Once Burnt, Twice the East Horse
Slowly, one lid after another, Rainbow opened her eyes.
The sky had glazed over into a dull brown. The desert felt stale, cool, and calm.
Wincing, the mare sat up. The dizziness was gone—as were the aching throbs in her skull. All she felt was a terrible stiffness all over her body. She realized she had collapsed there, lying on her back, muzzle tilted up towards the desert sun. She reached up and ran a hoof across her muzzle—instantly wincing from a burning sensation.
Rainbow let out a long, tired groan. She pivoted about and faced the tent.
It was still intact; just one side of it lay partially open. Dust and sediment had collected across the burlap edges, but most of the sand had remained outside. In fact, as Rainbow Dash looked around her, she saw occasional beds of dull brown sand having coalesced where the raging storm had last deposited them. It was violently jarring to see the immaculate face of the Grand Choke pockmarked so, but Rainbow hadn't the energy to shiver.
She stood up—again, wincing. As she stretched her limbs, she attempted to make an assessment of the time. Twirling about, she spotted the Yaerfaerda symbol lingering above the darker horizon. She realized that she must have been unconscious for over twelve hours.
A sigh ran through her. Rainbow brushed her mane back—again wincing from making brief contact with her sunburnt ears. She looked towards the western horizon. Thick clouds lingered, signifying the distant storm that rampaged its way opposite of where she was headed. The dense sky refracted the sun's rays, filling the atmosphere with a haunting orange glow that cooled into sickly vomit brown above her head.
In a few hours, it would be dark, and incredibly cold.
Rainbow Dash was sick of staying in one place.
Against her proper judgment, she pulled out the metal pegs, collapsed the tent, and gathered her things.
Rainbow Dash flew high through the troposphere. Night had fallen, and all she had to glide by was the luminescent cosmos. Her goggled eyes gazed east, and the frigid air of the desert was actually a welcome respite to her stinging skin. Occasionally she'd fly upside down upon hitting a draft, making sure her whole body was soothed by the bitter gales.
The starlight cast a sheen on random cloudbeds. The mists appeared before Rainbow Dash like silver spheres afloat in a black river. With expert pegasus precision, she spread her limbs out and scooped up as many beds as she could. When—at last—she had gathered enough of them, she squeezed the cloud, causing the moisture to condense and form into a singular sheet of rain. This, Rainbow flew through, delighting in the bone-chilling kiss of water. It soothed her aching limbs—at least for another hour, and then she continued her eastward plunge.
The next morning, Rainbow Dash lay on her side, propping her backpacks in front of her so that they formed a shadow in the rising sunlight. She inhaled a whiff of Nebulum and nibbled on a Heaven's Slice. It was hardly an enjoyable breakfast. The breaded mush rolled around her mouth with the grace of cardboard.
The mare sighed, her ears twitching—but still feeling somewhat singed. She sat up and craned her neck around the edge of her backpack, squinting.
The Yaerfaerda symbol hovered in the center of the burning horizon. Rainbow wasn't certain how she could tell the difference between it and purely blinding light. It was then that Rainbow realized that—had she indeed lost all of her senses—there would still be a part of Austraeoh that would be forced to know where the Yaerfaerda beacon was at all times.
This wasn't entirely a cheerful consolation.
Sighing, Rainbow nibbled on the last of her Heaven's Slice. When she felt appropriately full, she gathered her things, flapped her wings, and took off for the sky once more.
When night fell again, exhaustion had finally caught up with the mare. Undaunted, she glided on, following the lavender beacon that was ever receding.
Several times, the mare's eyelids succumbed to their weight, and she nodded off. All it took was a fresh gust of air, and she gasped, “waking up” in mid-flight while her heart pumped a mile per minute.
Regardless of the apparent danger in this, she still kept herself aloft. The silence consumed her, drawing her forward to find a break in it. She'd fly through any cloudbank she could find, wetting her ears so that the wind blowing past her burnt lobes made a whistling sound. If she concentrated really hard, it almost sounded like music.
Rainbow's eyes fogged. She mentally cursed at herself, rubbing her eyes and frowning. Cloud-level was not a good place to cry, and she knew it. The mare adjusted and readjusted her goggles several times—until Scootaloo's article had completely fogged, rendering them momentarily useless.
And yet, that wasn't what made Rainbow Dash retire for the evening. But, rather, the starlight had caught something down below. At first, Rainbow guessed that it was simply her imagination. And yet, as she tilted her head in order to catch the world below in her peripheral vision, she became aware of a strange... formation along the stone floor of the Choke. Silver etchings were highlighted by the starlight, and Rainbow was almost certain that she spotted winding, serpentine formations.
By this time, the act of yawning trumped the act of discovery. Disgruntled and exhausted, Rainbow Dash gave in, drifting down to the desert floor and laying her packs by her side. She threw a blanket over her aching body and turned over so that she slumped limply on the side of her figure that wasn't burnt. The mare was too lazy to pitch a tent, much less a fire. She was unconscious before she could count the twentieth strobe of Yaerfaerda since landing.
Rainbow awoke fitfully. Nightmarish visions combined an ash-dirtied village with a flaming airship. She shot up with a gasp, her bloodshot eyes quivering. After several seconds of catching her breath, she gnashed her teeth and collapsed into her blankets again. Sometime overnight, with enough tossing and turning, the sheets had become a mattress instead of a duvet. The mare was thankful that massive storms carried the dust of the Choke to far off locations, or else her skin would have been rubbed raw by dawn.
Rainbow gazed towards the sunrise, and only then did she remember the odd sight she had seen—or thought she had seen the evening before. On crackling joints, she stood up, taking one nervous step after another. She ascended a curved rise in stone, then looked out upon the east.
What she saw made her blink hard.
It was a canyon... or rather canyons. As the cloud of sleep dissipated from Rainbow's head, her eyes took in more and more of what lay before her. Within four hundred meters, the perfect, polished, and unblemished stone surface of the Grand Choke gave way, dropping into one of many enormous chasms that sliced into the earth, descending into incomprehensible depths. Rainbow became aware of a loud roaring sound, and she briefly looked left in right in search of the shadow of dragon wings. Instead—she realized—she was listening to the incessant noise of wind howling through the gargantuan ravines. It was both alarming and exciting.
That was the first time Rainbow felt awake in days.
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It's been several chapters of RD trekking through the desert, and yet I don't think anybody has posted this.
Not even me.
Time to change that.
Well, I know what I'll be expecting...
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121107151143/mlp/images/6/61/Quarray_eels_looking_at_the_flyers_S2E7.png
Pegasus magic must be really nice.
Yeah...that's a just a bit depressing.
...Uhhhh...not sure exactly what this means, but none of any of the explanations I can think of are a good scenario.
Well, that's an interesting change in scenery. And a cool one, too. (*eeeeeee* canyons!) This might be beneficial, too. Canyons are formed by water, and Rainbow spotted some "silver etchings" in the previous night. It's highly unlikely, given the Grand Choke's reputation, but maybe there could be water waaaay down at the bottom? Or maybe it's revealed parts of the machine world.
If nothing else, depending on the direction the canyon spans, Dash might have found a bit of a windbroken path over to the other side.
Also lol: Grand Canyon in the Grand Choke.
5687117
I legit feel bad for not having posted that earlier.
Adventure! Now watch there be another cave in this canyon.
Rainbow needs some magical aloe.
Oh hey. Another big ass hole in the ground.
Either full of shit or robots.
Finally, Rainbow Dash found something!
Wow, a canyon in the middle of all this nothingness.
Canyons? This can only end well.
I wonder if these canyons are where the magic drain of the Choke begins...?
Oh boy time to explore some Canyons! This should be an interesting find for sure, I wonder what these hold.
Thats a lot of canyon. Couple things spring to mind, it was the run off from the divine scraping the countryside clear, or its where the rocks been torn apart as the machine world flexed on seperation. Or any other reason or combination of effects the authors decided for this realm.
Canyons mean water, which Chrysalis never mentioned.
That in of itself is really scary.
Y'know, I can't help but wonder if these canyons have anything to do with the Machine World. Considering that the Grand Choke is, apparently, the edge of the plane, and that it once marked the meeting place with the next piece of Urohringr, I'd almost be surprised if she didn't come across something related to the Machine World at some point. It's been a while (Durandana?) since it's truly come into play.
5687117
Great. Now you got my hopes up.
Has anybody taken into account that once on the dark side, she'll be going West, and the headaches will get exponentially worse?
5687484 Don't think it does, actually. Chryssi mentioned a sea, and Rohbredden, between the Grand Choke and the edge of the world.
5687636
Yeah, I think you're right, now that I think about it. Still, though, something's setting my Machine World senses a-tingle. Maybe it has something to do with the Yaerfaerda symbol. We'll see, I guess.
5687635
To those in the Light Side, she'll be going West, but from her perspective, she'll still be going East.
5687610
Let's just hope that ):( doesn't... dash your expectations.
5687136
The lyrics fit too, one really has to wonder why nobody made that connection.
Then again, I probably shouldn't assume everybody is familiar with a seventies folk rock band.
5687647 You THINK I'm right
I'm totally right
I'm always right
Austraeoh Fact Checker got nothing on me
5687635
Nah, she'd still be going East, just on the other side. You're still traveling East if you're on the other side of the world. Now, if you looked at it from an absolute 2D perspective from the Light side then yes, it might appear that she's traveling West.
5687670
...Dang, you're right. Didn't realize it could fit to that far back.
Really though, I feel like a massive derp. That's one of my favorite songs from America, and I can't believe I didn't make the connection. Desert. Hellooooooooooooo?
5687670
I posted that song sometime late last summer, but I don't think anyone noticed because it wasn't as relevant then- in Amulek- as it is now.
5687687
5687670
But yeah, in regards to your reply to Annie, I think the only thing that matters is that she'll still be going 'west' to her death, even though she's going east across the plane. That could be a problem.
5687682
I'm waiting to see if he/she takes that as a challenge.
5687682
But isn't Austraeoh Fact Checker an alt of ):(?
5687687
And hearing it a second time, it even mentions horses, what are the odds?
5687682
...
Do you want me to have a heart attack?
Because that's what's going to happen if you keep choosing such adorable avatars.
Well whaddya know! This desert isn't completely flat after all. And with wind echoing through the canyon, it can't be a mirage either.
Unless it's a magical mirage.
Could be a drainage to the sea. Clouds gotta form from something.
It's good being caught up.
5687722
cdn.meme.am/instances/400x/55637475.jpg
Archer mentioned, swell with... alcohol I guess...
5687732
Hey man that's not cool that text was so small I was worried my screen was cracked.
This place might still retain some level of natural order, if that is the case then the canions should lead to a body of water or a dry lake bed.
Ooo something different than endless dirt and stone. Perhaps Rainbow Dash will discover part of the machine world with a flame, the remains of the ponies that tried to make it from the other side, or the remnants of a lost civilization and/or more lore about the world.
Also, we haven't heard from Luna for a long time. Hopefully she makes a verbal presence soon.
5687342
5687484
Thats what I thought when Rainbow Dash encountered that first canyon way back in Austraeoh. It would make sense that its damage from the stresses when the ring broke apart.
5687695
I was talking to someone and it got me to thinking that Austraeoh's journey will end sooner than we think. How that ending will shape up in terms of survivors, is up in the air.
Austraeoh
Eljunbyro
Innavedr
Odrsjot
Urohringr
Yaerfaerda
Rainbow Dash has become increasingly reckless to where she's only is wanting for the purple pulses to stop. Celestia is actually fine even if it's herself being banished to a mausoleum for 1000 years this time. RD finishing the run to keep the plane from going dark will give time for all; the Elements may not be vital to the survival of Equestria. Heck, RD may run into those traveling west from Equestria. Weirder things have hapened in the series, imo. These are just my ideas, IC knows the ending for now.
Anyone else worried that Rainbow is slipping into her previous bout of suicidal depression again? She's taking stupid risks like sleep-flying again.
Big old hole? Metallic sheen? Shape of a dragon?
Wuh-oh. Chaos beasts.
5688313
Hmmm... But weren't those things controlled by Chryssi?
Me in the morning: "Why is it so cold?!"
Oh, and here we have the Grand Canyon. Ooookay den... Ten bucks says RD takes a flight through them.
Just kidding, I'm not betting. I lose all bets I do.
And I'm voting machine world.
5688402 Yeah, but I felt like being paranoid.
Finally a chance for Rainbow Dash to enter a cave. You can't have a story without her entering one.
5687721 Aren't we all?
Waiter! My Dashie is Medium-well!
I ordered Medium-rare! Take it back.
Roasted Rainbow, mmm.
5688637
Plot twist: The human race was born in an attempt to clone IC (who is, naturally, a god), and all the fanfics are His way of studying us.
5687136
I think the dream was just the same Ponyville nightmare from long ago, except with the Noble Jury's crash mixed in.
5687636
Zaid's right; that avatar is disastrously adorable.
And so I've finally caught up. Well, didn't think this'd happen until much farther in the story.
Heh. Well, I guess that you comment-section people are stuck with the french weirdo from now on.
Also, I really dig those dialogue-less chapters.
Heck, I dig the whole story.
5687117 That fits a bit too well to be entirely coincidence, heh.
5688610
Yup. Without it, we would all be dead in IC's world.
Machine world entrance inside the canyons?
As for the formation, you would have thought Chrysalis would have mentioned this massive feature in an otherwise barren landscape. So if we assume they've been made since Chrysalis passed over the Choke... well, let's just say I wouldnt put it past a certain Frost Divine to be powerful enough to carve out the landscape
5689198 Welcome, comrade, to the Noble Jury!
5687117 HAH! Great connection!
Ooo canyons. Explore explore explore!
5689275
Didn't some of us die anyway?
she's going in isn't she
Canyons. Very interesting. And as usual the descriptions are wonderful.
-Spirit
Finally something to break the monotony. However, I'm not sure if it is necessarily a good thing. I wonder if we'll find out what carved those canyons.
Canyons? There will be a cave, I'm sure.
Features in a featureless landscape? Hax.
Finally RD has reached The Farlands.