No Goddesses, Kings, Only Dash
Nicole gasped, clinging to Bard as her slitted eyes reflected the mesmerizing sight of rising bubbles, rippling water, and countless fish. "Holy cow..."
"Purdy excitin', huh?" Bard smiled, squeezing her shoulder. "Imagine this from the perspective of bein' swallowed by a big hulkin' fish."
"I think I'll just stick with the giant porous moon basket, th-thanks." Nicole trembled, gazing aside at Rainbow and Echo. "How do you... like... deal with all this perilous, crazy 'adventure' stuff?"
"Eh..." Rainbow shrugged, stretching her limbs out to stand on the rocking, glowing vines. "After your first painful, bloody death, you sorta just roll with it."
"Huh?!"
"Ask Remna."
"Miss Remna, what does she—?"
"Do not ask me," the violet mare glared.
"Pffft... fine, then." Nicole leaned against Bard once again. "Get your own moonbasket."
"Mrmmff..." Remna watched with draconian disinterest as the twisting lengths of the structure were joined by more and more glittery spires—all joining together to form a massive hub of interconnecting brambles.
Rainbow's ghostly friends cooed in awe. Below them—rising into view beyond the interwebbing vines—was a gigantic gnarled "gnot," dense enough to be called a proper underwater structure. The hub was easily eight stories in height, and at least five dozen meters in circumference. At random intervals, the Bleakweed surfaces were broken up by translucent windows revealing living sarosian residents wandering about deep inside.
A trickle of bubbles rose past the sphere, and Rarity and Pinkie Pie gasped to see sarosian divers swimming from branch to branch. The ponies were equipped with breathing apparatuses, glowing with lunar enchantment. A "school" of swimming equines were busily working on a branch of gnarled vines—connecting them between two lateral struts. The divers paused, squinting through their glowing goggles at the sphere being piloted by Enix and her felow companions.
The Nightblood Warrior gazed back, then turned to whisper to the two enchanters.
The enchanters nodded in response. Concentrating on their rune necklaces, they murmured new words in Moonwhinny.
Bard wobbled slightly in surprise as the sphere shifted direction. It now began angling itself towards the heart of Bleak's Plummet, approaching a round black shape carved in the structure's surface. Fish scurried out of the way as the sphere entered the structure. Narrow walls were illuminated by the shield runes—then the corridor expanded to reveal a half-flooded chamber.
Enix whistled, and the enchanters murmured yet another word.
The sphere rose, approaching a rippling surface illuminated from above.
Sp-Sploosh!
Rainbow and her friends found themselves staring at a large round room fitted with spools of coiled vines and diving equipment. Wet-hoofed sarosians wandered from dock to dock, hauling thorned cages full of desperately flopping fish. Upon seeing the sphere surface, many of the workers froze in place, squeaking to one another and staring with intense slitted eyes.
With a grunt, Enix leapt directly up. She sank her fangs deep into a spool of rope, canceling out the topmost force field. Damp air rushed into the sphere, filling the vessel with the foul smell of dead fish. Nicole and Bard grimaced, but both kep their cool. Echo didn't even flinch.
"Look..." Fluttershy whispered, gesturing at the workers atop the neatly-arranged docks. Flickering manatorches illuminated their leafy ears up above. "They're all staring at us."
"Yes..." Rarity squirmed nervously. "I wonder if any of them know why we're here."
"Enix would have sent messengers ahead of us, I imagine," Twilight Sparkle thought aloud.
"I know I'm a mite bit new at this n'all, but..." Applejack glanced at Rainbow. "I ain't sensin' no ill-intent. At least... no more than usual from these batfolk."
Rainbow gulped. "Say... uh... Enix—"
"Fear not, Blood of Luna," the warrior said while gesturing to the many-many workers. Sarosians glided over, crowding the nearest dock. "All has been arranged."
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow remarked.
Enix did not respond. Instead, she joined over two dozen sarosians in manually yanking the sphere up by its rope. As the structure rose through the water, the enchanters standing inside with Rainbow's group murmured the word "Y'hnyrr" at even intervals. One by one, the shields extinguished themselves—with expert timing so as not to flood the structure. By the time the last force fields were canceled out, the workers above had hoisted the entirety of the rope out of the water. Rainbow, Bard, and the rest found themselves trotting casually onto dry floor.
The sarosians—with minor reluctance—lent helping hooves to everypony... except when it came to Echo. As soon as the stallion appeared, they took one look at him—at his clipped leather wings—then stepped back with subdued hissing sounds.
Echo blinked. The hair on his back rose savagely as he hissed back.
Frowning, the workers nevertheless drew away.
Rainbow glanced curiously at Echo—but the stallion merely shrugged.
"Hresssssssssh—" Nicole audibly pronounced. Her eyes widened, and she slapped a hoof over her fanged muzzle. A few blinks later, and she murmured aside to Bard. "I... I-I don't know what's coming over me..."
"Right..." Bard gulped dryly. "Just... stick close to me, darlin'... and try not to get too comfortable... I guess."
"Yeah, Johnny... I-I'll try..."
The workers didn't leave entirely. They stood along the outer circumference of the gnarled hangar, gazing cautiously at the strange ponies accompanying Enix.
"Hmmmm..." Remna exhaled. "Your companions do not seem too pleased to see us."
"That will change shortly," Enix said, trotting forward. "I assure you."
"Can you be so certain?" Remna arched an eyebrow, shuffling after her. "If the collective host of your fellow pirates aren't comfortable with our presence, then how do you know we will make a positive impression on your matriarch?"
"We have only one true Matriarch," Enix muttered, marching firmly forward. "I have sensed her voice... and it vouches for your Austraeoh. It was that way in the beginning... and it will be that way in the end."
"I know a thing or two about answering for a loyal nest," Remna said. "The Alicorn of the Moon may feel responsible for these lost mortals... but she hasn't been the one personally protecting them all this time, has she?"
Enix glanced back at Rainbow Dash. "Who is this curious disgruntled creature with the otherworldly eyes?" The warrior's eyes narrowed. "She obviously values your safety, but her faith seems faltering."
"Trust me. She knows the price for screwing me over," Rainbow Dash said. "And if any of your 'brothers and sisters' here in Bleak's Plummet are afraid of me—they shouldn't be. They should be scared of her."
"Hmmm... a challenge..." Enix chanted towards a wall of runes. "H'jem!" Several vines coiled back, dripping with seawater. They exposed a gradually rising corridor, smelling of damp wood and incense. "I can guarantee you that we will encounter many warriors after my own scars who will delight in such a physical presence."
"Uh huh..." Rainbow squinted ahead. "...and what if I refuse any confrontation?"
"You will be seen as a weak coward deserving to be eaten alive." Enix motioned the group along as she trotted up the corridor. "Let us hope we meet up with the Maria Matriarch before then."
"Yeah." Rainbow gulped, leading the pack behind her. "Good idea."
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Moonwhinny? That's, uh, a very graceful name there, IC.
I'm glad you didn't call it moonfarting, though, because that belongs solely to Echo.
Old Rainbow would be gung ho for a fight, not anymore. That is what happens when you travel a few hundred thousand miles from home using only what you can piece together.
Survival of the fittest then?
So...what's everyone's opinion on when Chandler shows up: during Rainbow's meeting with the Maria Matriarch or after?
I would say something along the lines of Chandler beating them there (due to the fight with Enix and the ship being busted) and convincing the Matriarch to side with him, but that might be too much of an unbelievable scenario to pull off.
That is pretty hardcore, just as I expected them to be.
I have a feeling they are never going to forgive Echo for what he did.
Man, if these ponies are so heavily allied with Dashie... when the Robhedren army arrives, a lot of ponies are going to die...
7486216
Chandler and co. may have their location mapped but it would be foolhardy even by his standards to go out and assault a base of unknown strength.
Self defence against bat patrols seems like the most likely reason for a scuffle to start. Not sure if they can get enough of an advantage to kick-start a hostage situation boat-side if they arrive while Dash is still negotiating below. Would be popcorn worthy if they could pull it off.
Mostly nocturnal? Check.
Adorable slitted eyes? Check.
Cute little fangs? Check.
Hisses at everything? Check.
Eats mostly fish? Check.
Hates water? ...not check.
Bat ponies are cats -- headcanon status: 5/6 confirmed.
Need to collect more information. Please have Dash scratch one of them behind the ears... for science.
7486167
Death of the tastiest.
7486336
Son cats love water! My Raja Loved water so much you couldn't take a bath with out him showing up.
I cant remember how big an army chandler is traveling with, but given Nichole, Im pretty sure they will be having severe non lethal problems just from thousands of Sarosian Screams.
Its bad eough when your ear wax starts to dribble out your nose, but when your eyes are frying and your hearts polymerising, getting sliced is the least of your problems.
Finally
Finally, I have caught up with this train-ride. I just have to say one thing, and one thing only:
You sir, are a fucking legend
I thought I had seen the best when I read works such as Past Sins, Fo:E, and My Little Dashie. Went ahead and read Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons, and I had thought I had seen the best this fandom had to offer
I was wrong. Oh so terribly wrong
I decided one day to check this series out, back about 2 weeks ago. Years ago, I had seen Austraeoh in the feature box, but I wasn't interested at the time. I only wish I had started reading this masterpiece sooner.
So I went ahead and started to read Austraeoh, and I was immediatly hooked. The way you described landscapes, characters, and Rainbow Dash's journey in general kept me up at night up to maybe 7 in the morning, reading non-stop. That non stop reading was what got me through Austraeoh in two days
Eljunbyro? Went through that in two days too. The introduction of Ledomare was pulled off rather well in that in my opinion.
Innavedr? Three days
Odrsjot? Three as well
The next two I roared through in 3-4 days
Then I got to Utaan, and I was thinking that the stakes would only be raised higher. I was right
I have seen many stories, read many stories. But this series?
I will say this: This is by far the greatest series of stories I have EVER had the pleasure of reading. It's also right now the longest series I have ever read at over 3 million words
Thats how good this series is: It caused me to lose much sleep and read 3 million words of pure unfiltered awesome in two weeks
Heres to the continuation of the most epic ongoing series on this site: Austraeoh
On a side note: Woah, the midnighter HQ (HQ? House? Derp) sounds awesome!
Yeah... Let's hope...
...
There will be a confrontation, won't it?
hah! Bat pones? More like cat pones!
...oh wait
7486467 Welcome to the end of the world! The Jury/Ninth/
Nu Moon Crewis proud to receive another.I'm curious as to what Luna's plan is with these Sarosians. I remember her telling Dash something along the lines of giving them a purpose to fight for but Dash seemed to shoot down the idea of taking them to the dark side and you'd think that any major conflict with the mainland would exacerbate the looming Windigo threat. I can't wait to see where all this goes.
7486467 Welcome aboard! When the inevitable withdrawal from not having a next chapter button sets in I'd recommend checking out some of this author's other amazing works. Background Pony is definitely a must-read and I also really enjoyed The Things Tavi Says.
7486467
Did you feel the sense of miss placed prideful nostalgia as if you were part of the noble jury as you read through the chapter comments of each chapter?
7486389 Chandler's force can't be that big, and it would be sheer idiocy to attack a clearly superior force just outside their own base. Plus the midnighters are clearly competent aquaponies, so taking a hit and crashing in the ocean won't be a bad thing for them -- not so for the heavily-armoured griffins and pegasi of the Central Guard Air Cavalry contingent. Glub glub glub...
That being said, there seems to be enough hatred of the midnighters ingrained in the Rohbbies that, with a little pushing from Chandler, they might just do it anyway. It will not be pretty.
I'm also guessing the midnighters have a strong tradition of individual challenges/combat, so it's very possible that Seraphimus could challenge Rainbow to single combat, the bat ponies would honour that challenge, and the whole massacre-at-the-edge-of-the-world thing can be avoided. And we might get to read of the world's first aerial suplex into the sea!
Also, welcome to the crazy, 7486467 !
You know... did Dash ever mention to her new bat buddies that there's a strong chance she's being followed by a bunch of hacked off Rohbreddinites, led by a borderline crazy griffin? Because that sounds to me like the kind of thing you might want to have mentioned at some point, and my short-term memory is crap so I can't remember if that got brought up in the last few chapters.
Not that I can figure how Chandler and the Central Guard could fly all the way out there. They'd logically need some ships or something, because just flying over the ocean without a base to land on when you need rest is... well... dumb. Maybe Chandler had to have them divert somewhere to requisition some ships. There was talk that Rohbredden has large naval vessels in that part of the ocean, I think.
HAH
Given context here and going off from the one other time I saw this in EOP, I'm sure this means "pull" now.
This place seems to be having a profound effect on Nicole. I like this.
Also, Nicole is adorabat.
Ohh...an opportunity for bat combat soon?
Also, there's "H'jem". Still means "open".
7486725
I did actually o_O
All those comments though...really adds to the story in a way
7486467 welcome, comrade!
Seabatponies are cannibals? That's MEAN!
7486467
You read this series in 2 weeks? 2 weeks?! You have a lot more time on your hands than I have. I just caught up a few days ago and it took me 2 years. Granted I did take 2 long breaks after the first 2 books but nevertheless, good job dude.
- Prism
7487062
The dark side sarosians took a shitton of lunar rock with them, the moon rock rations from Bleaks Plummet can keep the charge topped off until RD reaches the dark side.
so magical plant bathyspheres. I'm reminded of the level in Halo 2 where you have to ride the underwater elevators between the temples on the ocean.
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
The end of this is gonna be real messy, ain't it?
7486467 Welcome aboard the Noble Jury. You've picked a fine time to step aboard, we're on our last resupply dock before the darkside, so please, grab as many feels resists and dis-rages as you can fit in your cabin. before we continue our journey.
Please, enjoy the rest of the flight.
I highly doubt they'll do that to an avatar of their creator unless they have no honor or faith to know their place.
Echo
33% bastard
33% adorable
33% perv
1% ??????
7487052 Casually reading a few hours per day without any breaks in between should take somewhere between 3 and 4 months to reach this point (and I know this from experience). 2 weeks is definitely not healthy.
Sure, they seem strong and potentially dangerous now, but wait until Flynn comes up with the weapon to exploit their ultimate weakness!
...a flashlight.
7486336 They're just the right size, too!
That's Echo. You've met him.
7488147
Even though I am a bit of a speedreader with a couple free hours to myself, it still took me the entirety of the summer and about a month or so beforehand to finish the fourth book and beyond. Spending 2 weeks only on this is pretty redicuous.
7486467 T..two weeks?! Hol-eee Smokes!
How?! Are you part machine?!
7487366 apparently 7486715 has found it.
I love the Bioshock refernce in the chapter title. Fits well with everything going on.
7486467 Welcome to the Lunar Ninth. Never thought I'd see someone break my record.
7488504
Nope, only pure dedication and loss of lots of sleep
As in close to over 100 hours of sleep lost. I didn't keep count
7486467 Welcome aboard. You're impressively fast. 2 weeks? It takes longer than that normally, as many of my fellow Jurists can testify.
I can't swear to that, however, as I read the first six books during the course of 6 nights.
7489478
Six books in six nights
HOW THE FUCK
7486467
Hi! As someone who has only recently caught up myself, I definitely know that feeling. It's like pure addiction.
"Lessee... I guess I'll just read five more chapters today and call it a night."
"Darn it... it was just getting exciting, too. Okay, one more chapter just so see where this is going."
"Nope, can't stop on an odd-numbered chapter that's not a multiple of 5!"
And before you know it it's 4 am, you've read 80 chapters, and you have a final that morning.
7489507 I can testify to that being possible, I blitzed through the first two books in about 20 hours each.
7490296
.......
And I thought I was fast O_O
7494494 Magic.
Rainbow could best most any of them in single combat. All they have to do to remna is throw her overboard.
7489478 What the absolute buck
7489478
You are the speed racer of reading, my friend. Holy crap!
So not only are they batponies, they are also catponies. The sarosians just keep getting awesomer and awesomer.
The Lounge is back!