“I'm telling you, she's not any normal pegasus, Swirls. Just look at that mane! And her tail! She must be some mysterious race of flying ponies.”
“I don't care if she's got two stomachs inside her, Swirls. She's got wings. That's all that matters.”
“Yes. We need her.”
“Need her for what, Stu?”
“What else?! We're trying to get to the Matriarch, aren't we?! She could be our key! You know how hard it is to get over the wastes!”
“For all we know, she's just passing through! We can't sign her up for anything she isn't ready for!”
“Ember Speak, nopony has 'passed through' this place in recorded history. For a single pegasus to have made it through the ash and debris, she'd have to be working for the upper echelon of some outside military force.”
“We don't know that! How could we know that?! Besides, would any kingdom hire a ranger who'd collapse out of a dizzy spell?”
“Yeah, what was up with that?”
“I don't know, Swirls. But I think it has something to do with the pendant.”
“Yeah! She's—like—a magic pony!”
“Then where's her unicorn horn, smartflank?”
“Hey! Shuddup! I think her hair's magical. I'd kill for a mane like that.”
“You can live the life of luxury once the dragons are gone, Ember. For now, let's just haul her butt home.”
“Where's Sam? We should wait for him.”
“He went to scout ahead. Ever since the brood came back from their scavenger hunt, the skies have been filled with drakes.”
“You don't suppose he ran into a bunch of wyrms, do you?”
“No, Swirls. I'm sure he can take care of himself.”
“Good. Cuz I wanna ask him a few questions.”
“Like what kind of questions?”
“Well, he's got the royal blood in him. Surely the elders have told him about the flying races.”
“Sam Rose is good at many things. Chronicling the history of pegasus genetics isn't one of them. Besides, what does it matter?”
“I just want to know why her eyes are doing that thing.”
“Doing what thing?”
“Fluttering and stuff.”
“It means that she's awake, ya fuzzhead! Hold on...” There was a series of heavy hoofsteps, and then a tail smacked Rainbow Dash in her aching skull. “Hey! Fruit Stain! Up and at 'em!”
“Nnnngh...” Rainbow Dash stirred, opening her eyes to the dim grayness surrounding her. She was accompanied by three other ponies: two mares and a stallion. A ceiling of clustered buildings and rubble stretched overhead. Though it looked a lot like the place where she had previously collapsed, she somehow knew that it was another unknown location beneath the surface of the ruined capital of Silvadel. “Please tell me you didn't take my pendant off.”
“If it means that much to ya, we'll sew it to your coat,” said the stallion, a tall equine with scraggy brown hair. “What's your name?”
“Rainbow...” The pegasus stirred, feeling an aching pain on her forehead. “Rainbow Dash...”
One of the mares giggled. Rainbow Dash looked over to see a copper brown earth pony with red-streaked hair. “That's a very pretty name.”
“Feel free to wear it out,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “It's not all that pretty to me. Augh...” She shook her head again. “Did one of those claws actually scrape me?”
“We were wondering that ourselves,” the mare said, leaning forward. “You got two big scratches. They bled a bit, but then you started healing super quick. Could it be your magical pegasus powers?”
“Ember...”
“What?! She hasn't said she isn't magical yet!”
Rainbow Dash gulped. “Two, scratches, huh?”
Ember Speak nodded.
“Hrmmm... Whatever.” She stood up, regaining her balance. “What matters is that I've got my breath back now. Hey... wasn't there a fourth pony?”
“You must be talking about Sam Rose,” a mare with a green coat and violet mane said. “He's gone ahead to scout for dragons.” She pointed to myself. “My name is Swirls.” She pointed towards the other two. “She's Ember Speak and he's... uhm... Stu...” She blushed slightly at the last introduction. “Ahem. We didn't take your pendant off like you asked.”
“Yeah. Uh... Thanks.” She glanced at the three, taking in the enormity of the wreckage above them. “So... What are you guys doing here?”
“Surviving.”
“Yeah. I kind of guessed that.” Rainbow Dash trotted across the slab of rock they were on. “But... like... how long have you been in this nasty place?”
“All of our lives,” the stallion said. His brow furrowed. “And this 'nasty place' is our home.”
“Yeesh. Sorry. Didn't mean to rub you the wrong way.” Rainbow Dash remarked. “I've been flying over this place for days, and I didn't think there were any ponies left in Silvadel.”
Ember Speak gasped. “You know the name of this place?”
“Uhhh... I found this book—”
“Did another kingdom send you?!” The mare hopped excitedly in Rainbow's face. “Did one of the old messengers make it to the next province?”
“Messengers?”
“We've begging... Praying... Hoping that somepony would come and spread news of this!” Ember Speak stammered, clutching her hooves together. “To think... a nation full of pegasi, coming to our rescue!”
“Uhhhhh...” Rainbow Dash sweated nervously. “Look. I don't know what kind of an idea you're getting, but I'm seriously clueless here...”
A set of hooves slapped down onto the stone, startling Rainbow Dash. “Then allow me to fill you in,” Sam Rose said, standing tall in his golden armor. His green eyes glared at Rainbow Dash while his voice came out unemotional and deep. “But we cannot stand here. There are drakes about. If you wish to live, allow us to escort you home.”
“Home?” Rainbow Dash gulped and leaned forward. “Where's home?”
“The only place that's been safe for a century.” Sam Rose turned around and galloped off. The other ponies instantly followed him as he gruffly added, “Deep below.”
Aha. When in doubt, go where they can't reach you.
Way to dash their hopes rainbow Dash....
Quest Completed: Blood on The Sand
New Quest Added: Ashes to Ashes
New Objective Added: Follow Sam Rose
EDIT: Normally I only start a new quest when she completes a 'segment' of her journey (e.g. The whole Darkstine thing was 'Power for The People')
However I made an exception here because 'Blood on The Sand' didn't really fit anymore seeing as I don't thing Silvadel is even sandy.
(Also dragons)
Back underground. Again. I'm sure she feels right at home.
Zion.
Swirls's Objective Complete: Be a Mare Yet a Man
New Location: Haven
No new inventory items added.
This is all going to tie into Background Pony, isn't it?
Heh, probably not. Would be interesting if the end of BP has Discord wreaking havoc in a series of events that cause RD to fly east, though. Meantime I'll keep the universes separate. I'm curious about Stu, and the underground ponies; there's going to be an awkward conversation ahead in which Dash informs her saviors about the decade deceased messenger who fell ravine shy of help.
1340753
i.qkme.me/35m2pn.jpg
1340851
Probably not. That's just typical Shortskirtsandexplosions head-canon. It features prominently in The End of Ponies (aka best fic ever) as well.
And that's just one more piece of evidence to add to the "Imploding Colon is Skirts' alt account" pile!
1340895
Yup, that's my conclusion as well. Would be kind of neat if they tied in, though. I should probably get around to started EoP, I left it off my list since I first noticed it not long after finishing FoE and wasn't quite ready for another epic-long grim dark, especially now that it's on hiatus.
So, survivors. My body is ready for their backstory, especially if they've seemingly been at it for at least a decade but probably much longer.
..."Stud"?
Trophy Get: You can Sleep when You're Dead- Have a rude awakening.
Sounds like these ponies are in for a hell of a letdown. It seems like their little survivor group has elevated pegasi to almost mythical status and are expecting the cavalry to arrive any day now, completely unaware of just how rare pegasi are outside of Equestria. I have a feeling this is going to be a very depressing story arc
However, a new name has been dropped! The Matriarch... Friend or foe? Is she a pony matriarch or the dragon brood mother?
Unrelated: anybody else still sad about Gold Petals?
Exposition,
Exposition,
Get it out
the door ASAP!
Edit: or maybe not, lol
"Come with me if you want to live"
Thus, begins a new exciting arc. I'm loving the variety of Austraeoh.
Title: magical hair
1341189
Yeah... I think I'm going to miss C^2 more, though.
Beyond the survivor's mythos regarding flying races, I'm super curious about Dash's response here:
They're telling her she's fine, but she gets apprehensive at the mention of these two scratches, and then quickly change the subject.
Could just be a red herring, though.Moreover, Aqua, when have the arcs NOT been depressing?1341432 It's probably not a red herring. Dashie is assuming the two scratches were the places on her head where the discord-esque horns keep trying to burst out of her skull during her little 'episodes.'
1341658
I might have to go back and read up on each of the previous dizzy spells, the back of my brain was screaming that the quick-healing was important but I couldn't remember why. Still sorta can't, were horns popping out brought up before? I gotta stop commenting while sleep deprived.
Acheviment unlocked: my hair does magic
Make pony's think your magic
“Hey! Shuddup! I think her hair's magical. I'd kill for a mane like that.”
Hehe, I guess I really like her mane? *Beat*
Okay, please don't kill me, I just HAD to get that out of my system.
The beginning dialogue confused me quite a bit since you used the name swirls twice where I'm pretty sure it was meant to be Ember and Swirls (assuming Ember is the one that really likes her mane).
I loved this line:
"If you wish to live, allow us to escort you home.”
=> "Come with me if you want to live." ~ Terminator 2
All in all, things are shaping up for one heck of a dragon-slaying, bad-ass arc .
1340895
I think we can stop collecting evidence, that pile is already really dang big
Also, I going to have to start making a list of all the reader references, theres just to many to keep track of.
The plot thickens... again
short and awesome
Title Obtained: "Hyper Healer"
-Minty
1341432
Regarding the scratches, I don't know if she's concerned because she got the scratches in the first place, because there were two of them (re: horns), or for some yet unrevealed reason. In this case, I'm going to do something I rarely do and say that it's as simple as it looks - RD is realizing what a close call she had. I realize that has the possibility of putting me on the intellectual level of the evil henchman guard who thinks that conspicuous noise is "just the wind", but I think the Discord stuff is going to be upstaged by the dragons for now.
And the small arc in Evergreen wasn't so depressing! Windthrow didn't get actually depressing until the very end, Darkstine wasn't so much depressing as it was dark and gritty, and... uh... yeah, I suppose you're right.
There going to vault 156
Fallout new Silvadel
1343511
The chaos stuff is an interesting thing to consider in the broader context of the story, especially because - through either dramatic convenience (i.e. nothing else is happening, I can fall back on this) or purposeful plot planning - the Discord stuff only seems to occur every so often, and usually its only when Dash's mind is free enough that it can become a problem. There could be some very important metaphor in there. However, I think the case is more likely that it's simply a constant reminder to Dash that she has a mission to complete, a reminder of why she's actually going east. Discord is nagging, any time Dash experiences high emotion, there's that flash.
1344969 you get a lyra smiley, because you guessed it.
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra_smile.png
1344782
To me, the chaos stuff has elements of both dramatic convenience and main plot significance. When IC needs Dash to go down and stay down, bam - fainting spell. That's not to say it's a cop-out deus ex machina, though. You've hit the nail on the head when you say it's a constant reminder of why Dash is traveling east. Whatever happened way back in Ponyville is the cause of the spells and the reason for her journey. I imagine (read: I really, really hope) that it'll all make sense eventually, but for now, it's an interesting mechanic to consider. Is it a metaphor? As I've said before, it seems to be less of an issue when she's helping others. Perhaps it's tied to ideals of loyalty and unselfishness, i.e. sacrifice towards something greater than yourself is the greatest form of loyalty.
Then again, considering IC could be a sentient computer program for all we know, we could both be completely wrong.
1345282
It would fit with the Elements of Harmony theme that each vignette seems to take (CC being generosity was the last, magic before that, etc). I would say that the Discord stuff probably has elements of both the elements AND deus ex machina; Dash had a dizzy spell while trying to free the minotaur prisoners, didn't she?
Buahaha. What if IC isn't the sentient computer, but the world in which this takes place IS a sentient computer. Dash is on an eastward journey to turn it off, then back on again.
1341189
God, so much. I mean, wow, that had so much potential and then-
....
...
---
1345575
I was guessing that Dashie accidentally activated some sort of horrible magical plot device that ripped open a rift in space and time, unleashing Chaos upon Ponyville. Fortunately, said chaos was held at bay by the collective power of the Elements of Harmony. Except that the rift was too chaotic and one by one the Elements consumed their bearers in order to maintain the containment field, then transferred themselves to another vessel when their bearer was fully consumed.
Finally, only Dash remains because she's got to much stubborn to go down that easy, but she's housing ALL the spiritual bases of the Elements at this point and the clash of priorities causes her to begin warping at a fundamental level, leading to the freaky Discord-Transform. Fortunately, Spike's not an idiot and he fired off a letter to Celestia, who appeared ASAP and used her stupendous power to crush the rip back into a smallish hole. After some time to recuperate and stabilize her condition, Dashie is sent off to rebuild the elements in an impossible but necessary mission. Luna's got Administration and the Sun&Moon handled, and Celestia can hold the tear closed near indefinitely. While Dashie can't dawdle, she's not on a "OH MAH GAWD RUN" mission, which is why she has time to help out at various spots around the world.
Wow that was a long post.
1345786
No need to apologize for post length here. We long posts here, especially story conjecture. You should join the little conspiracy theory club we've got going here. Pilate and I (and occasionally RoboRed & a few others) have been at it for a while now.
1345986
'Totes bro.
What's the status on the conspiracy theories?
Matriarch, alternate universe story tag, the inside of the world is artificial... Could this be?
Nah, I'm overthinking this.
1346067
Imploding Colon is shortskirtsandexplosions. Austraeoh and Background Pony are somehow connected. Okay, so the second one is a real stretch, but the first one is legit.
When we're not adding to our corkboards of newspaper articles connected with bits of string and push-tacks, we're discussing the latest Austraeoh update. Or working on our tinfoil hats.
Well then, any thoughts on the Underdark? Seems very Fallout 3/New Vegas to me. Vaults, adventure, deadly animals that will rip you to shreds, impassible wilderness, etc.
Reign of Fire with ponies? I can get behind this.
@ Municipal Engines - Yes, Reign of Fire, I knew this reminded me of something. And Matriarch? She's gonna be a giant dragon like in "How to Train your Dragon" isn't she? I'm still getting a brood-mothery or ArchDemon vibe from her, though. Oh yeah, and now Dash has to save yet another crumbling civilization. Wouldn't be the first time Onward!
Backstory soon, I hope?
1342044
Brilliant!
Run like hell.
IIIIIt's Dashie's Ultimate Marathon Evaluation Time!!!!!
Now that I've seen the personalities of the rebels, I'm finding it hard to believe that they would just flat our crucify their own friends for sacrifice. It just wouldn't add up...also, I think we've found the place where the stallion messenger came from. He was sent from the rebel's base to call for help but was separated from Darkstine by a ravine. But I still wonder how he could have crossed such a vast expanse of land with only his front hooves to drag himself along with. It's beginning to sound more and more implausible as the chapters wear on...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Five left. Let's do this!
it is just like terminator...
Ah, so it wasn't just a decade ago that everything fell apart and that poor guard found his way to the edge of Darkstine. He was just a messenger sent to try and gather help, or perhaps warn some others. I must say, I like these survivors. They're tough, gritty. Also completely misinformed, but what are you gonna do? If I was in their situation, I'd be hoping for Dash to be some sort of badass top-level military agent, too.
Come with me if you want to live...
I am smelling a Terminator reference.
All of their lives?Just how long has it been? Wow. Dash will most likely be the one to rid them of the dragons. She's always the hero in this story.
Yeah I'm getting terminator vibes. Instead of SKYNET, it's DRAGONET, and this is the war torn future.
Feel free to think of an acronym, I'm stumped.
4199387 Dragons Rampaging Against Ground-Occupying Neighing Equine Tribes?