The edge of night was lingering overhead when Rainbow Dash caught up with them. They had come to a stop at a flat clearing of dry soil along the eastern edge of a mountain. Several tall trees towered above, stretching crooked branches over their manes like skeletal wings. Parking their two wagons at sharp angles with one another, the equine figures worked to set up camp for the evening.
There were fourteen of them total. It was a full caravan, and each individual was clad in thin strips of dark-brown armor. Some of them were hooded. Others wore metal leg-plates that matched the silver cleats of their horseshoes. If anything, they all looked appropriately geared for contending with all sorts of unimaginable wildlife. Judging from the unkempt nature of their lengthy coathairs, Rainbow Dash assumed that they had been journeying for a long, long time across the mountainous landscape.
Rainbow hid, perched quietly above the group. From where she sat on a rocky outcropping, she stared forty feet down at the scene. Her ears twitched. It had been weeks since she last heard pony voices. Being privy to such a busy conversation of muttering equines was suddenly an alarming sensation. There was not a single horn or set of wings to be seen among them, so that she wondered if they had even had it in them to suspect a sentient creature eavesdropping from above.
It wasn't as if she could make out entirely what they were saying. She heard something about a two day trip, about a deep river that needed traversing, about one of the pony's and his penchant for snoring in sleep—followed by a burst of laughter. The ponies' voices were saturated with a thick accent that Rainbow had never heard before. She briefly contemplated how remarkable it was that she could understand them even remotely after having traversed so much wilderness.
But as the minutes wore on, and the world above became darker, she grew less and less patient with these darkly-clad strangers. They had very little interesting to talk about. Their wagon supplies were filled with seemingly superfluous junk. Before her eyes, she witnessed as several burly members of the group fumbled goofily to start a fire. For the life of her, Rainbow couldn't understand how so many adult ponies could appear so tactless. As their frustration and ire grew into the advent of night, Rainbow Dash yawned, stood up, and flexed her wings to take off for the east horizon, ditching them.
She stopped, suddenly, upon spotting one particular pony's graceful gait. She squinted and lifted her goggles as she watched the figure march quietly away from the rest of the group struggling to build a fire. Once he reached the fringes of the camp, he slumped to his haunches, sighed, and reached for his brown hood. Once the article was lowered, the air lit up with a shade of gold. A young pony sat, running a hand through a short patch of silken-blonde hair that ended just behind his ears. With a look of supreme boredom, he glanced lethargically his party's way and exhaled slowly. Below Rainbow Dash, his lithe body appeared to melt into the shadows of his place, his golden head serving as a final beacon of the day.
Rainbow blinked. She glanced from him to the rest of the group, then to him again. Slowly, a smirk crossed her lips. Instead of flying away, she reached back for her saddlebag...
She reached for saddlebag and...? THE SUSPENSE!
...Hm? You mean to tell me the next chapter is published already. Okie dokie lokie!
1052213 This also bothers me.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Not much plot for this chapter, but the description of the strangers was great. We'll have to stay tuned for more plot...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
1052213 And it bothers me too... THE PLOT THICKENS (How many times will I say this?)
-THEpandaman007
1174617
i would say that this adds to the plot...
bigchibz110-
Hmmm...in hindsight, I guess you're right.
Sometimes I forget the definition of plot...stupid, I know.
Wolfie report [ Ch. 15 / 140 ]
Best guess at the plot so far: the Elements did not work on Discord / Twilight picked up and left instead of casting the memory spell on her friends.
So... He's a Centaur?
Huh...Australian ponies.....
I've heard stranger.
Rereading this story always makes me appreciate the sheer number of times you tease us with plot development, IC.
It's also odd to see chapters that don't have Quest Objectives, Titles and Achievements to go along with them.
Dern you and your cliffhangers! I want sleep, but now I have to continue.
Considering how far Rainbow Dash is from Equestria, how can she even understand these ponies? I'm suprised that they would speak Braytish too.
Oh boy. Ohohoho boy.
Don't confuse sentient and sapient. Also:
>one of the pony's and his penchant for snoring in sleep
Well, if she is looking for ponies who aren't ill for a cure, she could be trying to a sample of hair or something. Then again, I could be very wrong, but we'll see. I have high hopes for when they talk, so I hope I won't be disappointed.
Austraeohaiku
Fourteen earthens sit
Dull banter watched from above
Gold one wows Rainbow
Uh oh, what's gonna happen? I actually don't remember exactly, which is probably why I'm excited to find out. Even though I've already read this story this is just amazing. It feels like I'm reading it for the first time again. Ok, maybe not, but this time is better really. So as promised, have a link to dizzy art. Fir trees did not turn out well, and took a super long time so sorry bout that.
http://alafreo.deviantart.com/art/Dizzy-427281236
again, its too big to paste even on the smallest setting so it seems like i'm stuck with leaving links.
3672684
No, he used sentient correctly.
fgt
This is obviously where the rape happens.
When did I miss that this was an Anthro story?
Huh.... well then, let's see how this encounter goes, shall we? I'm wondering what Rainbow's reaching for... perhaps her hatchet as a just in case measure? or something else.... Well, rather than speculate, let's find out the easy way! Or would it be the hard way? Either way, I'm going to find out now.
First encounter with others since her journey began? Lets see where this goes.
Blueblood?
3966702 Wait, this is anthro?
EDIT: No, it isn't. Well...
Oh, it's so on. Bring it, story, my feels can handle you. Again. I hope.
Ready the sails?
Ooh, what's she going to do? Does she have a message to show them?
8026724
Might be a little early for that.
Rainbow listens in and is about to leave when...no wait, something, or rather someone, has got her attention. Looks like she's got a different plan now...
Oh no, not only do they wear the skin of other creatures, they're mutants with hands too?!