"...and while they're recovering in the capable hooves of Professor Theanim Mane and Lieutenant Keris," Rainbow Dash spoke from the back of the Herald's wagon as it rolled east past random boulders and sporadic hillsides. "...it still doesn't change the fact that I willingly and knowingly deceived an entire civilization into believing that Verlax was still their goddess." She gulped, then gazed down at her fidgeting hooves. "Verlax—in her last breaths—convinced me that the tribes of Rohbredden would fall into chaos and civil war... fighting each other and wreaking havoc... if they discovered the truth."
Rarity and Pinkie Pie slumped back to back, stonefaced. Fluttershy and Twilight sighed. Applejack looked on silence.
"Maybe it's true. Maybe it's not." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Between my journey and the chaos gnawing away at me, I haven't had the luxury of spending the time to find out otherwise. Besides..." She frowned, jaws clenched. "Verlax's litter of pet windigoes has been unleashed... and they're spreading blizzardy crap all across the continent as we speak. Heck... for all I know, some of them might be herding across the Grand Choke by now. I wouldn't want to be in Val Roa if that's the case."
It was Celestia's voice that spoke: "I highly doubt it. From what I remember, Rainbow Dash, windigoes prefer to feed off the emotion and livelihoods of mortal equines. If the Grand Choke is still just as grand and desolate as you left it, I do not expect any of the frozen herd to stampede even a quarter of a distance to your former allies."
"So, that's it, then?" Rainbow Dash tilted her sad eyes to the stars. "You and Luna think I did what was most safe?"
Silence.
Then:
"In truth, Rainbow Dash, I do not see what else could have been done," Princess Celestia said. "Even before you crossed paths with Verlax, it was evident to you, myself, and my sister that the Mad Divine had anticipated your arrival for centuries. She had plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable... while the rest of us were busy with our necessary affairs in Equestria."
"But even if it's the only thing I could have done..." Rainbow's brow furrowed. "...does that make it the one thing I should have done?"
Twilight and Rarity looked up, blinking.
Celestia's voice exhaled. "You want to know if I... a harmonic alicorn ruler... approve of an entire civilization being bathed in flagrant deception?" A pause. "No. Of course I do not."
Rainbow's eyes closed tight.
"However, the nature of your journey is more than a mere excursion into foreign lands. Have you played the part of generals and ambassadors before? Yes. Yes you have—but only when you could afford to make a difference, and there is no telling that you haven't done the right thing for Rohbredden in the long run. Not yet, at least. But—as you stated—yours isn't the luxury to wait and see, nor would it be ours. We have duties to attend to, and your duty happens to be all-encompassing."
"The windigoes you speak of—if I may add..." Luna's voice interjected. "...utterly dwarf the herds that your Equestrian ancestors dealt with. Undoubtedly Verlax knew of this, and bred them so accordingly. I cannot fathom that any of our previous measures in dealing with them would have a noticeable effect on the monstrosities that currently plague that continent."
"Maybe... maybe not..." Rainbow gritted her teeth. "But... but if I could somehow show the Rohbreddenites the truth... that these monsters aren't completely invincible? That they're mere lackeys of Verlax that can be warded off through enough harmony and companionship—"
Pinkie Pie interrupted: "Isn't that what the Rohbreddeners are doing now?" She blinked. "Getting along?"
"Yeah..." Rainbow frowned aside. "But at what cost, Pinkie?!" She gazed skyward. "Your Highnesses... the only reason the Tribes are putting their differences aside is because they believe that the windigoes are a punishment for their past sins." Her brow furrowed. "And that I am the manifestation of evil from beyond the Grand Choke! Do you know what this means? I only made 'Verlaxion's' superstition friggin' stronger! Goddess forbid you should ever send an expedition east to the Seven Seas like you sent Cadance and Shining Armor to Ward! The Rohbreddenites will murder any outsiders on sight! So will the Kihutajans someday... at this rate."
"Perhaps, it would seem," said Luna. "That isolation will be their strongest asset for the age to come."
Rainbow Dash hung her head. "...that can't really be our one solution here."
"Rainbow Dash," Celestia spoke. "Do not take our words as siding with Verlax. We will never... ever condone the meaningless sacrifice that the Divine has made of an entire culture. However, we care for these ponies and griffons just as much as you do. Considering the circumstances that has established their civilization, it will simply be deleterious to dissolve whatever fragile stability they currently afford, especially with windigoes assaulting them from all angles."
"Given enough time, our civilizations can venture to make contact with them," Princess Luna said. "And presuming that their tenacity will someday grow to circumvent their emotional and intellectual frailities, then—and only then—can we hope to bridge communication... and spread the warmth of harmony."
"Yeah, well..." Rainbow grumbled. "That's not gonna even remotely happen in my lifetime, is it?"
"We're sorry, my child," Princess Luna remarked. "But it would be foolish to expect anything otherwise."
"I was afraid of that," Rainbow exhaled.
"You must learn not to blame yourself for the mechanizations that Verlax had orchestrated eons before your very foaling, child," Luna said.
"Yes, well... I should at the very least have tried doing something," Rainbow muttered. "Am I the Austraeoh or aren't I?"
"And that is still a matter that we are struggling to fully ascertain with all of our alicorn wisdom and resources put together," Luna said. "From what I can tell, it is still a cryptic issue for even your Herald friends to comprehend."
Flynn and Logan glanced up from where they trotted along the wagon. Ariel sighed, gliding alongside Wildcard and Kepler above.
"If there is anything you must truly learn from this matter, Rainbow Dash," Luna spoke. "It is to ascertain precisely what it is that Verlax thought she was preparing you for... and how you might be able to confront it with all of your gifts combined, much less just the Austraeoh's."
"That's just it, Your Highness," Rainbow muttered. "It only gets bigger and bigger... ballooning, y'know?"
"I fear that I... do not understand..."
"Me neither!" Pinkie blinked. "And I'm all about balloons!"
"She's referring to the Quade, Pinkie," Twilight said.
"She is?"
Rainbow nodded, then faced the sky again. "In the Quade, Your Highness, I did super cruddy things to free Fluttershy. And despite all that I learned from that... I had to do even worse stuff on a larger scale to free Applejack." Her ears folded. "What if Verlax's trials didn't die with her, huh? What if something or someone—Endrax or Tchern or whatnot—is just waiting for me to do something even more horrible on the Dark Side?" She grimaced. "And if that's the case... what could possibly be worse than what I've done to Rohbredden?"
Silence.
"I cannot fathom, Rainbow Dash," Luna said. "But I also happen to know that—despite your most loathed 'transgressions,' you are still doing what you can to ensure the overall safety of everypony around you—and the totality of this plane's mortal population, by proxy of fulfilling the journey of the Austraeoh."
"Mrmmmff..." Rainbow Dash rubbed her muzzle with a shaky hoof. "Hearing you say that doesn't exactly make it any easier..."
"Nor did I suspect that it would, child..."
Fluttershy raised her head, muzzle scrunched. "Is it just me? Or has Princess Celestia been silent for a while?"
"Reckon it's a lot for a pony to take in," Applejack muttered. "Alicorn or not."
Rainbow Dash lowered her hoof. After a tense breath, she exclaimed: "Princess Celestia? What's on your mind?" She gulped. "You have something to say about all of this? We're all ears... ghostly and not-so."
After a calm breath, Celestia's voice twinkled through the enchanted air above the wagon: "Do forgive me, Rainbow Dash. I was simply... intrigued by something I had sensed."
"Huh?" Rainbow blinked. "Don't tell me. You've also got little sun-children of your own?" She smiled bitterly across the Twilight environment. "Maybe some dolphin-nosed 'solarians?'"
"I only wish that were so." Celestia's voice took on a hard-edge. "Axan. Speak up."
Fluttershy and Rarity winced.
Remna merely glanced heavenward.
"I know that you are there, Divine of Flame," Celestia spoke authoritatively. "Your ill-fated sister went to great lengths to hold Rainbow's flight for ransom. I will not let you do the same thing."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Rainbow said. "I know that Axan is here."
"You do...?"
"Yeah. She's Remna." Rainbow cleared her throat. "She's been in pony form all this time."
"Not through personal choice, I assure you, Sun Horse," Remna grumbled.
"Do forgive me. Meditating on the chaos rift and... digesting this information is greatly taxing me," Celestia stammered uncharacteristically. "How might such a thing be possible?"
"Alicorn magic!" Rainbow Dash smiled crookedly. "Mortuana did the honor of transforming Axan before her death—"
"Mortuana perished?!" Princess Luna could be heard gasping.
Rainbow blinked.
Rarity face-hoofed.
"Think you might have missed a few key parts, sugarcube," Applejack said.
"Hrmmmmff..." Remna kept on trotting beside the wagon.
"I... fear that my sister and I are experiencing a sudden onset of confusion, Rainbow Dash," Luna said.
"Alright... alright..." Rainbow laid back in the wagon, burying her muzzle in both hooves. "Mrmmmmmff... once more from the top..."
Whelp, another summary it would seem.
Explanation take two. Dash and company have quite a bit to catch up on, but this seems to get most of it out of the way. I think moonwhinny will turn out to be a Chekhov's gun at Bleaks Plummet and beyond. I also wonder how the Princesses will react to hearing about the Chaotic state of the next seed. Wonder if that is the planned end of this book?
Quite honestly, I thought they already knew, because they weren't wondering why Mortuana wasn't there with the rest of the Herald.
I wonder if Applejack will get to hear from her family like the others before this conversation ends.
No lie, I had to look this up.
FACK. Should've been a bit more graceful in sharing that info, RD.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/8/1/948158__safe_princess+celestia_simple+background_nightmare+moon_wide+eyes_smirk_-colon-i_artist-colon-ailish_moon+moon_sun+sun.jpeg
Maybe in a few days Rainbow will be able to tell them the entire story correctly
201 chapter
201
What blasphemy is this
Bridging the gap is one thing, but Dash is going to be nothing short of a saint in the west by the time Rohbreddan is ready to meet with groups from beyond the choke.
One cultures holiest mare can be the greatest villain to another.
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
I did something just like that a couple weeks ago when phoning my sister up, and mentioned a sudden death in the extended family, of an Uncle Id never met, just been sat in the car outside the place of work each time.
Long phone call is long.
Windigos verses the Sun. ?
Well, the Sisters seem to be taking Mortuana's death well.
I'm happy to hear this, I was a little worried since the windigoes were unleashed.
And I still hope we can talk with the jury soon... I miss them.
Foreshadowing, ho? We do know that the next book is supposed to me much darker than the ones before it.
7387035
Yeah, seems a bit odd that Rainbow would leave that detail out. Rainbow usually is one to tell of heroics and I'd figure a noble last stand / sacrifice would warrant being a part of the tale she told.
7387065
Quite possibly? Luna is in Ponyville at the moment, as long as the connection holds I don't foresee anything other than 'let's move the plot along' stopping Luna from moseying on over to the farm.
Ok I do like that Rainbow Dash addressed some of the bad points about what she did by lying to Rohbreden. I kind of feel like though the characters, IC is admitting that a lot of what commenters brought up was pretty valid. I have a feeling that he likely will leave it at that and it will be up to us to make up our minds about what eventually happened to them.
In regards to your author's note, IC:
Same.
Oh Axan. You silly dragoness.
201 chapters. Something is wrong.
Since her last chat with Luna, Rainbow Dash lost her honesty, subtly, efficiency, and tact. Overall not too bad considering the circumstances.
You'd think after all this time Dash would've gotten better at doing abridged series, but she's still missing those pesky little details. Or was Mortuana's death just that anticlimactic that it was easy to forget that it even happened?
I told someone at my work that I do a lot of reading in my spare time, naturally they asked what I read. So being the social coward that I am, I say I read "Unpublished serialized fiction online" To that vague description, they ask "Well, what's it about" I just laugh, thinking to myself about trying to explain the plot of the Austraeoh series to someone who has never even watched MLP.
7387737 http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/649514/a-message-for-all-noble-jurists-and-lunar-ninthers
I may be just imagining things, but it sounds like Luna has been getting better at modern speech.
No sign of the Noble Jury yet, but still nice to get caught up.
Also, there's something fundamentally unnatural about this being the 201st chapter.
Ok, cool chapters.
Now, two things.
1) It's clearly time for familyhorse to se her family. AppleBloom should already have his cutie mark at this point.... also, it wouldn't hurt to hear a little from scootaloo after so much time.
2) Second: NOBLE JURY.
PEOPLE OF THE AUSTRAEOH SAGA,
IT'S OUR INALIENABLE RIGHT TO CLAIM FOR NOBLE JURY NEWS.
OUR GOD AND TYRANT, THE GREAT IC SHALL PUT NOT EXCUSES.
If when Rainbow got to Val Rose, the durandan (who can any sun-light day comunicate with Celestia thanks to that magic sword) were able to talk to Celestia and tell her to tell Luna to tell Rainbow the good news about Alfredo's guys, it's evidently that it is only a question of time that either durandans went to Val Rose or than noble jurist went to Durandana (they couldn't be so far, considering that the folks in the village close to Duranda considered Val Rose a neighbour region), and they did had a lot of time (all the time Rainbow passed in the great choke plus the nexts months in Rhobledan).
It would be great not only hearing news of the Noble Jury but also knowing that they (specially Belle and Roarke) know that Rainbow is not only alive and well but that also she has now a chance of getting his friends back to live (specially Belle who shared Rainbow memories about them).
NOW, if I had told this before, because it's something that just HAS to happens. There are even better news.
The sword only works at daylight, and the moon-channel only works in clear full-moon nights.
But now, that we know that in the dark side there are no daylight and the moon-channel is open for three days straight.
This means that WE CAN MAKE DIRECT COMUNICATION BETWEN SWORD-CHANNEL AND MOON-CHANNEL.
Because we have seen normal no-alicorn ponies (like Pinkie's familys) speaking by the moon-channel as long as they were standing next to Luna I can't see no reason why somepony's voice coming out of the sword (or the equivalent objet Celestia holds) couldn't get throuhg the moon-channel and be heard by Rainbow.
Where I'm going with this?
THAT IN A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME, IF THE RIGHT ARRANGES ARE MADE, WE COULD HAVE DIRECT COMUNICATION BETWEN NOBLE JURIST AND RAINBOW THROUG SWORD-MOON CHANNELS.
(Or in worst cases, comunication throug Celestia)
THIS SHALL NOT BE IGNORED
Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaase IC, pleaaaaaase, make it happen... we promise we will super behaveeeeee...
7387235 The necessary kind. ):( could not have finished the book on chapter 200 unless he had kept up the insane word count we saw for about a month prior to last week.
More must be said yet before the story can move on to the next in the saga, so he eschewed the strict chapter quota in favor of sanity.
> chapter 201
Maybe I'm just dense and have missed something at some point but I'm still somewhat confused as to the reasoning behind the decision Dash made in Starkiss. If the idea was that the ponies of Rohbreddon would unite in the face of a big enough threat like The Rogue, wouldn't the immediate threat of total annihilation by the windigoes be sufficient?
7388411 The problem wasn't so much the unite against a greater threat, but the religion situation. If Verlax died, and Rainbow silently went along her way, the windigoes would've come, They'd think Verlax abandoned them, mass hysteria, everyone dies. V-dies, Rainbow tells the truth, She's not believed, Windigo's come, agents of the rogues, bunch of people die, massive culture struggles, civil war, friends kill each other. This is the situation, which applies the least pressure. Take everyone's beliefs they already have, and point them in the right way. Instead of going, I killed them your all fucked, and then leaving, she challenged them, Told them to fight her muahhaha, to drive them to survive, and thrive.
7388411 Windigoes feed off of negative emotions. If Rainbow Dash told the truth then that would include explaining the true nature of Verlaxion. If such a thing worked then it would have completely split Rohbreddon society, and the infighting would draw the Windigoes. As for why Rainbow Dash played the villain instead of just running away, it is because it reinforces the lie for the sake of unity (to erase any doubt about the the supposed truthfulness Verlax's lies), it spares anyone associated with her from persecution by claiming that they weren't in control of their minds (e.g. the wyverns, the talon, etc.), and it allows Rainbow Dash to declare her departure, which ensures that the ponies of Rohbreddon won't be looking for queen killer shadows around every corner.
Don't feel too bad Rainbow, a lot of stuff has happened since the last moon call.
7388248 Imagine Rainbow repeating what Pinkie says, Celestia repeating it for the Jury, and Props responding, then Celestia has to repeat it again for Rainbow and friends.
7388568
7388533 Thanks for the responses guys, that definitely helps clear it up.
I'm still not sure if I'm sold on the whole thing though. At the end of the day I guess I can respect Dash's decision in that she was ultimately trying to save lives. Not to mention that reading 3 million words about a hero that never makes a controversial decision would be BORING. But I still can't quite shake the feeling that this plan seems incredibly condescending, implying that Dash and company know best and the entire populace of Rohbreddon are sheep that need to be herded until they can "handle" the truth.
All in all, I think the story would have been helped if there had been a strong contrarian position from one of the characters, if only for the sake of added drama. Theanim's objections only lasted a few paragraphs and were pretty weak when I think you could have made a pretty decent Prime Directive argument (Dash may have done more harm than good).
7387126 Makes me wonder... Has Celestia been labeled "Sun Horse" at any point in any of the books. Austraeoh Fact Checker, I invoke your presence!
7387928
Six friends fought a Chaos Demon, five died. The one that survived killing(?) the demon has chaos-cancer. 'Loyalty' needs to travel East to the other side of the world-construct, the dark side where even the Sun doesn't reach. Hopefully the maguffin she needs to recover will be useful.
7388248
Well, we haven't heard from them since, what, February of 2015. This will be good.
Well, the East goes ever on, and the ending is far in the future. It will be glorious, but also bittersweet.
Meanwhile, RD has to re-explain the situation to Celestia and Luna.
From the Top once Again!!
IC can't count above 200!!
Jet fuel can't melt steel beams!!
It's a conspiracy, I tell ya!!
7388782 The biggest problem with the idea that the truth could have come out is the fact that there is literally no evidence other than the word of the group that had already been labeled as aiding and abetting a complete monster in a journey to kill their Queen. Anything less than a majority belief would be necessary for enough harmony to survive the windigoes, and that simply couldn't have happened here.
And no using Keris or Theanim as counter-examples either: both of them changed their belief quite slowly through a lot of personal experiences surrounding Dash. The general population doesn't have that luxury.
It has been a very eventful month, hasn't it?
If I didn't know better, I'd say Rainbow messed up on purpose, so she can regale her adventurers to the princess again. Only there wouldn't be as much awesomeness to retell as she'd like.
I think Echo slugging that old guy in the face is near the top though. That was pretty cool.
Wait...
7388944 If ):( can count past 200 then surely Valve can count to 3, right?
7389017 I actually completely agree that exposing the truth would have ended badly. I doubt there's any chance that anything Rainbow or the others could have said would be enough for Rohbreddon to even entertain the idea that she was telling the truth.
I guess it's just lines like this that makes the whole thing feel condescending to me:
I think it's somewhat presumptuous of Celestia and the others to keep trying to drive home the idea that her decision was really the only thing she could have done. What if there was actually no course of action that would keep Rohbreddon from being destroyed? What if, in the long term, Rainbow actually did more harm to Urohringr as a whole than if she had just let Rohbreddon be destroyed? For example: let's say Rohbreddon is able to unite and actually drive off the windigoes for good. However, the government that emerges from the ashes is a zealous, xenophobic, militaristic dictatorship that is determined to subjugate everything west of the blight to prevent another demon like The Rogue from ever appearing again. Total war between two continents of industrialized civilizations could completely devastate a much larger region than just Rohbreddon.
Everything boils down to what-if's I guess and it's great that Rainbow ended up choosing the certainty of saving lives in the short-term. But I still think the moral gray area could be explored with a legitimate argument for non-interference.
7389154
I fear that after multiple retellings, Dash will be capable of little more than hoarse horse noises by the time a suspected Jury call can come through.
Maybe have Celly jot down key notes like "Enemy #1 on the east side" or "helped milk drinker milk a goat" (likely to elicit strong reactions from Josho and Zaid respectively) and wing the rest.
7388861
Does 'Dashery count?
7389182
You know I was about to make a post that was about how it's likely in the long run that Rainbow did far more harm than good but you basically pointed it out for me. Rohbreddon was set up in such a way by Verlax that regardless of the choice she made they were/are going to be destroyed. They were nothing more than toys to Verlax and really when she died she no longer had use for them so she had Rainbow destroy them. Really the choice that she made was more or less between kill them now (tell them the truth) or kill them later (lie to them) because any kind of war with Val Roa and the other states across the Grand Choke (which is absolutely inevitable and even Rainbow says as much.) is going to end in them losing as Val Roa alone is vastly superior to them in tech.
I don't want to get much into it but really nothing Rainbow did would have resulted in Rohbreddon surviving very long anyway, that is not even to say about what would happen when Urohringr got put back together in a few months, give or take, causing the whole lie to fall apart at its seams more likely then not.
I really think that is what bothers me about it more than anything, Rainbow let Verlax win yet again by lying for what amounted to no real reason.
7389498
I still want to believe that the surviving Luminards finding solace on the continent and moving on from a life of contrition will prove to be some kind of allegory for the fate of the greater continent. That even the most devout followers can move on from the only life they've known and start anew.
A populace re-forging alliances (already in progress) can eventually reach a point where folks realise they've effectively rebuilt a society with without relying on the grace of a deceased divine, and the stronger the bonds get, the weaker the herds become in parallel. Even if few would ever thank the Rogue herself.
Civilisations out west will of course out-gun and out-mana these guys, but we know they have their fair share of level-headed natives incl. the Jury who would sooner seek long-range trade deals than invade and conquer somewhere so remote in relation to the rest of Urohringr. Though fear of anything coming from the west might be a tricky hump to get over.
Perhaps the worst I could coming out of this are minor factions that consider Verlaxion a martyr and try to restore their idea of order even though things from an outsider's POV appear untroubled. Plus anyone aping the old consortium attacks would be cause for concern.
Th-this optimism is uncalled for, surely?!
7389498 Doubtful. Rainbow's actions have reinforced that isolationist mentality in the continentalists, for they will simply view the former blight as an evil place where monsters come from. The colonists on the other hand are unlikely to be swayed, but they hold no belief in Verlaxion. The only issue is if someone from Val Roa crosses the Choke.
7390768 Which they will eventually, likely as a coalition between the Val Roans,Goblins and everyone else over there. IIRC Val Roa wanted to explore pass the Grand Choke anyway and there is now no reason for them not to. There are about 3 possibilities I see happening here:
One, and what I think is the most likely one, Rainbow completes her journey and Urohringr is again complete. This very likely causes one of two things Rohbreddon will think that Rainbow did something to their whole world along with killing their Goddess and further fear the West and everyone and everything that comes from it; or this will cause the lie that was told to them to fall apart as nothing that happened fits at all with their belief system as we know it. They fall into the civil war that the lie was trying to stop and die from the returning Windigos anyway.
Two, that doesn't happen or the first part of it does anyway: Val Roa and the other states come along and since they generally like Rainbow Dash they are basically instantly killed by the people of Rohbreddon right off the bat for one being from the West and two liking what is going to be Rohbreddons devil. There is almost no way this doesn't result in a war with Val Roa and the others which Rohbreddon loses and loses hard, If the coalition strikes hard and fast. Said coalition (as I highly doubt it would be a one state only doing this) likely carves up Rohbreddon and occupies it for an extremely long time after that. Likely resulting in an even longer style cold war East and West Germany type thing going on but with more than just two territories. Verlax cults are most likely to become a bunch of Terrorist after that, killing occupiers.
Three is basically the same as Two but no real massive occupation happens and the war goes on for years and years due to the cost of crossing the Choke, Rohbreddon still loses in the long run though and the Coalition likely just sends a small occupying force that strip mines the place and sends it all back to Coalition states. Again Verlax cults become Terrorists most likely, same as the second idea. I mean I can see some arguments that situation 2 and 3 (especially 3) are somewhat ok-ish as an ending for Rohbreddon but I personally don't.
Dammit Rainbow! Then again, I miss details all the time too. They kinda just... Burn away. And you gotta refind them again.
7390848
or they could just send a small expedition and seeing they don't come back/come back badly injured, decide it's isn't worth crossing the big desert of doom to go to war when you could wait for the adversary to come and finish them off at the end of a horribly difficult journey resulting in both sides waiting the other and gradually forgetting what was on the other side of the near endless desert (resulting in peoples on one side going to the other side to find they both have a legend about a rainbow pegasus and wondering why one side talk about it as an angel, and the other talk about it as an demon)
7390848
I don't see why Val Roa would want to go as far as invade or occupy Rohbredden, even if their expedition was met with hostility. They would only do it for self defense (unless prince Eine grows to become a tyrant ;), but the Choke makes an invasion from either side near impossible.
7395593
I know I said I was done with this but I got to thinking, exactly how long did it take for Rainbow to cross the Grand Choke anyway? It couldn't have been more than a few weeks at most. I wonder if Austraeoh Fact Checker might know? I mean if it was less than I would say 5 to 6 weeks with the anti-magic on (from what I recall it couldn't have been more than 2 months at most) in all honesty it might be crossable in a week or two for a Mana Ship. Really at this point this is less for the sake of the debate and more for the fact that I'm really curious if it was ever said because the wiki doesn't.
One of those days Rainbow's gonna say something that'll break Celestia's focus.
Hah, wouldn't that be hilarious. A consolation talk causing a major disaster.