The Quest For (Awesomely) Dry Land
Another thirty-six hours drifted by, much like the waves rippling past the Midnight Dreary's hull. Just when Rainbow Dash felt that she had seen all that the Rohbredden ocean had to give, more and more lengths of it opened up—all with the same blue monotony. If it weren't for Twilight's and Rarity's company, or the occasional passing ship, Rainbow was quite certain she would lose her mind.
“I have to admit,” Rarity said one night while Rainbow was steering the yacht's rudder wheel. Twilight was invisible at the moment, resting. “When I learned that Twilight and I would be joining you in your perilous adventures...” The fashionista stifled a yawn. “...this isn't quite what I expected.”
“Believe you me,” Rainbow droned, squinting at the horizon while the sun came up. “I've seen the highs and lows of this world. You don't want 'perilous.' You really don't.”
“Okay, granted, a wrong choice of words,” Rarity cooed, drifting lethargically sideways. “But I was secretly hoping for mountains, green fields, and maybe a babbling brook or two.”
“You see, that's where you're mistaken,” Rainbow said. She glanced over her shoulder. “Not everyplace in the world looks and feels like Equestria.”
“Oh?”
“Green fields and babbling brooks was totally Emeraldine's schtick,” Rainbow said with a nostalgic smile. “At least the central part, anyway.”
“Mmmmm...” Rarity blinked tiredly, fidgeting with her hooves. “Which one was Emeraldine, again?”
“Large open plains. Farmlands. Big central mountain-city named Verdestone. Half-blooded Alicorn Queen named Whitemane?”
“Huh. I thought that was Silvadel.”
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhh no.”
“Then which place was Silvadel?”
“The ruined wasteland full of murderous dragon and crucified pony bodies.”
“Ohhhhh. Right right right.” Rarity winced. “Hard to care much about fashion when you're being pinned to a cross.”
“I... wouldn't be much of an expert on that.”
“You know, Rainbow, darling, you've been through so much. However, from the sound of things, you've made quite a positive difference in these landscapes.” She smiled sweetly. “Have you ever contemplated going west instead of east? After all, you'd be scouring horizons that have already been blessed by your gifts of harmony!”
“Errrrrrrr...”
Rarity giggled. “It'd mean a lot less hardships than the mysterious seas we're currently sailing into. Plus, once you reached Equestria, the Princesses could summon you an army capable of escorting you to the far side of the plane!”
“All of the ruby beacons between where I am now and where I've already visited have been activated, Rarity,” Rainbow said.
“Yes... and?” Rarity cocked her head to the side. “There'd be more locations on the west end of Equestria, wouldn't you think? Twilight's brother-in-law and his betrothed are already out there—”
“Rarity, Yaerfaerda isn't pointing me west. It's pointing me east. It always has been.”
Rarity leaned back with a smug smile. “And since when did our brash athletic pegasus take orders from a magic night light?”
Rainbow sighed, smirking tiredly. “Go to sleep, Rarity. You're drunk.”
“I... c-can't possibly be drunk.” Rarity yawned again. “Haven't had a drop of cider since Discord laser melted me.”
“You're sleepy-drunk. Just take a nap or something. You love naps, don't you?”
“I'm a lady, Rainbow,” Rarity muttered. “I don't nap. I only enjoy beauty sleep.”
“Well, sleep your pale beauty off in white-hot la-la land,” Rainbow muttered. “Twilight's already gotten an hour or two ahead of you. I'd hate for you girls to go off-balance with your snooze schedules. Once we reach Rust, I may need you both at my side at the same time—bright and bushy-tailed.”
Rarity pouted. “My tail is not bushy!” She gestured. “I'd much rather call it 'fashionably twirlsome.'”
“Whatever. Go directly to sleep jail.”
“I... I can't...”
“Why not?”
Rarity hugged herself, trembling slightly. “That place... is beyond frightening. It's nothing but bright light that entrances one to fall into bleak unconsciousness.” She sighed. “I'm not sure you can understand, Rainbow. I mean... have you ever been in a position to embrace pure mental oblivion with the slim hope of bursting out of it spontaneously like a cocoon several hours later?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow droned. “It's called sleep.”
“Oh.” Rarity blinked. “Right.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Still... I just wish it wasn't so... desolate,” she whimpered. “It's like falling asleep under a heat lamp, only without the heat... erm... or the lamp, really. Eheheh...”
“Don't let it fool you,” Rainbow said. “You'll be in perfect harmony.” She glanced over her shoulder again. “And you know for a fact that I'll be with you the entire time.”
“Hmmm... I do suppose that's true.”
“And—if you think about it like Twilight and I have—you'll be with the other girls too.” Rainbow winked. “They're the ones who are really sleeping their flanks off. Think of napping there as... giving them company.”
“Until they come out, you mean?”
“The three of us will be Pinkie Pie's personal alarm clock,” Rainbow said. She giggled slightly. “All in due time.”
“Yes. But of course.” Rarity bore a dumb smile, teetering slightly. “You... promise to be here when I awake?”
“Absolutely,” Rainbow said. She rolled her eyes when the unicorn wasn't looking. “Although, it might be my time to snooze. Just scream into my ear if there's an emergency.”
“Oh dear. Erm...” Rarity moaned through a yawn. “What exactly sh-should I yell?”
“Uhhhh... go for 'The Hammock's On Fire',” Rainbow said. “That's what worked for Zaid.” Rainbow winced slightly as she re-scanned the horizon. “...took Booster Spice an entire week to glue his front teeth back in.”
Without further argument, Rarity complied. Rainbow spent the rest of the morning in eerie silence, serenaded occasionally by howling winds over the ocean waves.
After a quick sleep session, she awoke to an entire armada of ships off the port bow. Theanim Mane was back on the rudder, and he claimed that the vessels showed up no sooner than two hours ago. As the morning bled into the afternoon, more ships came in from the north and south. Most of them were yachts and small sailboats, much like the Midnight Dreary. However, into the fifteenth hour, Rainbow could spot large cargo vessels cruising in from the north. What intrigued her was that nearly ever ship was forming a narrow line, and their speeds were decelerating.
“It's because we've reached the Rustic Passage,” Theanim explained. “Only experienced navigators traverse these waters. Some sailors live their entire lives traveling to and from Rust. Heh... at least it allows us to outnumber pirates and malevolent privateers.”
“Does this mean that we're close?” Rainbow asked.
“It does indeed.” Theanim nodded. “You may wish to wake your inner diplomat, Miss Dash, for we'll be in Syndicate territory soon.”
Rainbow Dash craned her neck, squinting at the rippling wake of sea ships beyond the Midnight Dreary's front bow. “How come I don't see anything yet?”
“Give it time. We're not just waiting to reach Rust,” Theanim said. “We're waiting for Rust to let in all of the cruisers before us. And to do that, they have to allow ships to leave port.”
“Sounds super annoying.”
“Spoken like a true pegasus,” Theanim said with a slight chuckle. “I can only imagine you're used to moving like the wind, Miss Dash. The airborne Tribes of Rohbredden function much in the same way. Out here, however, unless you were born with fins—”
“Like the Sirens.”
“—right; you must learn to move with the flow.” He smirked. “And there's more to the ocean than the tide. The Syndicate's hoof controls the most powerful stream in these parts.”
“You know, you talk about these dudes with pride, but I can't help but get this super negative vibe from them.”
“Oh, there's nothing negative about the Syndicate,” Theanim remarked. He then cleared his throat. “So long as you stay in good monetary standings with them.” His ears twitched.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
“But... ahem... no expense is too high,” Theanim said. “You absolutely need to get to Shoggoth and the other beacons, and Echo is our ticket... er... your ticket. Eheheheh...”
“You know, Doc...” Rainbow paced slowly around him. “It's super likely that I'm going to have to part ways with you sooner than later as well.”
“Mmmm...” Theanim exhaled through his nostrils, gazing ahead. “The thought did occur to me.”
“Everything you're doing for me is helpful, of course, but at some point or another things are get real,” Rainbow said. “And when the time comes, I'm always waaaaaaay more survivable on my own.” Her eyes narrowed. “I don't want to get you into hot water. Especially when—”
“I sense some foreboding statement regarding our glorious Queen,” Theanim droned. “If that was the case, I suppose 'cold water' would serve a more apt analogy.”
Rainbow gulped. “I'm... not trying to insult her—”
“Would it even be possible in your purview?” he asked. “After all, to you, she's merely some demented arcane reptile.”
Rainbow sighed. “I'm not about to get into another crazy Verlaxion debate with you, Doc.”
“Nor should you expect to.” Theanim adjusted the goggles over his mane. “I think we both know enough about my convictions. However... I am still curious.”
“Yeah? About what?”
“Well, so many of your claims have been extremely hyperbolic,” Theanim said. “And yet, I've glimpsed at enough evidence to substantiate reason to your passionate pursuits. The defeat of Ultimo. The machine world. Now your magical ghost friends...”
“...who are totally asleep right now.”
“Nevertheless, nopony in their right mind would force themselves to suffer such wild delusions. And you, Miss Dash, are not crazy. But you've been through crazy things.” He looked over at her. “If you believe that Verlaxion is completely unlike the Order's canon knowledge of her, then it must be for a substantial reason.”
Rainbow's brow furrowed. “You mean... you believe that Verlax is really a dragon matriarch?”
“I'd much rather believe in that than the possibility of her being malevolent.”
“But you gotta understand, Doc. I have it on very legitimate authority that she's not exactly—”
“What? Trustworthy? Friendly? Altruistic?” Theanim raised an eyebrow. “And just what kind of a source gave you this divine intuition? Hmmm? Surely it wasn't someone who considered themselves blessed with Verlaxion's good graces.”
Rainbow bit her lip. She glanced south. Yaerfaerda shimmered at a slightly closer distance, pulsing under the dark blue waters.
“If you are as important to this plane as you claim to be, Rainbow, and Verlaxion is such an apparent foil to your sojourn—then why hasn't she used her incredibly gifted powers to stop you already?” Theanim smiled pleasantly. “Have you ever contemplated that?”
Rainbow shuddered. “I've just been through enough that... I-I don't want to take any chances.”
“Hmmm...” Theanim nodded. “A pity.”
Rainbow cocked her head aside. “How so?”
“I would have hoped that so many travels and experiences would have made you blissful instead of paranoid,” Theanim said. “Surely there's enough goodness and inspiration in the world to merit a chip on your shoulder.”
“I've carried that chip for a long time, Doc,” Rainbow muttered. “In my experience, I'm having to spread that goodness and inspiration... even if I don't feel it half the time.” She nodded. “That's not something to be pitied.”
“Oh?”
“It's something that evokes fear.” Rainbow's gaze hardened. “What I've been doing... your Verlaxion has already been doing for centuries and centuries.” She gulped. “Whether or not she's a dragon or a pony... that's definitely a soul I don't wanna cross if I can help it.”
Theanim opened his mouth to say something, but he fumbled for words. Luckly, something glinted off his blue eyes, and his expression turned pleasant in an instant. “Oooh! What delightful timing!”
“Huh?” Rainbow blinked. She flapped her wings and craned her neck to look eastward. “Is it 'land ho' finally?”
“Eheheh...” Theanim pulled a spyglass out of nearby compartment and lifted it up for the pegasus. “In a manner of speaking. See for yourself.”
Rainbow snatched it from him. Squinting one eye, she peered down the telescope. Her vision blurred, then came into focus. At last, she saw where the line of ships ended. Only, there was no land. Instead, there was a thick black strip of black metal—and beyond that were several more layers of metal, rising in sturdy lattices and pony-made terraces.
“Wait... just wait a friggin' second...” Rainbow lowered the telescope and gawked down at Theanim. “That's no port city!”
“Why, of course it is!” Theanim returned with a grin. “It's a city... and it's a port!” He shrugged. “I didn't say anything about dry land.”
“... ... ...” Rainbow blinked. “You mean the Syndicate owns an artificial metal island?”
“The largest one in the western waters, as a matter of fact,” Theanim explained. “Heh... now you know where it got its simplistic name.”
Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno.” She collapsed the spyglass in her blue hooves. “I sorta figured that all the ponies there were too lazy to get their tetanus boosters.”
“Wow. Really?”
“Pffft. Friggin' melon fudge.”
“Oh...”
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Pfft.
6104581
Do not collect 200 bits.
And now an entire city made of metal. This story gets better and better!
Forty crunches, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Theres a bit of confusion as to who tried inserting head into others mouth, thereby leading to removal of teeth. Either way, it was painful, and hilarious.
Thats no rock, thats a sail station.
How far did Nightshade Industries have branches? or did they just, syndicate out?
I wonder if he is being literal about that. If there is actually some sort of canal or water phenomena that controls the access into Rust, that'd be pretty cool.
-ultim
I know Zaid. I can sympathize.
That would be a twist, wouldn't it? If Verlaxion had turned over a new leaf at some point and wanted to help Rainbow. I mean, all in all Rohbredden seems like a mostly okay place, from what we've seen.
Well it sure as hell isn't a space station.
finally got an internet connection to read this awesome story day-by-day!
I wonder if floating cities shelter as interesting ponies as flying ones.
Waterworld.
Do you guys think Verlaxion will make her appearance in this book or not until the next one?
Excellent continuation of the story, IC. I can't wait for the next installment. But one of the few complaints that I have is that the constant barrage of same-sex shipping that's been occurring over the series is beginning to make me feel that half the mares are really stallions in disguise...
Wow. The port city is so metal.
bah dum tss~
*walks out*
...
...
-Spirit (Yeast and Treacle)
"There is nothing bad with the Mafia, so long as you pay your protection money!"
Welcome to Rust, don't look for trouble, it'll find you.
-Memories given light,ease a lonely flight.Ynanhluutr
Verlaxion encounter confirmed.
Didn't the sea turtles have a metal city as well? Also, those ponies who worshiped gears, and thought they were gears, and had a strange affinity for gears.
I think IC just really likes rusted metal landscapes. They always have such charming people. Remember the flying rust city where the ponies loved smog? I wonder what these ponies will love? Gears made out of smog? Probably gold seeing as they're run by the Mob-I-mean the the Syndicate.
How has no once commented on this yet!? How have I never seen it in a fic before? How did you throw it into a story and have it not feel out of place? I mean... it kinda feels out of place, but still like something Rainbow would totally say in this situation. I think this story drives me to drink things harder than Sencha and Pu'erh. I think I got some cheep Sake somewhere.
6104999
Found you.
I'm surprised that we saw a Waterworld reference before we saw a Water Temple reference, though I suppose that'll come soon...
We haven't seen a Water Temple reference yet, have we?
How long until someone sinks a city?
6104621 Not that kind of metal.
6105153
Probably once we get to Shoggoth and Rainbow "infestigates" those chambers that are considered sacred (I think they were a crypt or burial chamber?)
Rust is Grey Smoke on the Ocean, calling it now.
6104807 inb4 Smokers and ponified Dennis Hopper.
...
It'd be better than those awful pirates we encountered before Nealend Atoll.
6105153
Saggoth. It's coming
Everyone still hates the water temple
If she speaks from experience, does that make her Ρὰριτις Ἱππος Ἡλιου Θυγάτερ Σότερ? That doesn't have quite the same ring to it, and λίθος doesn't have a rho, so it's hard to make a good backronym.
This concludes your daily blasphemy. Obviously it should be ἡ προσεῷς ἱππος Λαιλαπίδης σότερ, or Λαῖλαπος ἀμναμος if we want to preserve the five-word pattern. Also, σότερ isn't in my lexicon, so I don't know if I placed the accent correctly.
Loved the exchange between Rarity and Rainbow. Hehehe "Sleep Jail". Let's see how thing go in this metal floating city.
Don't forget your shoes.
I hope Rarity doesn't suffer from metallic overload.
6104835
Really? The only recurring one is really just RD. Eagle Eye and Ebon is vaguely debatable due to being a shape shifter, but mostly everyone else is in a hetero relationship.
Just go with the flow and accept the shipping, man.
I really can't wait for Verlaxion to legitimately be a goodie, after all our inbred paranoia.
metal-archives.com/images/3/5/4/0/3540361264_logo.png?0940
Oh yes.
Blasphemy!
6105908 Go easy on the marshmallow. She's new to this. Also, she doesn't know about the Death Clock ticking away in Rainbow's body.
Once the Austraeoh saga is over, I want a 2400 chapter long Rarity quest.
6105422 Though, any zealots here won't have RD's best intentions in mind like Khao did
6104835
Let the gayness flow through you
The name Rust immediately made me think of Gray Smoke. Seems I was more spot-on than I thought.
6106011 I guess I can let it slide for the marshmallow and spookle but those are fighting words coming from anybody else!
Aww Scarity doesn't wanna sleep.
Now all we gotta do is wait for the pony version of Kevin Costner.
So Rust is really Waterworld huh?
Also, poor Rarity wanting to go west, and she has no idea that Dash just can't do that.
One does have to wonder why Rainbow Dash isn't coming forward with the truth of her condition. Yes, the others wold be devestated to hear about it, but knowing IC it will come out at the worst possible time, and will most likely bring a heap of troubles with it.
Then again, I still think Dash can be saved too, but we all know SS&E/IC doesn't always bring happy endings...
Aw, man, that little story about Zaid makes me happy. It's like the Jury got up to all sorts of wacky fun, even off-screen.
And you know, that kinda made me realize a funny thing. I actually miss the Jury more than I ever missed Dash's dead friends.
On the one hand, that chapter title is kinda cheating...but on the other, six-word chapter titles can't be easy to maintain.
Even this far into the trip, Rainbow's still surprised by these things. Just goes to show how vibrant this world really is.
6106906
Thank you! I've been looking for more to read and will surely go take a peek at that story.
I've been entertaining the idea of writing a spinoff story about Fishberry and Arcanista cracking down on corruption, irresponsible spending and tax fraud in Val Roa. However, it almost feels like sacrilege when I want to sit down and hammer out an outline for the first two arcs.
So, great idea, or worst possible thing?
Ahh, I see. I thought it was called "Rust" because there were a whole bunch of people living on an island trying to simply
build a baselive, butother playersthe Syndicate keeps making shit difficult, what with theirguns, bow and arrows, and fireblunt weapons and heavy influence. But now I know it is actually because it's just rusty.So, it's gray smoke, but in the water? Look out for cultists.
6106294 That would be interesting, but my hopes are still toward the completion of End Of Ponies first.
A long adventure with Rarity would involve a ton more nuanced dialogue than rainbow provides. It would be an interesting change in aesthetic.
6853441
What'd a Rarity Quest look like though? I mean Dash is all about action, but Rare's isn't so action oriented.
I understood that reference!
This is at least the second time "thirty-six hours" got skipped over (I might not have noticed some earlier ones). So far I've just assumed that was 1.5 days, but...
What if that is actually the length of a day in this world? Maybe saying "thirty-six hours" is equivalent to saying "twenty-four hours" on Earth. (No comment on how long the hours or days themselves are in comparison to ours...)
Relevant xkcd: https://xkcd.com/203/
Would that be Twi or Rarity?
They who would be Darkstinians would approve.