. We weren't talking to one another. Since we are, I'll just state I agree with Lucusmembrane (now that I see it in his/ her perspective), and I can at least admit I can see what you're writing.
Still a bit jarring compared to Rainbow Dash in similar states in earlier books. But it doesn't bother me as much as it did this morning.
Crap, forgot to comment after I read this originally. Uhm... some nice talks between AJ and Dash were had, and I'm looking forward to finally seeing the truth come out about Dash's feelings. Also, now we finally get to see some of
Bard'sJohnny's true backstory and all that. Wildcard certainly was surprised earlier to hear they'd be going back there, but now I wonder why. And those are some damn intense accusations that Blue is throwing around there. Murder, infanticide... ohboy.~SolidFire
7241556 Well hey, I wasn't gonna bring it up. *shrug*
Both 7240994 and 7240244 basically hit the nail on the head; that's what Skirts was quite clearly going for. Whenever Skirts does something like that, I'll usually stop and try to see things from his perspective before popping out the rulebook. He's got a lot of weird tics like that.
General rule of thumb: if an experienced writer is breaking a rule the same way several times, they typically know exactly what they're doing.