“And just like that? He went off to Mudtop?”
“He came. Dropped off the monster. Then left us.”
“Verlaxion's Sleet! What is Skagra even thinking?”
“I don't know. But so long as that Rainbow Rogue is on board, I'm locking my doors. I don't care what hour nibbles are being served. I don't want to risk dying and my foals becoming seafoam filth.”
“You and me both, sister.”
“Did you even see the beast?”
“Pffft. Barely. Saxon and the rest were all over it. I couldn't even catch a glimpse during the whole march to the brig.”
“They're keeping that thing in the Southern Struts?”
“Yeah! And it took at least two dozen dredgers with shark prods to hold it at bay!”
“Hah! They were lucky! I heard the monster took out a third of Monket's crew! Left them bleeding and lame all across his deck!”
“Your point?”
“Point is... if that thing wanted to attack Skagra's dudes, it would have torn them to bits within seconds!”
“Oh, terrific. And now Skagra's got it locked up in our hold.”
“I know, right?”
“The second I hear the hulls cracking, I'm jumping overboard! Muck be damned!”
“Hahaha!”
“What are they even feeding that thing?”
“Fish. Rice. The usual.”
“To a monster like that?”
“That's what I overhead Dredger Nixkit say.”
“Pffft. If they were smart, they'd chop up some of the slaves from Monket's ship and toss it down into the Southern Strut's hold!”
“Heh... that would put them to good use.”
“Seriously, though. What's the creature even doing here? Don't we have enough problems as it is with the harvest?”
“Hrmmff... the way I figure, Skagra thinks he can make some bits off of this. Give Red Barge a long-lasting edge over White and South.”
“Yeesh. Things have definitely changed ever since the Syndicate fell under. You think he's aiming to become the new Northern Hoof?”
“Hah! More like Muck Hoof!”
“Boy, that'll catch on.”
Swab could not stop sweating.
He huddled, scrunched up in a claustrophobic crawlspace lined with rusted metal. A lantern lingered at his side, illuminating rising curtains of steam from the webbed grates below.
With gnashing teeth, he fought and struggled to twist a series of stubborn valves directly in front of his dripping muzzle.
“Grnnngkkkt... mrfrnnnghht!”
His tiny hooves gripped a rusted wrench. It took much effort and strain, but he was finally... finally able to twist a dial. A fine trickle of sediment fell loose, and now the thing turned with an audible squeak.
He exhaled, wiping his brow. Then, placing his wrench down, he fumbled around until he grabbed a canister of oil. With help from a rag, he squirted the oil into the joints of the valve and rubbed it smoothly around the circumference. He tried turning it again, and it spun smoothly.
His work was done.
The little colt dumped his items into a work bag, flung it around his neck, then gripped the lantern with his teeth. He wormed down the length of the narrow, metal crawlspace, wincing from the scalding heat of the metal along the way. It was a torturous, ten minute shimmy, but at last he reached the very end of the steam-filled corridor. Standing up, he twirled a valve, then opened a trap door into blisteringly bright sunlight.
The humid air of the seven seas was like an ice-cold kiss to the colt's muzzle. He crawled out of the hole, then rolled sideways across the western strut's upper deck. Lying there in limp silence, he breathed in and out, reveling in the coolness that the surface world brought. All around him, an array of brass pipework lingered, hissing steam at the various joints.
At last, after five limp minutes of listening to seagulls cry and engine rudders churn, Swab sat up. He reached over, slapped the steamy trap door shut, then locked it in place with a twist of the valve. He extinguished the lantern, slung it over his scarred flank along with the work bag, and stood up on wobbly limbs.
Several minutes and two struts later, Swab's trot came to a nervous crawl.
He blinked, squinting ahead.
Just in front of him in the setting sunlight, several orphan fillies and colts were spreading apart, trotting away from where the guard Saxon stood, hoofing out bags of plain white rice. Swab watched as he gave away the last bag, then started packing up his cart of supplies.
Swab's muzzle hung open. He shivered. Hard.
Swallowing a lump down his throat, Swab trotted forward... then galloped. “Hey... h-hey! Wait!” He scuffled to a stop in front of Saxon. “I'm here! I'm here for my nibbles!”
“No you're not,” Saxon slurred. He hummed to himself as he packed his things up. “Now, if you were here ten minutes ago when I called everypony—”
“But it's not even sundown!” Swab stammered. His eyes feverishly crawled all over Saxon's cart of empty containers. “Digiff doesn't hoof out nibbles for another two hours—”
“Yeah, well, Digiff is busy guarding the Rainbow Rogue!” Saxon spat. “Which should be my job, but nooooooooo. Skagra had to give it to a dredger! What... am I not snazzy enough?” His nostrils fumed as he piled more empty things into his cart, muttering to himself. “I mean, I know I crawled out of the seafoam hold only two years ago, but come on!”
“But... b-but...” Swab gulped, shifting from side to side. “I-I grabbed trinkets last night! I-I was promised nibbles!”
“And just where were you when the call went out, huh?”
“I... I-I...” Swab stifled a whimper, his head hanging down. “... … …I was fixing a rusted valve in the western engine compartments...”
“Hah! What rotten luck, huh?” Saxon chuckled, his yellow'd teeth showing. “Boy am I glad I became a guard, not a dredger! I'll live longer! Haha!”
“But... but...”
“Try again next time, kid.” Saxon shuffled off, shoving the cart along with him. “We've all been there. Heheheh...”
Swab stretched a hoof out... but let it fall. He sighed, his bag slumping behind him as he stood in abject silence.
The quiet didn't last long. A series of chuckles bled into the red air, followed by the stalking bodies of Whony and several other colts. They cradled their bags of rice, making a purposeful show of eating it in close proximity to the one-eared foal.
“Awwwwww... what's the matter, Swab?”
“Gonna cry to your parents, sea foam?”
“Heheh... yeah! Cuz they're way out in the ocean, right? On some neverending scouting trip?”
“Pffft... gimme a break...”
“Better start swimming!” Whony said, trotting up and leering down at Swab. “Assuming... of course... you've got the muscles for it still!”
“Hahaha!”
Swab closed his eyes. He exhaled.
“Hey...” Whony's stupid grin morphed into a brief frown. “Laugh!” He shoved Swab's shoulder. “Come on! Chuckle! I told a joke, ya shitty sack of sorry!”
“… … …” Swab's eyes opened. He stared up at Whony... past him. “Some of us have to work for our nibbles, Whony.” He readjusted his bag and shuffled ahead. “Not everypony can enjoy the scraps from Quint's table.”
Whony blinked.
As for the colts behind him: “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
“Oooohooohoooo!”
“Seafoam's got froth of his own!” Another colt nudged Whony's shoulder. “You gonna sit there and bloat, ya mucker?”
“Hahaha! Drowning in his own muck! Look at him!”
Whony said nothing. His jaw clenched as he glared at Swab from afar.
Swab stumbled more than once on his way into the orphans' hold.
His vision was strained, fading. A day's worth of labor and steam had taken its toll on him.
His stomach had gone past the point of grumbling. Now it tore his insides into savage knots, and it hurt just to stand upright.
Nevertheless, with persistent steps, the colt made his way for the mattress that waited for him in the far corner of the below-deck compartment.
In the light of burning oil drums, he spotted several foals all huddled around, nibbling ravenously on their meals of rice... gobbling up each kernel before other children could touch them.
Quint's table was abuzz with voices, all murmuring in a frenzied hush:
“But if she takes that glowing jewel off her neck, then what?”
“She turns into a monster. Plain and simple.”
“Who do you think she'll attack first?”
“Pffft. Isn't it obvious? Us!”
“Why us?”
“We're smaller and easier to catch, muck-for-brains.”
“But there's hardly enough meat on us! I'd say she'll trap the dredgers Skagra's hired to watch over her, then take out the guards.”
“Or what if she went down into the harvest chambers? Plenty of muscle down there!”
“Pfft... for as long as it lasts.”
“I dunno. What do you think, Quint?”
Quint took a deep breath, folding his forelimbs where he sat. “... … … I don't think she's gonna be attacking anypony soon.”
“Huh?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Isn't it obvious?” Quint glanced sharply across the flickering barrelight. “She sliced and diced a bunch of ponies on Monket's ship. But none of them died. Why? 'Cuz the slaving bastard was quick to put that glowing ruby thingy back on her neck. So you know what that means...?”
“She hasn't fed.”
“Right. And a monster with no meal in its belly can't attack anypony to begin with. Even if it's to feed some more.”
“You... you think Skagra will be that stupid?”
“Our Top Dredger? Pffft. No way. But... he does seem to be working with stupid ponies as of late.”
“I heard he and Monket are trying to bag us some bits from a jerkbag in the mainland!”
“Yeah! The fat cat! What's his name... Chandler?”
“That's what Swab said.”
“I don't know. But one thing's for sure.” Quint glanced at the others. “All of the seven seas are banking on finding this Rainbow Rogue... and Skagra's got her. Far as we should know, he's ruling the entire ocean just by having her in the southern strut's brig.”
“Yeesh. Should we feel special?”
“I think we should feel like a target.”
“Say... where's Whony?”
“Who knows.”
“Pffft. More like who cares.”
“Snkkkt—hahahaha!”
“Heh heh heh...”
By this time, Swab had limped his way towards the far end of the room. He tripped once, teetering to the left. One of many fillies seated on a bunk shoved him back. “Excuse you,” she grunted while the others rolled their eyes.
Sitting on the far edge of the mattress, Croche squirmed. Her sunken eyes lifted up, drooping. She gazed after Swab and his shuffling hooves.
Fwoomp! With a slight grunt, Swab landed on his target. One trembling hoof after another, he crawled over his mattress until he lay in the middle of the thing. He rolled up, facing the ceiling, then clutched his belly. His eyes closed as he tried to shake up the sweat and trembles of the day.
That's when a small set of hooves shuffled up.
“Here...”
Swab's forehead tensed.
“Look...”
Swab's eyes squinted over. He looked to his side.
Croche stood next to the mattress. She held a tiny half-bag of rice in her outstretched hooves. “I... I only ate half of it.” She gulped. “I wouldn't have earned my nibbles from last night if it weren't for you.”
Swab blinked. His weak eyes fell on the bag. Holding his breath, he shuffled to the side, then reached his hoof out.
Suddenly, though, he lingered. His gaze fell on the bunk full of snickering fillies... murmuring to one another as they gawked at him. In the far distance, several colts laughed, and Swab could feel Quint's hard gaze.
With a sigh, Swab retracted his hoof. He leaned back into the center of his mattress. “Keep it.”
Croche blinked. “Huh?”
“You're the tiniest filly who can still walk. You need food in your belly more than I do,” Swab muttered, gazing back at the ceiling. “Keep it. Eat up every kernel before somepony else does.”
“Look, don't be stupid.” Croche frowned. “At this rate, you're only going to—”
“Did you hear me or didn't you?!” Swab suddenly snarled, his teeth showing.
Croche leaned back, her pale pink figure full of trembles.
“Keep it all to yourself and eat it!” Swab growled. “Don't begin to give stuff away or else...” Almost instantly, the hard edge in his voice faded. He sniffled, looking away. “...or else you'll end up like m-me.”
Croche bit her lip. She pensively hugged the remaining rice to herself.
Swab turned away from her, curling up on the mattress. Once he heard her hooves shuffling off, he closed his eyes before they could tear up. Hugging himself, he faced the darkness, waiting for the first of many torturous hours to pass.
“Swift Song...”
He was drowning.
How he could sense his own tears against the salty waves, the colt could never guess. But there was no time for anything but swimming.
Limbs thrashing, he fought and struggled against the brine.
A smog-filled sky lingered overhead. Red Barge was nowhere in sight.
“Swift Song... … ...”
“Mrmmff... Momma!” He sputtered as he wrestled against the tide. The waves rolled up and down. In the distance, he could spot the skiff. Two bodies stood against the starboard railing, searching in the wrong direction. “Pappa! I'm r-right here!” He bobbed up and down as he struggled to swim.
“Where are you, Swift Song? Our labors are over. Where did you go?”
“Don't... snkkkt... d-don't sail off! Please!” He panted and panted. As hard as he swam, he couldn't move from that one single spot in the ocean. “Don't set sail! I'm... I-I'm almost...”
“He's given up on us...” The boat turned about, its rudder flickering like a lamp at the dark end of a rusted corridor. “I should have known.”
“No! No! I'm right here!” Swab sobbed, legs kicking. “I j-just... can't swim fast enough! I didn't earn my nibbles! I didn't... didn't...”
The air turned cold. A gray overcast spread against the smog, showering flakes of snow all over the churning waters.
“... … ...I didn't accept her g-gift,” Swab stammered. “The rice... oh Verlaxion... oh Verlaxion please...”
The boat skimmed off, churning bright white seafoam.
“Please, Verlaxion... forgive me for my sins...” Swab whimpered, shaking his head. “Don't take them away from me because I didn't take the rice. Don't take—”
SWOOOOSH! The ocean exploded. A pair of red eyes burned at the crest of a wide, gaping maw. Leaving a wake of rainbow streams, an enormous beast surged straight for the boat. A burning jewel pulsed at its neck.
“No!” Swab hollered, eyes bulging. “Verlaxion! Don't! Please—!”
At last, his parents turned to look at him. He saw their smiles from miles away. The beady glint in their eyes.
The beast descended upon them, devouring both faces in a deluge of color and madness. A spectral tail lifted, then came crashing straight down. The resulting impact sent a wave of steam straight at Swab, full of pale corpses rolling through rice and oil.
When it reached Swab, it melted the meat right off his bones. He didn't know whether to scream or cry.
“Swift Song...”
“Swift Song...!”
“Swab!”
“Mmmfnnghhh!” He sat up, sweating bullets, eyes wide. “Gaaaugh!”
A colt jolted back, wincing. “Verlaxion's Sleet, Swab! What the Hell is wrong with you?”
Swab stared at the colt. It was one of Quint's buddies. “Who... what...” He gulped. “The monster...?”
“Look, stop rambling and get your worthless flank out of bed,” the colt said. “You wanna earn some nibbles or don't you?”
“N-nibbles?” Swab's one good ear flicked. Almost instantly, he was reacquainted with the painful knot in his belly. He clutched himself, shuddering. “But... h-how?”
“Digiff's pulling a nightshift. Another engine panel went bad in the west strut's crawlspaces. He's promised extra nibbles to the first ten ponies willing to go down there and give it some grease! That means us!” The colt scampered off, waving. “Come on! Hurry!”
“Wait... Wait!” Swab tried hopping out of bed. He fell on his chin. “Oooof!” Swallowing the pain, he hobbled limply after the colt. “But... b-but I thought Digiff was guarding the Rainbow Rogue—”
“Yeah, well, now he's not! Come! Come quick!”
“R-right! Sure thing!” Swab galloped as quickly as he could.
He rushed past the fillies' bunk. A “slumbering” Croche stirred slightly, then peeped one eye open. She glanced after the galloping pair, shuddered, then turned away from the torchlight.
Starlight peered through a break in the smoggy clouds overhead.
Swab panted and panted as he hopped over and ducked under various pipes and metal lattices. At last, the colt led him two struts deep into the western edge of Red Barge.
“Will you get a move on?!” the colt hissed, shimmying ahead.
“Wait! Not so fast!” Swab winced. The swift gallop only exacerbated his hunger pains, until a brand new numbness draped over him. “I mean it! If I lose you, I won't... I won't...”
“Here we are! Just like I promised!” the colt's voice whispered from ahead.
Swab cleared a final line of pipes. He shuffled to a stop, panting.
An empty deck stood before him in the pale starlight. There was no sign of Digiff.
“Wait...” Swab gulped, glancing left. “Where...?” He glanced right. “Where is—?”
“Rrrrrrgh!” Whony spun around from behind a metal bulkhead and slammed two hooves deep into Swab's empty gut.
“Oooomf!” Swab teared up, clutching his chest as he teetered over. Th-thwump!
Whony stood over him, seething.
The colt that led Swab there inched out of hiding, along with a half-dozen other orphans.
“Just like you always say, Whony.” The one colt grinned. “Head as dense as cotton.”
“Only thing worth naming him after.” Whony spat. He leaned in, then yanked Swab up by his one remaining ear.
“Ow ow ow owwwww...” Swab winced.
“'Scraps from Quint's table,' huh, seafoam?” Whony slammed Swab's face against the deck and snarled: “I'll give you scraps, ya plot nosing little smartass!” He kicked the colt several times in the flank, grunting. “Nopony. Makes. A fool. Of ME!”
“Gnnnghhhh...” Swab curled up, grimacing in pain. “Mmmmf... m-mommaaa...”
“Bloated!” Whony's voice rang in the grimy air. “All bloated, ya stupid idiot!” He grabbed the smaller colt by his scrawny little tail. “Just like you're going to be when I'm done with you!”
“Yeah, Whony!”
“You teach that little muckheap!”
“Wooo!”
“Come on, shitstain...” Whony spat, dragging Swab along. He grinned viciously into the filthy night. “...it's feeding time.”
Time to meet the "Rainbow Rogue" face to face.
So this is how Swift is going to be introduced to Rainbow, he is going to be "Fed to the Monster". Boy are these guys in for a surprise
Maybe now Swab is meeting RBD.
Though, there is probably a Keris chapter before that happens >_>
I hope Whony takes RD's pendant off (and fucking dies a horrible death like a dirty little failed abortion he is and gets his corpse teabagged and resurrected just so he could die again) and gets his ass kicked.
Oh, good.
And it's nice to know that Rainbow hasn't got any more corpses on her hooves. Just imagine the horror on the faces of those surrounding her when they took the pendant off, hehe. Props to whoever was quick thinking enough to get it back on before anything lethal happened.
Finally something to look forwards to.
inb4 Keris instead.
OH MY GOD FINALLY WE'RE GOING TO GET TO SEE RAINBOW UP CLOSE AGAIN
right after like two or three chapters of Keris, Seraphimus, and who knows who else doing whatever they need to do.
...god damn it.
I am sure Rainbow is very grateful for you volunteering to personally escort her rescuer to her, Whony. Just try not to get on her bad side... mmkay? Wouldn't want you to end up like all those poor saps back in Blue Shelf.
These kids are in for a surprise when they get there. This meeting is going to be fascinating, I wonder how Rainbow is going to react to what ponies think of her here, at this point I think it might be complete apathy really.
Well, Whony. You were right about one thing. It is feeding time. But it isn't Swab who's going to be the snack...
You tell him, Swift.
Wow, grudge much? Also, karma is gonna bite you right in the ass for trying to kill Swift, ya melon fudge.
I still really don't care for Swift Song, he's just so much of a chew toy that it all falls flat to me.
I dunno, I guess to me it just feels like we've had him pointed out to us and been told "pity him, feel sorry for him, hope for him."
The only reason he earns even a little of my pity is because of Whony and Quint and the other cockknocks who feel the need to be assholes to the others just so they don't feel bad about being stuck in the same situation and take joy in stripping it away from the others.
We don't know what Swift Song is like when he's happy, we don't know what he's like when he's neutral, we just know what he's like when he's miserable and angry.
I don't like seeing a character be introduced and not in someway enjoying their antics and contributions to the story, but I'm going to give him a chance to get better once Dash starts participating in this story.
I know I'm going to get downvoted because I'm a "heartless monster" for not feeling bad for Swift Song.
As far as my thoughts on this chapter go, Whony's plan is going to backfire somehow, Either Dash is going to use the opportunity to escape, they're going to just sit outside the cell waiting for Dash to eat Swift Song and get caught by the next guard, or they're going to toss him in and run, and Dash is going to coax their names out of Swift Song and tell the guard when they get back.
-In the end isolation, hunted by a nation. Utaan.
Luna dammit, Whony you psycho
Hmm. With a dream like that, Swab will most likely be surprised at what Rainbow is like, but still keep his distance.
lol Whony you fool Giving the person who doesn't like you private time with dangerous prisoner? Gee, there's no way this can end badly for Whony.
Let the hurricane free!
Let flow the winds of destruction!
Free the Rogue!
Let fly the Rainbow!
Gloria ad Austraeoh!
vilcheez: Sweet Verlaxion WHY...
And now. 18 chapters in, Will we finally truly see Rainbow Dash? Tune in Next Time to find out!
6575782
I can understand why you don't like him, even I think he's starting to be a bit too much of a chew toy at this point. However I have a feeling that it isn't so much for the audience; I think he's there to simply hammer home Dash's reaction to all this when she comes up soon. As I said before I think Dash is going to be extremely apathetic towards the whole situation and just give zero crap about what is going on with Swift Song.
6575838
Seems to me he's shaping up to be the Hope to Dash's Lightning.
6575845
That too for sure.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for.
...
Inb4 the next chapter is about Keris or Seraphimus or something.
Thing is, I can't even work up all that much anger at Whony or any of the other foals in Red Barge, because the place is so messed up, the environment so bloody toxic, its not like its a surprise they act like this. Place is basically a factory for making little sociopaths.
So, wonder if the colts will actually think its a good idea to try and take Dash's pendant off, or if they'll just toss Swab in there without remembering that.
Also interesting to learn that the slaves Dash cut up weren't actually killed. I mean, compare that to the pieces of folk that were all that was left from the experiment at Blue Shelf. Has Dash actually gained some level of control over her chaos form? Even just subconscious control?
Oh man, I can hardly even imagine what kind of shape Dash is in. She might not have the strength left in her to escape. She seem barely able to walk, let alone fight her way out. I guess we will see what fate befalls the Rainbow One.
dc509.4shared.com/img/BL_kYtsg/s7/13eee4459e8/Dis_gon_b_gud.gif
Enter "Rainbow Rouge" stage left
so....nobody has thought that MAYBE the "rouge" has a good reason for wearing the pendant, and that she isnt in control of her actions while transformed? i'm sure curses exist in the Quade...
6575929
6575923
Apologies if I seem like an ass but
*Rogue
Rouge is the French word for red.
and an anthromorphic bat in the Sonic games.
6575782 Downvoted you heartless monster
Oops, that's a upvote
6575951 That's it, no more commenting when I'm tired
"For the watch."
Glad to finally get a chance to talk with Rainbow again.
And now we return to the 1000 or less words chapters the previous stories had. Next one ends with Swab seeing a red glint in the dark of the container.
Well, Swab time to meet Dashie and get to experience what awesome is for a bit.
6575860
It almost sounds as though her chaos form has become a little listless in concurrence with her regular, compact form.
6575782
I suppose the question now is whether or not Dash is aloof enough to give fewer shits about their cruddy situation...
6575807
i.ytimg.com/vi/H0fT2IjaXJk/maxresdefault.jpg
Its getting to the point where Red Barge is going to suffer a suprise catastrophic loose engine plate failiure.
Theyre dead Dave, theyre all dead. Yes, even Peterson.
Due to Rainbow Dash's current mental state, she's probably going to (unintentionally) creep Swab out when she first talks to him.
Oh cool, this story is finally gonna be about Rainbow Dash!
...I mean, Swab is still there, but you can't win 'em all, eh?
6576162 6575860 Rainbow Dash is less Harmonic --> Chaos Dash is less chaotic?
6575748 Haha IC knows how to make us miss having RD back in the story.
I can't wait for Swab to meet the Rainbow Rogue and see her true colors.
Not really much I can say that hasn't already been examined or discussed already. I'm sure it won't be much longer before I can return to my GLORIOUS 6 page philisophical critiques.
6576325 I dunno. I mean unless they've "forgiven" her Dash won't be talking to ponies no one else sees. She might get all angry isolationist, but that's about it.
6576475
If only Swab didn't irritate me with his very existence. I've had enough of the "feel bad for this colt" and just want to move on to Dash and the personal issues (and likely mental psychosis) she's going through right now.
When we first met him, I thought he was going to turn into a Kera 2.0, the mischievous kid who tags along with Dash and has as much of a penchant for getting out of trouble as they do for finding it. Now he seems like the rejected alpha version of Kera 0.5, a punching bad we're supposed to feel sorry for.
It’s understandable to think that finally we might get to see Dash, once Swab gets thrown into her cell, but that’s not the case at all. In this book, the Austraeoh has a metaphysical “nothing to see here” spell on her that prevents those on the other side of the fourth wall from observing her. When Swab is in her presence, we will no longer be able to observe him directly either.
6575860
6576162
Austraeoh Fact Checker
Is the only evidence we have that rainbow dash loses control when she goes chaos mode that village before blue shelf? The destruction of which may have been from axan?
So I'm going be that dude.
IRL, a sizeable portion of my job consists of cleaning, operating, maintaining, and constructing valves.
A valve is a device used to Stop, Start, or Throttle flow through a piping system. It can also be used to make sure flow goes in one direction only (check valves).
This is a (rising-stem gate) valve.
cranecpe.com/images/dmImage/SourceImage/crane-iron-gate-materials-sketch-460.gif
This is a handwheel.
image.made-in-china.com/43f34j00eCVErmpBbYgj/Valve-Handwheels.jpg
Dials belong on valves, in the same way that tank treads belong on airplane landing gear: it's possible, but it hurts to think about.
Brass is one of the worst materials possible for use in steam piping. It has a low-ish melting point, and doest stand up well to heat or pressure. Carbon Steel is by far superior.
6575782 I'm not sure why telling anyone their names would matter. "Oh, so they beat you up and threw you in a cage with a monster to die? Well, why didn't you die, then? Am I supposed to care?"
I wonder if Rainbow and Swab will band together for a bit of mutual emotional healing or Dash will be leaving Red Barge in a towering inferno while Swab drifts out to sea on some debris?
I'm probably a hopeless optimist for even considering the first option with the way the story's been going lately.
6576507 What I mean is that she's currently morally numb, not really engaged with reality. Apathetic, listless, and disinterested in anything besides getting to Applejack. So Swab probably is going to wonder, Is this truly the pony who destroyed the Quade? That will lead him to helping her escape because he thinks that she's not the 'Rainbow Rogue', and Rainbow Dash will remain silent about his error. That is lying by omission, which is dishonesty.
6576370
What if rainbow eats swab? Then all is right in the world.
6576589
Well, there's also all the Blue Shelf residents that Shell locked in a room with Chaos Dash, which she proceeded to rip to tiny pieces, which I'm pretty sure she didn't do intentionally.
Then there was the time the Noble Jury fell on her face, nearly killing her, and I think Roarke took off the amulet so the chaos energy would regenerate Dash, then Dash went all berserk for a sec before Roarke could get the pendant back on.
Seems pretty clear she hasn't had any real concious control of he chaos form. I'm merely curious if one of the developments we'll see I Utaan is Dash gaining better control of her chaos, perhaps even learning to balance it out with her harmony to the point where it isn't killing her. Or at least to where she has some control over herself while in chaos form.
6576607 You know, I feel like I learned something today. Thanks for sharing!
Considering what was pointed out in the comments last chapter about Dash feeling that she 'hasn't been dangerous enough,' I believe that Swab, Keris, Seraphimus and Thunker Meat will be the protagonists of this story. Maybe, just maybe, Dash will be the main antagonist through Utaan.
Maaaaaaaaybe. The shifting wind that blows through Imploding's Colon has proven difficult to predict.
6575748
The next chapter: