"Aaaaaaaaaaugh!" Rainbow Dash shot up in bed, clutching her skull.
Fluttershy flinched, looking at her with bright eyes. "Rainbow...?!"
The pegasus panted... panted. Then, with sweat rolling down her face and neck, she hugged herself and leaned over. "Grnnngh... dang it... Celestia dang it to Tartarus..."
Fluttershy gulped. "Oh Rainbow..." She floated over, phased through the bed, then hovered at the anchor's side. "You poor thing. It was another one of those horrible nightmares again, wasn't it?"
Rainbow rubbed her face, shuddering. "Mrmmfff... not sure why I expect any different each time I lay my head down." She gnashed her teeth. "Friggin' A... no matter what I do, I'm never leaving those stupid... friggin' castle gardens..."
"Well, you're safe here at Wyvern Point... with us and the Herald." Fluttershy made a gesture as if to "pat" Rainbow's shoulder. "Speaking of which, just wait. I'll go fetch the girls. Wouldn't that make you feel better?"
But just as Fluttershy's body faded with a lavender glow—
"No—No." Rainbow held a hoof out. "Hold on."
Fluttershy rematerialized fully, her eyes blinking. "Hmmm?"
"It's..." Rainbow gulped. "It's not necessary. For realsies." She sighed, forming a weak smile. "This is just... regular crud, y'know? No need to wake the girls from the Vanilla Zone."
"Rainbow, you're so unbelievably important to each and every one of us," Fluttershy said. "You deserve our full attention if it will make you feel better."
"Flutters, what will make me feel better is knowing that someday I'm gonna get you all back." She rubbed her tired muzzle again, sighing. "By hook or by crook." Silence. She peeked one eye out from behind her fetlock. "Did you volunteer to watch over me again?"
Fluttershy shrugged. "Is... that a bad thing?"
"Well, no." Rainbow relaxed slightly, sitting up in the rustic bed. "I just... feel like you're the one I've woken up to... like... a gazillion times in a row. Don't any of the other girls volunteer for 'sleeping Rainbow duty?'"
"Hmmmm... but of course." Fluttershy smiled bashfully. "But... I guess you could say I volunteer harder."
"Heh... no joke."
"I can't help it." Fluttershy shrugged. "I was foaled a caretaker at heart."
"Isn't that depressingly ironic."
Fluttershy blinked. "Huh?"
"Never mind." Rainbow waved a hoof. "It's super sweet of you."
"I rather enjoy it, actually," Fluttershy said, wingtips fluttering a bit. "You never would have let me look after you before Discord showed up."
Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. "The hay is that supposed to mean?"
"Hehe... simply that you're a precious pegasus, Rainbow Dash. All those years of being brash and daring and daredevilish?" Fluttershy shrugged. "Seems like a loyal mare like you never got a chance to be properly taken care of."
"Well... seems like that time has come at last," Rainbow murmured. "What... with the Herald and all."
Fluttershy gulped. "I hope that... that you accept their help, Rainbow."
Rainbow blinked at Fluttershy. "I never said I wasn't going to."
Fluttershy shrank, blushing slightly. "Oh."
"I have no friggin' clue how I'll make it past Verlax on my lonesome," Rainbow said. "Mortuana and her posse here are giving me something super priceless." She gulped. "I'd be an idiot to pass that off."
"But... the Dark Side..." Fluttershy cocked her head to the side. "Do you really think the Herald can survive such a trip?"
"I... often wonder how I can survive such a trip."
Fluttershy bit her lip.
"Ngrnnngh..." Rainbow buried her face in her forelimbs again. "Just... gotta treat this whole thing one step at a time."
"But of c-course, Rainnow."
"Only... I don't really have the luxury of doing that for much longer, do I?" Rainbow looked up, gazing at the palace's slitted windows of antique wood. "Verlax is right about one thing. To truly ascertain the role of Austraeoh, somepony has to be thinking in the long term." She gulped. "Sometime soon... sometime really friggin' soon... I'm going to have to start thinking about what I'll be doing on the Dark Side."
Fluttershy fought the urge to tremble. "Do... do you think Mortuana knows enough to shed some light on the opposite side of the plane?" She gestured. "Literally?"
"I dunno. I hope." Rainbow sighed. "Because even though Chrysalis gave me a lot to go on... it was still pretty vague."
"Plus... she was evil."
Rainbow looked at Fluttershy.
"Erm... r-right?" Fluttershy smiled nervously.
"Chrysalis had actually been to the dark side," Rainbow said. "But Mortuana? Despite being a super powerful alicorn, she's only ever seen this side of the plane."
"Well... she was once powerful."
"Point still stands, Flutters. Mortuana is about as wise as Whitemane. Don't get me wrong... that's super crazy wise. But I'd guess that Chrysalis knew a lot more about my destination than the ruler of Emeraldine. She saw it."
"The Changeling Queen saw the Midnight Armory?" Fluttershy remarked.
Rainbow blinked. "I... I don't know. I'm sure her sister did."
"Oh, right. What was her name again? Churning?"
"Tchern."
"I meant to s-say that."
"There's a war waging on the far side as we speak, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said. "A war that's been tearing the land around the Midnight Armory for eons." She gulped. "How could the Herald have any clue over what that's all about?"
"Well... their information was given to them by the ancient pegasi, yes?"
"Well, yeah. But that was a crazy long time ago. And from what Tchern described to me, the Trinary War began between the Sarosians, changelings, and Night Shard long after the alicorns landed. So I doubt even the Herald have much info to go on..."
"Oh my goodness..." Fluttershy suddenly blanched.
"What is it?"
"Just... something I thought about." Fluttershy paled slightly. "What... what if we discover some of that horrible... absolutely horrible living ooze on the dark side?"
Rainbow blinked. "You mean the crud that attacked me and the Jury in Stratopolis?"
Fluttershy nodded, squeaking slightly.
Rainbow managed a soft smile. "Just relax, Fluttershy. If the ancient pegasi left that stuff on the Dark Side, I'm sure there'd be no surviving factions around to have a Trinary War to this day."
"Oh... good..." Fluttershy exhaled.
"No, in fact, I'm sure whatever we find there will be way... waaaaay worse."
"Eugh..." Fluttershy face-hoofed. "...I don't know why I asked."
"Erm... my bad." Rainbow squirmed in bed. "I guess that's not of much help."
"Don't blame yourself, Rainbow."
"I'm not blaming... I'm just... guh..." With a grunt, Rainbow kicked the covers off and limped out of the bed.
Fluttershy looked over. "You're not going back to bed?"
"Too antsy now," Rainbow muttered. She winced as she adjusted the weight of her left wing in its bandages. "Is it morning yet?"
"Uhm... no."
"Meh. Think I'll go for a stroll anyways."
"It's going to be cold, Rainbow."
"Yeah? What isn't in this friggin' place?"
"Well... good point, I suppose."
Rainbow was about three steps away from the door when she shuffled to a stop. Her head tilted towards the slitted windows, catching a tiny glimpse of gently fluctuating light. "What... is that freaky glow?"
"Oh, you haven't seen it yet?"
"Seen what?"
Fluttershy managed a smile. "Go on and step outside."
"Erm... alright." Rainbow Dash pulled the door open with a creak. She squinted against a chilly mountain breeze... then squinted at something else entirely. "Whoah..." Her head tilted up, ruby eyes and pendant reflecting an undulating band of crimson light. "...now that's pretty snazzy."
Bad news or good news? I'm gonna guess tentatively be optimistic and hope good news.
Wyvern Point has anti Verlaxion aurorae, and the Midnight Armory is now Smooze Central?
Dash is gonna need a bigger Twinkie.
That's right, I don't think she has ever actually seen an Aurora, or its magic equivalent (being limited to North and South pole (or in this case, at the east and west where there is a strong magnetomagic concentration.) Shows that the world has new things out there even for someone as well traveled as Rainbow is here.
Less cheerfully, she is still bothered by what she did under the influence of Discord, even though it has been established that the decision was not hers at all.
No, you didn't. You just said that you were going to totally ditch them as soon as they weren't needed. Totally different.
Seriously, though, accept their help all the way. They're offering it, after all.
The calmness of this chapter is uncanny considering the whole continent is spiraling out of control. It is almost like this chapter is the eye of the hurricane.
I'm having a bit of a brain fart. Who's the "Night Shard" again? Or do we know for sure yet?
You know this chapter kind of makes me think, how much exactly do we know about the Darkside outside the war and the armory? Do we even know if there are like towns and stuff there? I can't really think of anything I mean the Sarosians at least would have to have some form of civilization but would the others on that side? Its coming to a point where we will have to find out soon enough.
...Aren't Aurorae normally.. I dunno, prismatic, not a single colour?
Aurora Australis and Aurora Borealis are all rainbow-y and crud right?
I don't see why it should be any different there.
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
7040826 If I remember right, the Northern and Southern edges of the plane are laced with red skystone. Maybe the stuff plays some funky magic on the EM patterns, resulting in a chromatic shift to the more crimson appearance?
Not going to lie, while Rohbredden has been interesting, I can't wait until we get to see the Dark Side. Been hyped for that since it was first mentioned.
7040896 Makes sense.
7040822 Wasn't that one of the dragon matriarchs?
7040896
It's yellow skystone on the edges, not red.
7040822
Literally all we know is the name
7040822
7041065
The Night Shard is the Shards Of Endrax the Dragon Divine.
Chrysalis could've been really vague because the dark side is never the same. It is after all where chaos reigns after all. And if Discord is one of the more powerful denizens of the dark side, then who knows what it'll look like.
So odds are IC has been thinking since book 2 about what the darkside will be like and when
An aurora? Hmm back in equestria aurora's where from the Crystal empire. It's about time for the empires return....but Cadence and Shining Armor are on their own western journey. ... could the royal guard (or daring do or spike on his own ) been competent enough to have saved the empire in this alternative timeline and that's what's happening now back "home"?
Wait, they spoke? Or did you put Tchern instead of Chrysalis?
33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvpj9jKspN1qh59n0o1_250.gif
*Gasp* Pretty colors!
*Gasp* It's the shiny shiny dolphins!
7041654 lol. Friggin dolphins.
Hmm...
Hmm, worse than blob zombies of an ancient world capable of consuming all life? Sounds fun.
7040824
Fortresses, strongholds and underground cities I'll wager.
Probably with names like 'Zanthillor's Deep' or such like.
I'm thinking it'll be something like the Underdark from the 'Forgotten Realms' franchise (Neverwinter Nights etc).
7041458 The empire returned several books ago. Flash Sentry helped save it and became bros with Shining Armor.
Geez Fluttershy, way to make us all anxious
Do I detect deeper feelings fluttershy has for Rainbow that may or may not get in the way of Rainbow's feelings for the apple horse? Hmm... probably too soon to tell.
Ah, the aurora borealis?
Dun dun DUNN! Foreshadowing.
7040919 The thing that really has me the most curious is how Skirts is going to make that interesting and varied. I mean, 'dark and desolate wasteland' is something hard to go on for three to four books, even if we are going to spend considerably less time on the dark side than on the bright.
Going by his usual universe canon, I am crossing my fingers for a Sarosian city of neon.
Cliffhangers need to be a manslaughter charge, man.
We need more of the Gak monsters. They're a cool enemy.
7390315 Nothin' can stop. The Gaaaaak.(bom bom bom, bom bom bom)
Hm.
Hmmmm.
Well, well...
“Dashie x Everything but the kitchen sink”, I guess.
7041131 (this comment chain is confusing because it is composed of two-ish threads.)
Yay, semi-conflictory fact checking!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Aurora_Borealis_and_Australis_Poster.jpg
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Aurora_australis_panorama.jpg
Alright, but auroras. As it turns out the color depends on atmospheric composition, and heavier elements make longer (redder) colors. You actually see red in real auroras here on Earth, including towards the horizon which would probably be where Rainbow was looking towards. Though, let's be honest, it's probably just magic.
I mean seriously though, if you think about it, shouldn't the magnetic poles of the plane be located around at the ends or the middle, kind of like a bar magnet? Wouldn't that mean the auroras would show up over Equestria or the far edges only? Is it rotated in a weird direction, or projecting along the long edges*? Actually, you know what, what even is the sun for this plane? If it's a big ball of plasma, how does Luna move it? Does she move the plane itself? Is there some kind of machine world mechanism that moves it? It the plane spinning? How do the sun and moon survive in the ethereal chaos that is Austreaoh-space? Are the the sun and moon the same object? What about those giant floating Sentinels like Stratopolis; how do they work?
Definitely magic.
HOOOOOO, GET OUT OF YOUR CLOSET ALREADY! Why does this always have to take so long? GAHHHHH!
(I just want more Rainbow ships)
(This is my sauce, and I found this video both humorous and informative on this subject.)
*I actually really like the idea that the plane's North and South poles are actually more North and South lines along the north and south edges of the plane. It'd be kind of like a magnetic hot-dog shape.
Definitely worse stuff than the Smooze is waiting for us, I guarantee it.