The first of many Dihmers reached the top of a hill. His dull gray eyes peered towards Omega... then Alpha. At last—shifting the weight of the bloody meat sacks wrapped to his flank—he trotted briskly over the stone ridge and headed for a flat swath of land leading Curveside.
"It is empty."
"It is empty," repeated the second in line. "It returns."
"It is empty," said the third in line. "It returns."
"It returns."
As the line of locals continued their mantra...
...the Herald struggled to catch up. They moved as briskly as they could, although their bodies were carrying three times the weight of any single Dihmer.
"Do you... suppose..." Ariel panted and wheezed, her surly eyes locked on the featureless figures of the equines hiking ahead of them. "...that one of them thinks for the rest of them? Like... a hive mind or some sh-shit...?"
"You mean like changelings?" Logan grunted. "Considering who brought them over here, seems to make sense."
"No no no, good frriend," Kepler breathed, pacing himself and sweating through his fur. "One simply cannot inherrit telepathic abilities! Evolution may indeed be converrgent, but it is not contagious!"
"Well I wish they'd evolve some manners," Ariel grunted, fumbling and struggling over the rocky shoals blocking the passage uphill. "Mrmffff... would it k-kill them to stop every once in a while and strike up conversation?"
Seraphimus strolled along without breaking a sweat. "Considering whom they're used to interacting with, I'd say yes. It would."
Ariel rolled her eyes. "Speaking of those you don't want to have conversations with..."
"We would do well to learn all we can from them," Seraphimus said. "If we wish to survive—it is best to emulate those who have survived here for Goddess-knows how long."
"That's just the thing that bothers me," Flynn huffed, catching up with Logan from behind. He used his telekinesis to carry twice as much as the others. "I mean... sure... kudos to them for surviving this long. But if that is what comes out the other end of all their legacy... th-then I'm not certain it's worth it!"
Wildcard nodded, taking up the flank of the caravan.
"Do not put too much unnecessary thought into it," Seraphimus said. "Considering the trials that are ahead of you and your leader, I doubt survivability is something most of us can expect." She shrugged in mid-hike. "I sure don't."
Ariel laughed cynically.
Flynn squinted his one good eye at her. "If your view of the future is do damned hopeless, why not join the Dihmers?"
"Who knows." Seraphimus breathed. "Perhaps that is what I shall do."
Wildcard glanced her way.
"I'm not sure you'd gel with them, Sera," Logan said with a sweaty smirk. "Unless your angry ass enjoys being surrounded by a bunch of butt-naked horses hissing 'It fails! It fails!' on repeat!"
"Bra-HA!" Kepler laughed while Ariel giggled.
Seraphimus sighed. "... ... is it not enought that I've made a conscious effort to stop being adversarial? Is it not enough that I have endeavored to accompany you as long as I have? To have not simply... retired to the shadows of the spiders' forsaken city? Succumbed to utter despair with no plan to transcend myself?"
Logan smirked. "There's the real reason you can't live with them freakazoids, Sera. Stubborn bitch or not... deep down inside you is something worth recognizing. A self. Looks like you recognize that now."
"Soooooo..." Flynn's lips formed a crooked curve. "Looks like you're stuck with us."
Wildcard brandished a knowing smile.
Seraphimus' headcrest drooped as she quickened towards the front of the caravan so that the rest were behind her. "As least—around Dihmers—I would not get sick of their banal prattle."
"Awwwwwww..." Ariel broke a smile in spite of her sweat. "She loves us!"
"Most amorrous indeed..." Kepler added.
Behind all of this, Rainbow trotted with her packs full of supplies. She wasn't feeling particularly labored, and Wildcard constantly glanced back to check on her. But, for what it was worth, Rainbow simply wanted to be in a position where she could spot the entirety of her group at any time.
In the meantime, her anchored companions were talking:
"I wonder..." Applejack tapped her chin in thought. "...was them Noble Jury friends of Rainbow quite so... keen on complainin' like the Herald are?"
Twilight looked over. "Rainbow used to tell Rarity and me stories while we sailed the Seven Seas. I think the one who looked like me was famous for whining and moaning at times." Twilight squinted at their anchor. "What was his name again? Ebon Eye?"
"Applejack, darling, don't be so hard on Rainbow's bosom buddies!" Rarity chided. "After all, we've all been ghosts for a dreadfully long time. Just how would we manage if we suddenly had to experience heavy labor for the first time in years?!"
Applejack glared back at the fashionista. "I know for a fact that you've never done any hard labor in your life!"
"And I don't intend to do any in the after-life! But that's not the point!" Rarity fanned herself as she looked at the sweaty bodies. "Day in and day out they have to exert themselves so!"
"Day?" Pinkie's muzzle scrunched. "What day?!"
Fluttershy giggled.
Rarity rolled her eyes. "Notwithstanding..." She looked back at the others. "...it's easy for us to make snide comments about complaining when ponies like Rainbow and her friends have endured so many terrible hardships after all this time. I'd say we should go easy on them."
"Well... reckon so..." Applejack adjusted her hat. "...but Rainbow seems to do a decent job swallowin' it up! Why can't they learn from her?"
"Not everypony can be awesome like Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said with a wink. Cheeks rosy, she looked at their anchor. "Right, Rainbow?"
Rainbow shrugged in mid-step. When she spoke, her voice cracked with the strain: "I'm just glad."
"Glad for what?" Rarity fidgeted. "The awfully heavy load you're having to carry? The loss of that most esteemed wagon? The fact that the Bloodwings and their violent warriors could be pouncing on us at any second?"
Fluttershy whimpered slightly. Pinkie patted her on the shoulder.
"No. No. And Luna Poop, no!" Rainbow whispered. She managed a smile as she gazed at her friends from a distance. "I'm just glad they're all finding ways to keep going. What happened back there sucked super hard... and yet they're still goin' at it. They're a bunch of troopers... and I'm friggin' proud of them."
"Even if half of their strength comes from sassin' the murder-chicken?!" Pinkie asked.
Rainbow shrugged. "Most of the Jury got along by sassing Josho... or Zaid..." She sighed melodically. "...even Roarke."
Fluttershy nodded quietly.
Applejack looked at Rainbow with a sympathetic smile. "It's a cryin' shame we never did get to meet them Jury partners of yers. Seems like a swell bunch of ponyfolk."
"Yeah, well..." Rainbow shifted the weight of her things and trotted evenly uphill. "Most of you got to meet Nick... Sinrar... Theanim Mane..." She gulped. "...Bard." A firm breath. "Neither Belle nor Pilate nor Kera nor any of the others got to meet them... or Mortuana or the Herald for that matter." She smiled at her old friends. "But you did. And after we get the Harmonic Prism... and we make our way back to Equestria... you can carry the memories along with me."
Applejack nodded. "Guess that makes it a mite less heavy."
"Yeah," Rainbow breathed. "It does."
Applejack smiled.
"Now that I think about it..." Twilight Sparkle examined her lavender forelimbs. "...I wonder if we should be worried?"
"Worried?" Fluttershy looked at her. "What about?"
"Well... it's taken Rainbow over two years to get this far. It stands to reason it'll take just as long if not longer to get back home. So... by the time we've all gotten our bodies back... what kind of sheer atrophy might we have to deal with?"
"Oh please, Twilight..." Rarity rolled her eyes. "Why don't you tell us all about that."
"Glad you asked, Rarity! Here's my hypothesis..."
Rarity groaned while Pinkie Pie giggled.
PotaßIum.
:geb:
Glorious.
Perfect!
I just about died.
10/10 would zoop again.
Please and thank you.
An moving climax.
The perfect ending to the story. 100% amazing.
I see what you did there
Best random chapter since the Abridged version!
😄
Also, hehehe. Darrrrrrrrrrrling.
Sadly, not a boop in sight.
IT WAS BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT!
(That's what she said)
This was beautiful
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There was no boop, but there was a zoop!
Within the week, Rainbow Dash was safely concealed in a police safehouse, and I was dead.
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"I zooped her nose."
Hmm... Yeah, I can see that!
I'll try it at Bronycon this year and see who gets it.
This is the kind of quality content I've been reading this story for.
This surpases every level of fuckery and I love it.
It truely is a treat, each and every year.
Love ya, Skirts.
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geb.exe has suffered an existential crisis and requires a factory reset.
What
It's been a long journey, but I'm glad I managed to stick with it to the end. With the series over, it makes me a bit sentimental, but truly there was no better way to end this!
OH BOY IT’S OVER
Dont worry, Im sure their excessive projectile velocity on reaching the Equestrian side of the plane, which given the distance to the Armoury could mean giving a Turtle a very suprising enema, will be easily mitigated by the interdiction of her lunaness, the sun.
What a fitting end to the story.
I CAME HERE ON FIMFICTION TODAY SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS!
;ohboy;
Kay.
Righteo, it's been a good ride everyone ;3
LORE IMPLICATIONS!?
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Also quick shout out to IC for being capable of writing pretty dark material such as the previous chapter and following that up with stuff like this. Loving it!
Me too, Fluttershy. Me too.
rainbow has succumbed to the pink.
she is now cadance.
RIP.
No you're not. You be quiet, yellow quiet.
I feel ya, Flutters.
"Draw me like one of your Searonese mares."
I have an odd need to explain to you, as one of those lamenting bronies, albeit rather calmed down, as to why I so bloody hate this ending.
To start this off, the ending just wasn't satisfying. I've heard other people describe the entire story as being a one shotter and that the only real chapter is the last one, and really, I have to agree with them. The last chapter is the only chapter that matters, no matter what else could have happened in the story, because in that short, 1 thousand word chapter, all of the previous 1500 chapters were rendered completely meaningless.
I do get where you're going however, I kinda have to agree that it's not about who she is, but rather what she did, which remains intact, but the thing that is different between the two of us, is that I'm rather more selfish. I wanted her to win, not Seraphimus, or any of the other ponies she helped. I built up this little part of myself over the course of this story, and it was teaching me that she will win at the end, as well as cheering for her the entire way.
Of course, that isn't the case, but it's not about that she didn't win, but how she didn't win that makes me hate this ending. At the end of the chapter 225, I knew she was going to lose, in fact, I couldn't see it any other way, but that also makes chapter 226 almost unnecessary, and because it's unnecessary, it's the only truly necessary chapter (yes that makes no sense). All it did was make me, really, really mad. It didn't end well, in any use of that statement, I hated how IC ended the story, I hate that the story ended, I hate the ending itself, and more importantly, I hate the fact that this over 2,000,000 word masterpiece, nothing was accomplished, and all remained lost.
I still love SS&E, my outburst when I first finished the story was way too anger driven, but in my opinion, definitely not an exaggeration. I really do hate this ending, even that part of me that knows it couldn't have ended well hates it, it's just poorly done. It feels forced, all this time the story seemed so optimistic, but at the very end... nothing. Lyra ends up as nothing, and so does this story.
You probably won't agree with me on this, in fact, I know you won't, but don't you dare say you feel ashamed about us 'lamenting bronies' before you learn everything there is to know. People have different opinions on things, get used to it. Some of us will love the ending, and I won't blame them, and others like me will hate it, even if for completely different reasons.
I still love this story, at least the first seven books of it, but that ending will forever be that anchor that pulls it down on me. Nothing anyone can say will change that.
Thanks for you time.
I try leaving this browser tab open until next year
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Is there any Skirts fic that Lyra is safe in?
It's been a good run.
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Uh, "How to Disappear"?
I'm too old for this shit.
Ok to comment on the non-Apil Fools chapter now. More mention of the Jury is nice! I will always love it when they are brought up again. I'm glad that Rainbow loves the Heralds complaining. It's really nice way to look at the situation.
Seraphimus is best Vegeta
More Noble Jury mentions. And to think a few months ago I was reading the last chapters of Yaerfaerda. Aah the memories.
Actually AJ, if you saw Rarity singing Art of the Dress, you'd have seen her levitate her entire shopfront, alone. That's no easy feat I'd imagine, the mental strain from lifting all those objects and not only holding them steady, but rotating them in concentric rings and opposite directions would leave most unicorns exhausted just from the sheer processing power alone, and she did it without any sign of exertion, meaning she'd need to have quite the magical muscle.
Rarity's labour may not be as physically intensive as yours, AJ, but it would still require years of heavy lifting and mental strain to get as magic as strong and precise as hers.
Also, you saw Twilight straining to not only change the direction of the wind, levitate a building sized bear cub made of stardust, and move a water tower full of milk through town, all at once. Again, the sheer mental strain that would have put on her to concentrate on all those elements at once, and the physical toll draining that much magic from her reserves would take is pretty impressive, the fact she was able to cast the moustache spell afterwards is amazing, and she would have needed at least a full days rest to recover from that much exertion, so just because their magic makes things easier on them physically, does not mean they don't work hard.
*rant rant*
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
Rainbow dashes theme song anyone?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpJGGQHSqc
Heeeee.
This reminds me of how different RD is here in comparison to the show. She's not OOC by any means, but her experiences in this journey have certainly smoothed out her edges.
Applejack's neck-snapping/eye-brow raising/glaring reactions are what I live for.
Pinkie's small humor is appreciated too.
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The term "hard labor" is a little more uh...descriptive. It's extensive grunt work. Heavy manual labor. Think jobs like construction, or mining, or of course, farm work.
Not to say it probably didn't take time and practice for her to utilize her magical abilities as such, but I wouldn't consider Rarity moving the props and materials around in her studio for a few moments each time to be hard labor. It wouldn't be an accurate label for it.