Waves crashed, spraying mist high in the thunderous air.
Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth as she tightly gripped the hull of the Stardust near the bow. Before her, the eastern horizon bobbed up and down—and the ever-nearing flicker of Yaerfaerda danced along with it.
Kepler held his claws to the rudder wheel. Squinting beyond the peripheral of his glasses, the wyvern spotted the escort of six midnighter craft cruising alongside the Herald on both the port and starboard sides. The Bleakweed vessels rippled just beneath the surface with a luminescent silver glow, slicing through the wake left by the Stardust's engines.
Together, the seven ships pierced the choppy waves, leaving Bleak's Plummet far behind until it was a distant haze in the west. Leathery bodies glided overhead; Nightblood warriors covered the skies, forming flitting silhouettes against the starlight and sporadic flashes of lightning. Enix flew at the head of the group, shrieking commands to the various squads in Moonwhinny as they scanned the horizon.
"It's... grnnngh..." Pinkie shook all over, phasing through the bobbing hull of the Stardust. "It's g-getting cr-crazier!"
"I think this is what we can expect the closer we get to the very edge!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "If it's this bad so close to the Seed—only Celestia knows how rough the final horizon is!"
Rainbow was too busy staring into the skies—at the bubbling black clouds that rippled westward, drew up into gigantic porous anvils, and collapsed once again before settling in necrotic sheets. "First thing's first," she muttered—nearly slipping as the Stardust shook again. She was sprayed with seawater—but simply shook the moisture out of her short mane. "Flynn!" She called out over her shoulder. "How's she holding up?!"
"Brotherr!" Kepler echoed Rainbow's voice. He leaned forward, shouting down towards the lower deck from where he was perched. "The Austrraeoh beckons!"
A nasty roll of thunder deafened the scene. At last, the unicorn in question poked his head out—squinting his natural eye into the mist. "The engines are purring like a kitten! But I don't know for how long!" He pointed into the cabin. "If we keep going at this speed, we're likely to burn out! I dunno about you, but I want to make it to the Sixth Seed in one piece!"
"Time's not really on our side anymore!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I only have about twenty hours tops before I lose communication with Princess Luna! I wanna find out what's at the last flame before we split ways!"
"Well, okay then!" Flynn exhaled with a huff. "And if the manacrystals implode, you want Wildcard and Bard to go out and push?!"
"If it comes to that," Rainbow said, facing east again. "Or else I'll hitch a ride on one of the midnighter ships."
Swoooosh! Enix touched down beside the mare. "That may not be possible, Blood of Luna."
Rainbow glanced at her. "Wow, you've got good hearing."
"Could she care to elaborate?" Rarity remarked.
Rainbow cleared her throat, facing Enix directly. "What's the problem?"
"My brothers and sisters have learned a very long time ago to avoid the maelstrom that circles the S'yllpa yln H'symmlym."
"The Slippy and what—now?"
Enix took a deep breath, timing her explanation between rumbles of thunder. "The closest translation is 'Waters of Forever Sinking.'" Enix turned to face east. "The pull of the maelstrom is dangerous beyond compare. Even in our expertly crafted submersibles, we've fallen pray to the currents. I've... had to mourn many a noble warrior who've been lost forever to the depths due to having cruised too close to the golden structure."
Twilight and Rarity blinked.
"So there is a piece of the Machine World there!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"It is indeed some metal construct," Enix said. "We always assumed the ponies of the frost queen built it ages ago—perhaps as a magical means of wreaking control over the edgewaters."
"And since then..." Rainbow cocked her head aside, struggling to stay upright amidst the rocking. "You've never bothered to get close? Or even investigate it?"
"No living thing that ever crosses the S'yllpa yln H'symmlym comes back alive," Enix said. "At least not by water." She gestured towards the thundering heavens. "When our ancient siblings of the Dark Vigil crossed over, they knew ahead of time that it would be a singular, fateful journey."
"And... your fellow bros and sisters won't go near it?"
"I'm afraid not, Blood of Luna."
"But..." Rainbow gestured at the Bleakweed vessels cruising alongside them. "You've agreed to escort us to the Sixth Seed."
"There will come a point of no return," Enix declared. "For your fellow pilgrims' sake, I suggest you lay anchor the very moment our ships cease their eastward motion. By then, you will easily make eye contact with the construct." She took a breath as thunder rolled. "I am entrusted by Xarchellus to assist the Blood of Luna in her current endeavors, even as the Maria Matriarch mulls the wisdom given us by Princess Luna." She held a hoof over her scarred chest. "I will personally commandeer a winged envoy to follow you to the threshhold of your 'Sixth Seed.' While I will not needlessly risk the lives of all my siblings, my fellow Nightblood warriors and I are not afraid of the destination ahead."
"Thanks... that's really swell of you." Rainbow gulped. "But I'm sure my friends will be able to help me all the same once we get there."
"Are you certain of that?"
"Huh?"
Enix's slitted eyes narrowed. "You have evidently traveled many miles and crossed countless continents. But this... this juncture ahead of you..." She gestured towards the increasingly choppy waves. "Are you confident that even all of that experience will prepare you for the next step that needs being taken?"
"That's the thing about doing this whole awesome schtick, gal," Rainbow said. The boat rocked once again, and she clung to the bow as she and Enix were sprayed with seawater. "It's all about going beyond."
No, no, no, jeez...
Ya gotta say it right, Rainbow. It's all about going Utaan. Learn to title drop, girl.
And so, the Six Seeds begin and end with a maelstrom. Dancing on the head of a pin, are you, Dashie?
Expositional Chapter was expositional.
It's...it's gonna get kinda ugly soon, isn't it?
Well, since Verlax is gone, there probably won't be a giant iceberg blocking the flame or anything, so unless an ambush turns up right now, things are about to start going veeery fast.
7509857 Beyond sure has gotten said a lot recently. I'm not sure any of the other symbols had their meanings mentioned quite this often, especially before being revealed. Makes me suspicious, though I can't put my finger on why.
I'm not sure how Chandler and company are going to come into play. They're heading to Bleak's Plummet. Well, Dash and the gang have departed. I don't think the Sarosians are going to volunteer their destination, to put it mildly. And yet, they can't just vanish from the story either.
What are the odds that this maelstrom magically goes away once Dash reignites the sixth seed?
And there's no need for the boats to go right up to the tower, naturally, as Dash can fly the remaining distance. Heck, they may be close enough now that the fastest way to get there is for her to fly the remaining distance.
Almost time to see what the 6th seed will do.
Who's theories will be proven true, who's will be dashed to bits?
How many batpons will drown because of the tower sinking into the ocean like the first one?
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
7509916
Considering the color of this Seed, I'd wager the numerical probability of that outcome is chocolate milk.
We are finally coming to the home stretch on this one guys. I expect it is going to be one heck of a bumpy ending from here on out.
Waters Forever Sinking? What is it... sinking about?
7509884 7509916 7510017
I have a feeling that this ending is going up to defy all expectations...
There's the mystery about the Sixth Seed, the unresolved issue with Robhredden's religious fanaticism, the question of what will happen to the Sarosians, and Seraphimus' personal problems that all need to be resolved before we can cross over to the dark side! I don't think anyone has thought of a prediction yet that resolves all of these at once...
Even Pinkie can tell that all of this is can only end in the most spectacular unexpected way possible!
I'm getting a bit uncomfortable with this situation. The parallels to Lerris are just a tad too... there. I keep thinking Chandler's group will somehow slaughter Bleak's Plummet. They'd need a lot of firepower for that, and I don't see how logically they could get it outside of massive plot-fu. I mean, the sarosians have been this big threat to Rohbredden for awhile, one that their military hasn't been able to remove since forever, basically, so it'd take some kind of impossibly ludicrous plot deviceing to make it so Chandler's band actually posed some kind of threat to them.
Yet they'd have to be a threat to Bleak's Plummet in order to go there, wreak face, somehow gain knowledge of where Dash went, and catch her at the Sixth Seed.
Logically I see a few things possible;
One - Chanlder and Co. get their flanks handed to them by the sarosians, but Seraphimus escapes, manages to pry info out of a captured bat where Dash went, and pursues alone, later on with Keris convincing the bat ponies he really wants to help Dash and let him go to chase after Seraphimus.
Two - Chandler and Co. avoid direct conflict with the sarosians and instead use the Talon as a stealth force to capture a few bat ponies in a skirmish to learn where the Sixth Seed is without actually attacking Bleak's Plummet directly.
Three - Chandler and Co. somehow magically produce themselves a fleet of warships capable of smashing Bleak's Plummet and they get info on the Sixth Seed from any survivors and then give chase to Dash.
Four - Chandler and Co. fight the saroisians but without much success, but the fight pulls in some windiegos to seriously complicate matters, leading to either both groups being fractured with a few key players chasing Dash, or, wonder of wonders, the two groups actually fighting together against the windiegos and discovering that as a unified force they can defeat their mutual foes and bring a new era of peace and prosperity back to Rohbredden! ... What? It could happen.
There are so many variables and unknowns here that I'm at a loss to predict what'll happen. Between what the last seed will do, what kind of trials Rainbow will have to go through to unlock it, when Chandler & Co will show up, just how badly that will go and who will survive it, and the looming edge of the world, there's a thousand ways it can go. And as much as I hate to say it, my gut tells me it's not gonna be pretty.
I wonder if this seed somehow regulates the flow of water over to the dark side.
Everybody's betting on Chandler destroying the sarosians but I'm starting to think it may end up being Dash. Rewarding the sarosians loyalty with disloyalty and fulfilling Verlax's scheme.
IC is going to do what IC does best: defy expectations. That's why I'm gonna let my predictions flit into the breeze and just brace myself for the ride! Whoop! #atollife #Nealand4ever #totallyshaved #meltsinyourmouthnotinyourhand
7510035 What you did there? That thing? That thing you did? That thing there? I see it. And it makes me want to reread the Hitchguide trilogy.
I don't think Chandler could defeat the batponies normally, but now that a large number is escorting Rainbow, who knows?
The Robhredden Guards are definitely going towards Bleak's Plummet. That is the last place Luna's enchantment light up the sky, and I have no doubt that it shone out through the night like a lighthouse guiding the Robhredden to that location.
Though the Robhredden's don't want the Batponies, they want Dash.
---
I feel like this is that dialogue you get in games right before you fight the final boss. You know the one that basically says, "Are you sure you want to do this? Then you better save now! Cause once you press on, there is no going back!"
i.ytimg.com/vi/253l5aD0L8Q/maxresdefault.jpg
7510342 You know I just realized, your avatar picture looks surprising a lot like Reaper does.
Nevlamas the original Reaper?
Do you go through guns like bacon at a buffet?
That's some smexy imagery right there. F'naaaaaaa
7510116 7510237 You can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest- it's the honest ones you want to watch out for.
I sure am looking forward to the defying of expectations. ):('s history of pulling a 720 at the end of books is the one thing giving me hope that this might not end in a total bloodbath.
So far, the record on major RD/Verlax encounters is 0-2, with round three coming up. There isn't going to be a round four. Common sense says even if you go 1-2, you lose, and narrative logic says one loss of that scale is enough if the hero's going to win in the end; stringing multiples together just extends the story without changing anything. There's either no way for Dash to win, no reason for her to win, or both, and looking at the comments over the last 50 chapters, everyone believes it, too.
Now, it's not like it would be impossible for RD to win awesomely here, if ):( wanted it to happen. RD may be being chased by the biggest, most unstoppable threat Verlax could make, but that army, if won over, could also be one last ticket to Rohbredden harmony- think Ledo-Xona and the prisoners of Stratopolis. As Shellish as Seraphimus currently is, she still has one thing he did not: friends. Never underestimate those, especially not in this verse.
...Yeah, that's really optimistic. But things much better than this have happened before, and it would be a very dreary next four books if they couldn't happen again.
Two last things. First, whatever happens here, it'll be Verlax's last dance. She's dead and about to be gone, and if she's going to "get what she deserves", this is the last chance for it to happen, for her plans to fall apart and be proven wrong. Does the story have anything to gain from proving Verlax wrong? Right? In the end, it's Rainbow's story, not hers.
Second, for all the M6 beacons Dash has been to, Ynanhluutr had her blue circle already lit up... And Yaerfaerda lead her to one beacon before any of the M6 ones. That beacon was back in Amulek, and reaching it involved Roarke ignoring RD's dying wish to go to Val Roa and chase Yaerfaerda instead. That sounds kinda disloyal, if you ask me. What if the element-themed tests around the last few beacons actually are "destined", and Verlax is trying to enforce them... But is wrong about which ones are which? Make of that what you will.
There's no way Chandler's party can catch up, right? rainbows almost at the next seed and "beyond" as she put it, are the 2 groups going to end up clashing on the other side?!
Hopefully the Chaos Field will be further away from the Edge, and the 6th Seed, than what it was from teh 1st Seed, and the Blight.
7510357 Nah, I'm just your average, regular, everyday plague doctor!
AND THIS IS TO GO EVEN FURTHER BEYOND
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT???
7510375
Huh, I remembered that Yaerfaerda had lead her to the tower near Amulek, but I didn't realize that it had the Ynanhluutr symbol there as well. You make a good point about Roarke ignoring RD's dying wish, too; that may very well have been the real test of loyalty. The only thing I'm certain of at this point is that I keep getting less certain of things the closer we get to the final seed.
We are nearing the long forgotten light at the end of the world.
Sounds like a maelstrom is what awaits at the sixth seed. Odds are that the air above said maelstrom is also pretty turbulent, but nothing that Rainbow can't handle. But what is this doozy that Pinkie is worried about, hopefully nothing bad, Rainbow has had enough go wrong already.
Giant Whirlpool?
Sounds like Charbrydis. Which makes me wonder if Seraphimus is Scylla.
7510173
Me too, buddy.
7510237
No kidding. I've long since stopped trying to predict what will happen, and just go along with the ride.
7510359
Isn't it though? I feel like I could just sit and watch these clouds, listening to the constant thunder.
7510375 Nealand would have been a major event if the Nealanders weren't... you know... Nealanders. The end of the Blight is debatable really, it really depends on how future events play out. Shoggoth's tomb raiding would have been a major event if it wasn't for legal loopholes.
Not entirely machine world, I am thinking, Rainbow. Sounds like the place the alicorns chilled at back when whitemane was merely a foal.
7510561 you mean this one?
Good song. I'd nearly forgotten it.
There's a picture somewhere about of an airship captain zebra exploring similar terrain, but I'm on my tablet right now and can't find it.
Well, once more unto the Breach!
7510626 humming a song from 1962?
7510341 ah, good point. Now I'm sad.
I'm just gonna sit back and cautiously wait for something bad to happen since things are going way too well at the moment. Also IC, I think there is a slight formatting error. The chapter title is really tiny.
7510551 Hrm, I don't really remember the Amulek door having Ynan- the presence of Yaerfaerda was the main thing drawing the connection for me. ...Now I want to go back and look at all the beacons and check out the circumstances surrounding them. For science!
-Windthrow: She sees a flashback to Discord's Maze, when she flew away. The flame is also quite far from either of the doors; it's not just a tower like the others. RD is knocked out for around 3 hours by getting the flame.
-Darkstine: She talks with "Whitemane". This section of the machine world has art depicting the Alicorns arriving (which is inconsistent with current lore, but ):( has retconned Austraeoh before). This obelisk also doesn't raise on its own, she has to pull a bunch of levers and stuff first.
-Blue Shelf: Whitemane again, who indicates this conversation and the last are because of the spell she put on the Pendant. OASIS is able to open this door, after some meddling from Shell. The conversation takes no time at all; RD is able to get the flame while fighting Shell. More lever pulling to raise the obelisk.
-Blue Nova (Belle sequencing with the flame): Xonan foals, who talk about the structure of the world. Notably, they refer to Nightshade's beacon as "a false spark", terminology that turns up again from Mortuana in Utaan as the reason Urohringr was sundered.
-Seclorum's fort: RD has a vision of the proto-Pegasi sundering Urohringr when Nightshade's false spark is placed on the pedestal, but nothing when she takes it back. Immediately before the vision:
-Amulek: The machine world door has lots of symbols, including Urohringr, Austraeoh and Eljunbyro. This is the first time RD talks to the cosmic voice from the Ynanhluutr beacons. Like with the beacon in Odrsjot, RD lights this one, rather than taking its flame. Also, RD sees "thousands" of rings just like Urohringr, which is at odds with Mortuana's explanation of how the world was structured. She also has her vision when she "dies" and the flame from the Innavedr book goes out. I wonder if it was acting like a portable 1-up?
-First Seed: This section of the Machine World has no door; it's exposed to the world. Again, RD receives her vision before touching the beacon- the same voice from Amulek's beacon, disguised as Whitemane. A notable line:
None of the seeds beyond that are particularly interesting. Mostly just cosmic scenery and a disembodied voice that says very little. Though I imagine that's about to change...
7510697 None of the first three involved RD needing to hurt anyone (who didn't really have it coming) just to further her journey. Verlax's involvement in them was also all passive; she just set stuff up in advance, rather than actually reacting to RD. That's what I'm going by, at least. Nothing important happened, and Verlax wasn't playing for keeps yet.
Careful there Dashie, You wouldn't want to stare into the abyss, now would you? You might just see something staring back. The question is will it be her...or Discord...Lets see what's really in that 6th seed, eh?
images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/38900000/MLP-Fanart-Rainbow-Dash-and-Discord-Plotting-discord-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-38964248-618-487.png
7511618 The Nealand incident had her take away something important at the time to the Nealanders, as well as lie to them and impose upon them. The Shoggoth incident involved defiling sacred grounds. I am not saying that they are major, but that they could have been. Rainbow got lucky.
Verlax's involvement in Shoggoth was direct and yet her involvement in the Quade was merely as an observer, so that is hardly a judge of the matter.
7511947 Eh, fair enough. As I see it, the first three seeds were a warm-up. Verlax had RD do things Dash didn't feel were "bad", but were still disharmonius, pushing her closer to the line before making her cross it with the next two. Even though the first three could have gone much worse, they didn't need to for Verlax to accomplish her goals. Both she and Dash came out with what they wanted, which can't be said of the last two.
Well, technically the sarosians who crossed also know how rough it was, and so does Chrysalis, other alicorns...
7512390 Eh. I still think that Nealand as Verlax planned it was not meant to turn out as well as it did. Anyone else but the Nealanders would have thrown her off the island about 1/4 of the way through that story arc.
"The Waters of Forever Sinking"...
That's a hell of a name. I like it.
7511618
Oh, maybe it wasn't there after all. I was dosed up on pain meds when I replied before, so I probably just got that last bit of your comment jumbled up when I read it. Good job with the tower recap, btw, it's nice to have a refresher on those.
Looks like the 6th seed is going to be the 12th tower in Rainbow's journey. How fitting.
Well... I've finally caught up... Now what do I do with my life?
Foreshadowing... or hype building?
And just when the majority of the sarosians stop protecting Dash, that's exactly when Chandler and Co. will happen to strike. Here's hoping that the maelstrom will give Chandler's army some problems.
7510173
One and three are the most likely, I'd say. The Sarosians have harbored and will probably try to protector her. That makes them enemies of Chandler at best, corrupted heretics like Kepler's people was declared at worse. Two is the smartest option, but an army of bloodthirsty fools don't seem like the type to take the smartest option. If this does happen, I'd predict it would only be because of Keris being the voice of reason.
7513529
Start catching up on another daily fic, perhaps something like Appledashery ?
7512525 Anyone besides the Nealanders probably would have been even more grateful to have the local sea monster and giant whirlpool removed. Keep in mind that Verlax had been engineering Rohbredden's society for the past thousand years, entire cultures don't just happen to be the way they are.
7513177 Oops, I probably should have been more specific- there's no machine world in Blue Nova, Nightshade brought the flame there. Since the flame gave Belle a vision there (and an interesting one, at that) I figured it was worth including. However, at this point I'd be pretty surprised if there wasn't a beacon inside the Canterlot Mountains, so the symbolism might still hold.
7513529 Welcome aboard the Jury! If you're feeling Rainbow Dash binging withdrawal, you can always check out Austraeoh's bizarre, angsty little sister, Appledashery. Edit: derp, I've been beaten to it. Have a.
7509911
We have a wiki, but as best I remember :
Austraeoh : East Horse
Eljunbryo: Endurance's rebirth
Innavedr: a symbol of the plain
Ordrsjot: Frantic Companionship
Urohringr: a symbol of the Ring(?)
Yaerfaerda: Foal Yesterday (rebirth?)
Ynanluutr: Inner Purpose
Utaan: Beyond
7513529
Dedicate your life to the archival effort of all My Little Pony fanfictions for the coming World War, of course! Or just find another story to read. It'll take less time.
Welp . . . here we go. The last seed. The climactic finale to all of this . . . to this journey that has been the last two books. She's found her inner purpose, and now it's time to move BEYOND the edge.
This could also be an elaborate metaphor for her finally going full crazy, soooooooo we might expect something intense on the other side.