Duke Zaap Nator swiveled around as the colt's shriek dwindled in the gaping pit beneath him. “Sincere aside, as much as I regret this action, the fate of Darkstine's industry is at—”
A rainbow streak soared straight past him, nearly throwing the stallion off his hooves.
“Aaaugh!”
Both the guards and foals gasped to see a speeding pegasus diving clear through the rusted door to the abyss. In a blue of blue, she disappeared.
Rainbow Dash held her breath the entire time she plunged into the darkness. She couldn't see the bottom of the abyss. Her eyes were filled with fluctuating bands of plasma and her ears twitched with the echoes of the colt's screams. Shaking the dizziness out of her head, she flung a hoof down to her pendant and rubbed the ruby lightning bolt. A dim beam of red light shimmered down, and she barely saw the tips of the foal's flailing limbs.
Gritting her teeth, Rainbow curled her wings to her sides. She dove like a lead arrow shot into the heart of the world. The air whistled on all sides of her until she was deaf. Just as a huge, glossy wave of black loomed into focus, she caught up to Flower Gears' sibling and clutched him with all four limbs.
“Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash barely had time for a second breath. She spun with the colt in her grasp and flared her wings up high like a parachute. The the heated friction in the air tugged at her wings until she felt that they would rip from their joints. She winced, her eyes watering, and managed to flap them once, twice, before leveling out in a sustained hover.
It was just in time, too. Barely four feet below Rainbow Dash loom the sharp, pointed edge of a black object. The huge spike jutted upwards at a length of about twenty feet from where it had sunk to the bottom of the cylindrical abyss. Only by the glare of Rainbow's pendant could she make out the shape of the obelisk's tip... and then something else.
The breath left her in a squeak that mimicked the colt's gasping breath. Her ruby eyes darted left and right at the frayed edges of her ruby spotlight. She made out the limbs, at first. They were pale stalks, thin and gangly. It took her several seconds of mortified comprehension to discover that most of the flesh had rotten off. Mane hair hung in tatters where flakes of skin had collected around crumpled bodies. Teeth glistened in the jaws frozen open in agony. The smell of the place was dank, copper, and Rainbow figured that it wasn't from rush.
“Where... Wh-What...?!” the colt stammered in confusion and panic.
“D-Don't look, kid,” Rainbow Dash breathily murmured, holding him tight so that his face was buried in her shoulder. “Just don't...”
Her peripheral vision quivered. She glanced aside and saw a bright pair of spots where the lavender light was the brightest. The phenomenon cast no shadow, and her heart beat faster simply from looking at it.
It took an astronomical effort to rip her gaze away. Afterall, there was something far more grave to deal with, and in Rainbow's recent experience, horror trumped awe.
“Wh-Who are you?” the colt murmured.
“I... I...” Rainbow glanced at the bodies once again. They were all tiny; they had all been young. She swallowed hard. “I'm gonna get you out of here kid.” With a heavy flap of her wings, she shot straight up the hole. The colt whimpered and clung to her tight as she soared towards the slim circle of foggy starlight that made up the top rim of the pit.
Once she burst out into Darkstinian night, there were no turrets to fire at her. Rainbow Dash figured tha it was because the pit was not only located in the center of New Ring's East and West Districts, but that the spot was sacred ground to the unicorns. Spinning about, she caught her bearings, and carefully touched down on the east side.
“Okay, listen to me carefully,” she spoke to the colt as she placed him down on his hooves. “You see that big, brass-framed building just two blocks away?”
“Mmmm... Y-Yes,” the colt said, still visibly trembling.
“Run straight towards it. It's the home to Governor Mintelle. As soon as the guards hear one sentence out of you, they'll know that you're not just any kid in need, and they'll listen to what you have to say. And if that doesn't work out, ask for a tall, dark, and gruesome stallion named Steelteeth.”
“What sh-should I tell them?”
“Tell them that Duke Zaap Nator is up to no good, and the lives of dozens if not hundreds of innocent foals are at risk. If Governor Mintelle has been holding back from crossing the wall of New Ring, now's a good reason to smash a frickin' hole through the thing. There's too much at stake.”
“But... But I don't understand!” the colt cried as Rainbow Dash levitated upwards. “Why won't you come with me?”
“Cuz I've got a huge gas mask to kick in,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Go and fetch the Governor and Steelteeth, kid. You won't be seeing me until I've rescued all your friends.”
With a burst of air, she backflipped, somersaulted across the starlight, and dove like a missile straight down the pit.
First!!!!!
Also...gasp!!!! What in Celestia's teats!!!!!!
The darkness of the pit seems a wonderful contrast to the burning fire in rainbow dash's soul.
Achievement Earned: Nightmare Fuel- Discover what Duke Zapp Naptor is doing with the foals.
Skill get: Faster Than a Falling Colt. +20 speed +50% chance if nightmares
Objective Completed: Save Flower Gears' brother
New objective: Speak to Mintelle and Steelteeth
Ugh I can't believe I'm saying this but I gotta downvote till we're out of Darkstine or something happens that peaks my interest again, sorry bro it's just this arc
New objective: Slay Duke Zapp Nator's foal-killing ass.
Seriously. Dude needs to die.
Oh god, the comments are ALL ACHIEVEMENTS.
And now, Dash fixes all the city's problems and becomes a hero. YAY!
...and then she suddenly goes away...
Title obtained: "The Lucky"
-Mintelle
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The best part is, none of them are titles. Titles are my thing and my thing alone! (Insert evil laugh here)
-Minty
(P.S. Wups, double post.)
Awesome, things are heating up in Darkstine .
You've gotta question maskface's logic though, "I'm gonna sacrifice some foals to the obelisk. Oh dear, that didn't work. I know, I'll throw even MORE foals down into this sacred pitt." I can't wait to see how maskface justifies the idea that throwing children at it is less sacreligious than investigating it.
(Then again, he could just be the opportunistic, propoganda spreading villian. Guess I'll just have to wait for the full reveal.)
Yes finally caught up this story has kept me wanting more and it has given me loads but also very little if that makes sense
Oh snap! Dash is about to be awesome again! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Rainbow_dealwithit.png
I said it! I said it ten chapters back (or thereabouts)! Nazi Germaneigh! And then have to put a stop it it before it turns into world war... world war whatever-it-would-be for ponies! Nnnngh! O.O
Oh, wow. Definitely a grimmer fate than awaited the ponies from the Minotaur slave cave. Dash has to kick his ass now. Chuck him at his stupid obelisk, see how he likes it. Alas, I have to sleep now, but I will resume my reading tomorrow - after I finish my delightful history essay, .
Thank God no evaluations this chapter
IIIIIt's Dashie's Fifth Marathon Evaluation Time!
Okay...so I'm still figuring out what's going on here, but here's what I think this arc might be going. First off, I think that the Duke may be on the same mindset as Sladesteed. Whatever he thinks he's doing with all of these child sacrifices, he thinks it's for the good of Darkstine. That, or he's hid the obelisk on purpose and is causing civil unrest to heighten his own power. Also, keep in mind that all Darkstinians are unicorns. (At least I'm pretty sure that's what's going on here.) Perhaps their unicorn magic is what's keeping the obelisk running. That is, until the Duke managed to become ruler of Darkstine. At which point he would "miraculously" reveal that he had "heroically" found the obelisk and solidify his hold on the city. Actually, I'm pretty sure that, whatever's happening here, it's a product of the Duke's own lust for power. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Okay, so I promised a friend that I would do a Marathon Evaluation tonight, but I'm not sure how far I'll get, seeing as how I came down with an awful sickness just fifteen minutes ago. All of those cellulitis pills must be catching up to me...but for tonight, if I can't reach ten chapters, I will do the remainder tomorrow. Perhaps with a few extras...
P.S.S. 1600200 Do you not like my evaluations...?
1646478 Probably.
1646478>>1655575 Day 9: They've been here recently... I may surpass them yet!
Well fuck. That took a dark turn. Also
"In a blue of blue, she disappeared."
Should that first blue be "blur"?
Inb4 Dashie Sparta-kicks the Duke into the pit which somehow raises the obelisk again.
Calling it now.
Fuck that Duke bitch. He deserves to die.
Dash! Our saviour! Thank you!
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i...have...no...words....ID FUCKING KILL TO SEE THAT!!!!!
I lost this story for over 2 years but kept thinking about it. I'm so happy to have finally found it again
Holy shit, the Duke's crazy
Yikes... I feel like that's all there is to say.
Imagine if Rainbow hadn't caught him in time. And imagine if Zaap Nator was right, and the Obelisk actually responded and rose up out of the ground at his sacrifice. It would sprout up with the mutilated body of a foal hanging from its tip. Horribly morbid, and I didn't even want to write it out; just though I had to mention it.
Come on, Rainbow Dash. Kick that gas mask in.
5794206 I'm crazy too, I did 50 chapters today
5940275 That's impressive, even considering that I've read from the first chapter to now in 2.5 hours.
This obelisk is so part of the machinery that is somehow inside the planet, isn't it?
Also, that Duke really needs to die, preferably by means of a long fall with a short stop at the end.
So long he has been a cog he does not know what to do when the machine stops working. Painful to watch.
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No. No. No. That won't do at all. After all, if he's dead. How can he be made to suffer?
Yes, there's Tartarus, and places where that Sht-stain on the planet go to for eternal punishment ... but that doesn't give satisfaction to the living who lost their loved ones. No, for his actions. Only the most gruesome, prolonged, and horrendous of punishments shall do while he's awake. And sick Luna on him while he dreams.
6969062 I think it's time for a vendetta. What say you?
Seems as good a place as any.
Re-reading this fic after finally catching up is one hell of a trip for me. I didn't read the comments the first time through (my mistake), and it's awesome to see the commenters from 2-5 years ago whose names and ideas IC borrowed for things we haven't seen yet.
Also, I've seen some commenters complain about the lack of description of OCs. I don't know if someone's already addressed this, but here's my take. As I re-read, I'm realizing how few details I retained from the early arcs of this series. For instance, I completely forgot about Steelteeth, my memory of these chapters in Darkstine simply didn't contain him. Sorry Steelteeth.
But this story is, more or less, from Rainbow Dash's point of view. Rainbow isn't the sort of pony who would notice details like mane color or cutie mark, that's Rarity's shtick. Plus, Rainbow meets so many new ponies in her travels that she would be hard pressed to remember every little detail of her adventures. If all an OC gets is a name, race, and gender, then that's all Rainbow noticed and remembered about them. And when an OC's name gets a bit mixed up, that's just Rainbow mixing up their name in her head before she gets it firmly in her memory. She's awesome at remembering scenery, directions, and events but bad at remembering names and faces.
Wait! So Zaap Nator just bucked the little colt into a pit so they'd fall to their death and be pierced by a giant spike? This villains more evil than I thought. I thought he just bucked Flower's little bro out onto some stairs leading down into the pit, but it seems he's much more fucked up than that.
Holy shit this chapter went dark quickly. I did NOT expect that
duke zap nator's about to have his teeth kicked in, can't wait to see this guy get what he deserves
Luckily, RD's ego weighs more than a foal, and she's able to break the laws of physics to catch him
That feel when a pit full of dead children isn't even the darkest part of this book alone, never mind the series as a whole...
Well some one just passed the point of no redemption straigth up to BURN IT WITH FIRE!!!
Child sacrifices...Never the solution kids.
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Title obtained: Governor of Titles. You are the only commenter authorised to give out titles. Oh wait...