Momentary Lapse Of Reason
When Rainbow Dash awoke the next morning, the lavender light was miles ahead of her. She caught up with it in no time, "no time" being a brisk and breezy three hours.
The night's exhaustion still hadn't peeled away from her body. She solved this by dousing it completely. Holding her breath, Rainbow Dash spun through the air, twirled, and divebombed her way into the edge of a deep river. She broke through the cold currents like a torpedo before kicking against the banks and leaping back out of the surface with an explosion of water droplets. It took only three or four swift spins in the air to become comfortably "dry," again, and Rainbow Dash was left with a lingering chill that didn't allow for any sleepiness. To stave off the shivers, she let loose a giggle or two, embracing the frenzied moment with a bit of foalish whimsy.
She found herself glancing towards the north, eying the lavender pulse with greater and greater fervor. Somehow, just the mere sight of it brought warmth, forming an equilibrium with the chill of the impulsive water dousing. Rainbow glanced back at her midnight blue saddlebag, then winced with folded ears at how stupidly she had soaked the article along with herself. Pausing on a hilltop, she opened the bags and examined the contents. The interior of the satchel was dry. She exhaled with relief. The container was made of solid stuff—royal stuff.
Kicking off the ground, Rainbow Dash resumed flying east, this time following the slithering river that had collected at the feet of the mountain range to the west. Here, the landscape evened out, sloping donward into an emerald valley where the soil was richer and the grass lay thicker.
The wildflowers did not end; as a matter of fact, they flourished here, and Rainbow Dash wondered if perhaps this lush valley was the source of their pollinating. A wonderful fragrance filled the air, tempting Rainbow Dash to fly lower and lower so that she could enjoy the aroma. She gave in, and soon she found herself clipping over the top of waving trees. To the east, beyond a bend in the river, a dense forest loomed. Here, birds flitted from branch to branch, filling the air with a song that Rainbow had sorely missed over the past three days.
Around noontime, the beacon to the north had slowed to a crawl. Rainbow Dash stopped in mid-air, hovering in place, gazing persistently at the pulsating light with a mildly worried expression.
An hour passed, and the beacon shifted north, albeit slightly. The lavender light fluctuated every few minutes, as if a pulsar was being reborn in the distant heart of it. The longer Rainbow stared at it, the more she felt the onset of a dizzy spell.
So, she took her mind off it, and her eyes as well. She touched down on the edge of the forest and trotted leisurely through a cluster of trees. Cicadas rattled away on either side of her as her hooves kicked over the warm blades of grass. The smell of fruit lingered in the air, and she practically gasped. Spinning like a prismatic top, she darted her eyes from tree to tree.
At last, she saw splotches of pale color lingering among lower branches. Galloping towards it, she suddenly skidded to a halt, blinking. They were peaches. She made a wretching expression, turned around completely, and resumed her trot east.
As afternoon fell, the lavender light lingered to the north, and so did she. Rainbow Dash sat with her back against a tree, dangling one lower limb over another. She chewed absent-mindedly on the stalk of a dry piece of high grass that she had plucked from the earth. Lazily, she sat there for hours, watching birds chase each other from branch to branch among the fruit trees.
The place was fragrant, like nature's perfume shop. All Rainbow had to do was look down, and she saw that she was practically wading in flowers. A bee or two zipped from bud to bud, with one of them landing errantly on Rainbow's left rear hoof. She simply let the leg go slack until the insect blurred away, stinger and all, and she resumed her anxious squirming.
At some point, tiredness set in, and she napped without thinking about it. All was black and blissful, save for a last second clashing of gray-soaked images, like mortar shells splashing across a bed of dry bones. Rainbow awoke with a gasp, her muzzle shining with a coat of sweat. She caught her breath, feeling the warm weight of the world drape once more around her like a blanket. She jerked her head to the north. The beacon had moved slightly ahead of her, though its pace was still just as lazy.
With flaring nostrils, Rainbow allowed her eyes to fall once more to the earth. The flowers there matched the color of the beacon, and she couldn't tell if it was ironic or just plain silly.
Still, a completely different impulse overtook her. She reached down, plucked four stems loose, and slid the lavender petals into her satchel. Then, after stretching and cracking her limbs, she flapped her wings and took off into the air for some much-needed flight.
Rainbow Dash swiftly overtook the northern light. It didn't bother her in the least. She figured that the two would be even with each other again after a few hours. This confidence carried her in a wholesome glide, sailing over denser and denser trees as the landscape rose gradually skyward. There were no mountains here like in the craggy range to the west, but the entire continent nonetheless felt like it was ramping upwards towards the fall of evening. Rainbow Dash marveled at lush trees clinging to every slope and cliffface and plateau within sight. The whole world took on a dark green tint, like an emerald bedsheet spread beneath a dire eclipse.
As the first of several stars broke through the clouds, something shone brighter than the rest. At first, Rainbow Dash thought it was the beacon, but she was only having a momentary lapse of reason. She was awoken by a beam of energy emanating from her pendant of all places.
A gasp escaped her lips. Her muzzle shone pale upon the onset of darkness, and she flew up higher and higher until she had an unobstructed view of the horizon around her. It took a twirl or two, but at last she saw the source of the light, the same source that had seen her first.
Breathless and wordless, Rainbow Dash bolted southeast, heading directly towards a cleft of earth rising sharply out of the ground. Here, she perched on the branch of a tree planted precariously along a hilly peak. She stepped out onto the very edge of the wooden limb and tilted her upper body until her ruby lightning pendant caught the silver glow completely.
High above, a moon rose. A full moon. It took only a few seconds—almost more easily than the pegasus remembered—but the enchantment within her pendant zeroed in on its source, and a nebulous voice wafted magically across the chilly sky, settling around the pony's fuzzy ears.
"Rainbow Dash? Art thou present? We seek ye, our little pony. How doth thou fair?"
With a deep breath, the pegasus' voice cracked. "I'm awesome, Luna. Thanks for asking."
"Alas, it fills us with great joy to once again be hearing from thee. Thy voice carrieth good health with it. We trust thou hath traveled a great distance since the last time we enjoyed a wholesome conference."
Rainbow Dash bit her lip, shrugging her shoulders from side to side. "Eh... kinda sorta... I-I guess..."
"Rainbow Dash...?"
"Yeah, your highness?"
"Something troubleth thee. The feelings of an equine lost in the night hath no way of escaping our esteemed vision. Hath thou endured more trials over the past month?"
"Oh, you know me. I'm just... uhm..." Rainbow Dash suddenly froze, fidgeting.
The voice on the other end was silent, patient.
With a sigh, Rainbow Dash smiled tiredly. "Yeah, Princess. As a matter of fact, things happened." She plopped down on her haunches and fought off a yawn. "Y'know... just a few things..."
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And it continues!!
Those incredibly nostalgic descriptive non-dialogue chapters. So long I have waited for this.
images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111029041252/starfox/images/3/35/Star_Fox_64_(U)_(V1.0)_snap0003.jpg
I can't even begin to describe how ridiculously cute that mental image is.
"Just a lot of things, really."
Man, has she got a story for Luna. (Yaaay! She gets to talk to Luna again!!)
Peaches are evil.
Here we go again...
Okay, ):(, PT test time. Now we get to see if you've all been keeping up with the workouts.
Two minutes of pushups, as many as you can. CLose hand, wide arm, normally, whatever, just never let your knees touch the ground
Then, rest for ten minutes.
Two minutes of situps. Keep your hands behind your head, your heels and butt on the ground.
Rest for ten minutes.
Two mile run, as fast as you can. Find some level ground and run it.
Post your results. I did one last Monday, and I got:
62 pushups
87 situps
12:45 two mile
Knock 'em out!
Detailed immerse descriptions. Our favorite sapphiric pony. Talking with Luna. This story is getting off to a great start.
The adventure continues...
Is the lavender beacon the Noble Jury?
If so, then was that their solution for Rainbow Dash to stay away from it while continue heading east?
Darn, this is such a great epic adventure fic!
3133158
That's my guess as well. The fact that she starts to get dizzy when staring at the lavender light like she did when around the book helps reinforce this. Also, they have to be somewhere nearby nearby for her to have freshly baked bread to eat.
Oh hells yes, here we go again. Also, totally called it that this story would begin with an O.
Up for less than an hour and 16 comments, 16 favorites, 16 likes.
I've noticed a pattern here...
(wait... make that 17 comments. *gasp*)
She's got a lot to tell Luna.
3133077
55 push-ups
49 sit-ups
13:21 two-miles
:)
Next thing you know, Rainbow Dash will see a flock of red herrings.
"dyr" = Animal or "dyrr" = Dear/precious or "godr" = Brave or possibly "ódr" = Furious
"Sjǫt" = Companions or Abode
Interesting choice...
>tfw still on Eljunbryo
I hear sleep is overrated anyway
It begins anew!
I wonder what Luna will make of the past months events...
Not a whole lot to say yet. Beautiful description, though. I'd almost forgotten how flipping good you are at that.
I'm wondering where all the people are. Isn't Xona to the East of Ledomare?
3133356
Context clues from Innavedr would suggest "Frantic Company/Companions."
Wow, great start! As much as I enjoyed Eljunbyro and Innavedr, it's nice and refreshing to see the story go back to its roots, with its beautiful descriptions and sense of wide-open wonder. Strange, though, that Rainbow is flying apart from the Noble Jury. But maybe she just craved some nostalgia as much as we did; some fresh air and time to think. And think she does, it seems. This universe's version of Dash's ability to introspect is one of my favorite things about her. Not quite the impatient pegasus she was in her innocent past.
Also Luna! Boy is she in for a story. And I bet she'll be happy to see Dash with some new friends.
3133356
I think you're onto something with sjot. But I have an alternate theory of the first part: óðr can also mean "voice" or "mental power". Don't know if that's it, though. We'll probably see some thematic elaboration somewhere down the road.
She gets to be alone and with friends at the same time as she flies over the landscape, measuring their progress as they fly eastward to her north.
AEIO...U...7 other letters?
3133750
I've been pronouncing it "odors-yote" (odors as in smells). But then, that's based on my very limited understanding of Old Norse.
"Behold the abode of my dear frantic animal companions" was too long
So, the entirety of Innavder was less than a month. Damn, that was a lot of ass kicking in such short of a time. And I hope that we can have a team picnic with the rest of the team soon.
3133773
I once guessed that it might be A E I O U Y and then either repeat or reverse. Unfortunately, this means we won't be able to use Zabadudabu.
3134028
I hope not -- that was how the big dumb object flew into limbo.
Aw yeah!
Really freaking great start with this thing, going back to the series roots with just plain beautiful moments, and then we run straight into Luna, I was just starting to wonder how long had it been since the last time, heck, it was back in like the middle of Eljunbyro, right?
I'm guessing the crazy lavender thing is Ms. Nancy Jane, wonder how will they know when to join with Rainbow once again. Or how will they join, how far does Rainbow have to stay from that thing anyway? Probably not as much as she is right now, but I'm guessing it's still a... relevant distance.
Can't wait to find out what's going to happen in this one... Though I won't mind if we stay with this kind of chapters for a while, I kinda missed them.
The writing's a bit flimsy this time around, but I appreciate the idea. The whole mixture of Innavedr's informality with the purple wildlife description of early Austraeoh comes across as a little uncomfortable.
I'm nowhere near this chapter, but obligatory.
So does anybody actually know how any of the story names are pronounced?
I love the picture for this one. It looks more like a fantasy landscape than the other ones, right out of Lord of the Rings.
Rainbow Dash has spent almost 750,000 words flying east...
3133316
When you said that, the first thing that came into my head was that character from the Scooby-Doo series.
Just a flock of red-headed troublemaking children, with wings.
3134314
Eh, they're not so hard.
Then again, my brain works in a crazy mixture of English and Spanish, so maybe I'm just weird.
This is definitely the best way to wind down after the hectic conclusion to Inna. I could get used to this, most definitely.
3134583
It usually takes me awhile to find a way to pronounce it in my head to where it sticks.
Austraeoh (Aw-stray-oh)
Eljunbyro (El-jun-bi-ro)
Innavedr (Inn-av-e-dare)
The newest one, I'm still trying to figure out.
Odrsjot (Ode-ers-chot) ?
Next.
Seriously. This is awesome.
3134536
Agreed! So much to read! When will she loop back?
Thank Christ things are moving again.
3134612
It's old norse, so some of your syllables are too stretched out, I think. Austr-eoh, for example, or Inna-vedr, no "ae" sound.
For this I've got "Odr-syot," like "fjord." o-dr-syot.
3133206
Well, that pattern is going to be broken, because I hardly ever comment on any of these chapters.
oh wait
This nostalgia, man! Daww... you really know how to bring the feelings to the readers.
So Stay Awesome IC, I hope that you will really carry this journey to the end.
imageshack.us/scaled/landing/7/az7v.jpg
3134708 All of this
My reaction: "AGAIN!?"
I cannot wait for Luna's reaction in the next chapter (hopefully).
Inside Luna's head:
"Damn it, not again... well at least this will be interesting."
I think this might be as good a time as any to see what all the hubbub is about.
Oh, yes. You have a lot to tell Luna indeed.
3134838
"I wish I could go on an epic adventure..."
3134685
Well that's incredibly helpful.
Thanks, Pilate!