Stand Up Tall, Face Your Fears
“That...” The golem spoke, blue eyes flashing. “... … ...is correct.”
Rainbow shut her eyes as she fell back on her haunches. Rarity and Twilight Sparkle squee'd, jumping into each other's arms and twirling phantom circles across the platform. Bard and Wildcard simply stared, their jaws agape.
“Heeheeeee!” Twilight giggled. “We did it we did it we did it!”
“Rainbow Dash did it!” Rarity nuzzled Twilight, then turned to grin at Rainbow. “She's always done it! Now...” She floated over, pointing a pale hoof at the looming automaton. “Kindly tell that big metal oaf to release our dearest Pinkie at once!”
Rainbow swallowed hard. “Well...?” She stood up, glaring at the golem. “I followed up on my end of your stupid test. Now... it's time for the prize.” She scraped her hoof across the frost-covered platform. “Let me through to Yaerfaerda. Let me through to my friend.”
The construct slowly nodded. “Very well...”
Crkkk-crkkkk!
The Desperadoes flinched as the air echoed with shattering ice. Above them—in a full circle—chunks of frozen material shook, shattered, and fell. One by one—out of the dark niches within the machine world's golden ceiling—several identically intimidating suits of armor fell. Glowing with majestic blue mana, they formed together, standing in a solid phalanx of icy equine shapes.
Bard and Wildcard stood up, shivering back to back.
“Uhhhhh...” Bard gulped as he gripped his metal staff tightly. He and the griffon shuddered in the shadows of the metallic figures. “...Rainbow, darlin'? T'ain't lookin' like no normal 'farewell party.'”
“Hey, what gives?!” Rainbow sneered, spreading her wings as she glared at the sudden company of metal behemoths. “I thought you said you were—”
“You have been informed that Queen Verlax seeks your audience,” the centermost golem stated. “After which—and only after—shall she release your flame... and your companion... as was promised to you.” Slowly, the golems shuffled so that they formed a half-circle. “The Queen honors her word, and now you shall hear it with your own mortal ears.”
“And if I refuse?”
“We do not think you would want to refuse,” said the brightest-glowing construct. “Not for the sake of the Austraeoh's journey, at least.”
Rainbow stared and stared. “... … …alright,” she spoke through an iron frown.
“Rainbow, no!” Twilight flew in, hissing. “If it wasn't a trap before, it certainly has got to be now!”
“I'm afraid I echo Twilight's sentiment, darling,” Rarity remarked, fanning herself with a nervous expression. “This whole... brigade of haunted ponnyquins has toyed with you, and yet you've proven more than competent to surpass their examination! But once the dreadful things have gotten you in their grasp, there's no telling what Verlax might do to you!”
“It's not like I have much of a choice, girls,” Rainbow Dash said. She nodded ahead at the half-ring of equine armors. “We both knew going into this place that there was only way out. Camellia said as much.”
“Ya seem awfully good at listenin' to a spitload of voices, darlin'...”
Rainbow turned to look at Bard.
The stallion looked back. He leaned on his staff with a dreadfully somber expression. “But when was the last time that ya truly listened to yer own, hmm?” Wildcard looked at him curiously.
Rainbow took a deep breath, then bit clenched her jaw. “Voices or no voices, destiny or no destiny, this has always been up to me.” She glanced aside at her phantom friends. “I've been... super blessed to get a lot of help along the way, but still...” She turned towards the golems. “...it all comes down to me and Verlax. And, y'know what? I think she knows that.” Brow furrowed, she shuffled ahead. “That's why she's needed this.”
Bard and Wildcard exchanged glances. “Uhhh... needed what exactly?”
“A preview. And if that's what she wants, then that's what she's gonna get.”
“But Rainbow... remember...” Twilight Sparkle flew in close. “Princess Luna herself has described Verlax as being incredibly crafty and deceiving. And need I even remind you of all the terrible things Chrysalis described?”
Rainbow shuffled to a stop, ears twitching. She froze in place briefly.
Twilight gulped while Rarity looked on. “Please. Be careful. It's just that... I-I'd hate for you to spell your own doom all on account of saving Pinkie Pie.”
Rainbow's ruby eyes darted towards the frozen flame. Even despite its frosted status, it pulsed in a never-ending fuchsia glow.
Turning around, Rainbow locked eyes with Twilight. “This journey was worth every risk before, and it's worth every risk now.”
Twilight shivered in place. Rarity floated up. “What... wh-what do you want us to do in the meantime, darling?”
Rainbow slowly... slowly smiled. “Just laugh and make them disappear.”
Both mares blinked.
With a strong breath, Rainbow turned and trotted towards the golems. “Alright, rust buckets. I'm ready.”
“Only the Austraeoh can make this venture,” the one golem emphasized. “She must leave her friends behind for the time being.”
“Jee...” Rainbow droned, sitting dead-center in the middle of them. “...why doesn't that surprise me in the least?”
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GASP! DEEP WORDS FROM BARD! EVEN WILDCARD IS CONFUSED!
Gotta say, this whole situation with Verlaxion is pretty much going exactly as expected.
And by that I mean I have no clue as to what she's on about.
6393509
That BARD is a SPAH
I don't think Verlax expected her to succeed. Only Dash would win a rigged game...
You know, those golems could come in very handy when they leave the Machine World and have to face the Syndicate. Would Verlax be that accommodating?
"How do you fight someone smarter than yourself? The answer is simple. You make her think that you are sitting down across the table from her, ready to play her game. Then you punch her in the face as hard as you can.”
Well now isn't this an interesting turn of events...
It's worth noting the golem said "Queen Verlax seeks your audience." Not "Verlaxion" as she's known to her subjects, and the way it's phrased Rainbow's the one granting the queen an audience, not the other way around.
Well, just a few more chapters until we can finally have Pinkie breaking all the walls. Then again, Midnight thinks that she might get all depressed after learning about how every single one of her best friends were killed, and that Rainbow Dash died... twice now? Yeah, Silvadel and then on some mountain when she was crushed by the Noble Jury.
6393584
I can only wonder at what Verlax is actually wanting to talk with Dash about. Manipulating Dash into doing some task? Setting some kind of ground rules for do's and don'ts for crossing Verlax's territory? ...Getting an autograph?
Dare I hope that meeting Verlax will actually answer some questions?
6393634
Don't forget the Grand Choke. I'm preeeetty sure she was actually dead for most of that journey. That hasn't been 100% confirmed (though it has been hinted), but I don't think horses don't survive that long without water
NooooooOOOOOO!
She can't leave her friends behind! Something something Rarity's behind!
How is she going to separate Twilight and Rarity from Rainbow Dash...?
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
Hehehe, that line. It's clever. It made me smile. In a nostalgic way.
And to think, a book or so ago, that line would be so depressing.
You know what? I wouldn't be all that surprised if the voice Rainbow's heard from time to time over the past book or two were Verlax all along. I mean, if Whitemane could do it, why not a far older and probably far more powerful entity? The only problem with that theory that I can think of is that Rainbow heard the voice in Val Roa, and the Choke might've prevented telepathy from reaching her.
I dunno. What do you guys think?
6393658
All of the above, plus having a laugh as she reveals she's Theanim Mane and every other named character in this book?
(I can still hope!)
Now we see if Verlaxion is friend or foe or neither.
This could be very bad, and Bard is right. She has had Verlax and others drag her around this whole damn time and maybe it's time to stop it. I know with Verlax she has very little choice but after this maybe she should consider taking his advice.
OH FOR GOD'S SAKE.
ONE OF THESE DAYS I'LL BE RIGHT
6393584 This doesn't work quiet so well when the other person is a dragon easily more than a hundred times your size, but still a plan that worked on Nightshade at least once.
6393803 Well, the blight was something that didn't exist when Celestia and Luna last crossed to the dark side of the world according to what we have heard, so she might have had control of the antimagic blight from the very start. I would not be surprised at all if it turned out that she was the voice right from the beginning... and that Twi and the others were only still around thanks to her.
6393707 The same way she did for the test I'd assume.
If only we knew what that method was.
-------------------------
Time to meet the queen of the windigoes. the dragon matriarch of frost, the divine of magic...Verlax.
Let the fact you'll hear Pinkie's voice again after this warm your heart Dash.
-Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
Verlax would do well to remember that harmony has an odd manifestation in the form of a laser. A rather powerful one, at that. I hope she's not up to anything too nefarious.
6394008
Maybe so, but it just felt so appropriate. And so east horse. S'up, smack, whoop!
6394072 Well, your not wrong, and it might work, but it would take a bit more punchitude than Rainbow has to bring to the table at this point. Well, taking off the pendant might let her pull it off... at great personal cost.
6394072 Spoken like a true Nealander! Whoop!
6393803 I think the harmonic voices Dash heard while rescuing Best Ghost and Scarity were not Verlax. However, I'm just going on intuition here. The Whitemane-ish voice mentioned someone listening in, and I'd like to think that the ethereal eavesdropper was Verlax, rather than the voice itself.
Besides, everyone knows that Verlax is secretly Cold Stone, Revan's suddenly-named number one.
Full marks on the theory test. Now for a quick practical assessment. Only then can she gain her Party license.
Verlax you are a massive butt and you should feel bad.
Can the Divines handle Dash without the necklave? I cant remember if Nevelmas removed it, then returned it to Dash after shredding her?
Gonna be interesting to see what Verlax wants to get out of this meeting with Rainbow.
Also, finally keeping up and not being so far behind is a strange but wonderful feeling.
next chapter :
You'll find that they can't hurt you.
My mind is so empty when I think about what can happen next or what exactly Verlax is up to.
6393527
Exposition!
Because her friends don't dance and if they don't dance, well, they're no friends of mine!
This dragging out is torturous.
Get to the point, Skirts!!!
Probably with 2000% more awesomeness.
Giggle at the
GhostiesGolems?6393584 "Son, you were taught how to fight all proper and honourable. But one day you'll probably get into an arguement with a man who's the dirtiest, sneakiest cheatin' sunovabitch God ever did place on this here Earth, and he'll use that honour to kill you. Theres' only one way you'll ever beat him: You gotta be an even dirtier, sneakier, cheatier bastard than he is. If he's gonna shoot ya in the back, you do 'im before you turn around. If he's gonna kill ya when you get up from the poker table, kill him while yer playing the hand, then kill his buddies at the table too for good measure. If he challenges you to a showdown at dawn, you set up two hours earlier with a rifle and drop him as he rides into town. Honourable men don't last long out here."
6395010 Hmm, I'm not sure Spike can play the Mandolin.
I see what you did there. Works well with the title.
(Ah, lack of next button, my arch enemy, we meet again.)
6392574 Yep, sure is.
I can't blame you there, I get the same way. I've never been a paranoid person until starting this series.
6394550 Welcome to the Lunar Ninth!
6394986 Eat your exposition, it's good for you. (I forget who said this several books back, but I got it from another commenter. I'm stealing fun one-liners!)
6395171 That's crazy awesome! What's that from?
6395171
Giggling with the ghostys at golems
One on one with the crafty dragon queen. Here's hoping it goes well.
How is she going to leave her friends? She want Dash to take off her Element? This dragon is CRAZY!
Does that include... ah who am I kidding, of course it does.
Oh come on, that was an easy one.
Giggle at the ghosties, girls.