Rainbow Dash trotted through the rocky corridors, her head bowed in a perpetual slump. She took deep breaths as she passed by wooden marketplaces full of pony vendors. The Silvadelians gazed at her and murmured in a hushed tone, but she didn't pay them any mind. Her path was taking her in subterannean circles, and still it wasn't enough to outrace the meandering thoughts in her mind.
Sam Rose's words echoed in her ears, aching with each passing minute. There was no easy way to clear her head, no sky to fly to. Rainbow was trapped in the land that the Silvadelian prince had always sworn to protect. Her only exit would come upon the evening hour she made her exit, and flew straightway to the dragon Matriarch, perhaps even her death.
Upon passing a junction of stone corridors, Rainbow Dash heard a familiar voice wafting out of a tiny chamber. Blinking, she paused and looked past a series of canvas curtains. The infirmary of Silvadel lingered to her left. Slowly, she entered the place, craning her neck to hear the words that had caught her attention.
“Zetta is taking good care of you,” Swirls said. She coughed and regained her breath to continue, “I know that some of the ponies think that unicorn has a screw loose. But I know that he's a true blue genius. Stu had the utmost faith in him too. I'm so glad he's delivering us the key to the dragons' defeat...”
“I just wish he'd let me have a hoof in making the acid bomb!” Lime Tech's voice exclaimed. “I wanna get those dragons back for what they did to you!”
“Now, Limey, what matters is that I'm getting better. The doctors here are amazing. Besides, having you and the rest of the foals around is the best medicine a mare could possibly have...”
Rainbow Dash passed by several hanging sheets and platforms of flickering candles. She approached a corner of the rocky enclosure. Swirls was lying on a cot of bundled brown sheets. Squatting on the edge of the bed was Limey, who was gently nuzzling her hoof and returning her gentle smile. Several foals Limey's age were gathered in a circle before where the injured pony was. A container was lying beside them—a gift—and it was chock full of what appeared to be equine figures carved out of salt crystals.
“I don't care how tough things might get or how scary the dragons are,” Swirls spoke in a calm voice while running a weak hoof through Limey's mane above his goggles. “You must never give up hope. We are strong ponies. We have a wise council and a courageous prince...”
“Don't forget!” Limey beamed, his little tail flicking. “We got a brave pegasus willing to meet up with the Matriarch! Isn't that cool?”
“Hmmm... I'm not sure...” Swirl's eyes darted up towards Rainbow as her lips curved more. “Maybe you should ask her.”
The foals' head spun. They all gasped as the prismatic outsider stepped into that side of the chamber.
“What, do I have the pony pox?” Rainbow Dash mused calmly.
“You'd be in the right place for it,” Swirls said, then coughed. “Hey... I heard about what you said to the Council...”
“Wait until you hear about what I do with the Dragon Matriarch,” Rainbow said with a wing.
“Yeah!” Limey hopped off the bed and smiled up at Rainbow. “Are you gonna smack her in the teeth or what?” Several foals giggled and cheered.
“Er...” Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “That's... not exactly the point of this. You were obviously there, kiddo. You should know that this is all about getting the Matriarch to talk to somepony reasonable. And that reasonable somepony is a Princess of Equestria.”
“You mean a real princess?” a filly exclaimed. “Like with pretty dresses and stuff?”
“More like a total badflank who once spent a millenium as Dictator of the Moon.”
“Huh?”
“Er... Never mind.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Long story.”
“If only Stu was still around to see things come to this...” Swirls remarked in a wheezing voice. Her eyes briefly watered. “Silvadelians resorting to diplomacy...”
“Hey...” Rainbow Dash leaned in and sat on the edge of her bed. “The whole point of what I'm doing tonight is to find a solution to all this hundred years of craziness that doesn't involve violence. I think Stu would dig the idea of making this kingdom into a world where ponies wouldn't... wouldn't have to suffer like he did...”
Swirls slowly nodded, her eyes wandering towards the floor between her and the foals. “Perhaps it's true. Maybe you can do something so miraculous. I mean, who else could? You're not from around here, after all. You can fly...”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “I thought Ember Speak was the one who could fly.”
The foals in the room giggled.
Swirls smiled weakly. “It hurts to laugh...”
“Then just listen.” Rainbow Dash leaned in. “I don't believe in miracles. I believe in awesome ponies doing awesome things. You and the rest of your friends and family here? They've survived dragons burning up the world above them for over a century. That's a pretty awesome thing, not a miracle. You got to this point by depending on each other and fighting the good fight against evil, scaled morons and the like.”
“But to solve all of this through negotiations?” Swirls gave Rainbow Dash a painful look. “It sounds so... so...”
“Fancy?”
“Impossible,” Swirls remarked with an exhale.
Lime Tech's ears drooped. The other foals shuffled nervously and gave Rainbow Dash solemn expressions.
Rainbow Dash's eyes were searching the room, searching her mind, finding something. She smiled, casting off the shadows of the last few hours. “Funny thing, that...”
“What?”
“The impossible,” Rainbow Dash said. “I've made it happen before.”
The foals stirred with curious, gaping expressions.
Swirls' eyes narrowed. “Oh really?”
“Yes. Would you like to hear about it?”
Swirls merely stared at her.
Rainbow Dash gestured towards herself. “It's how I got this cutie mark, after all. I grew up in Cloudsdale, a giant floating city of clouds in the middle of the kingdom of Equestria.”
“A floating city?” Limey remarked.
“You heard me right. A pegasus sky city: powered by rain, cloud vapor, and radicalness!”
All of the foals cooed in amazement.
Rainbow Dash smirked devilishly and faced the group as a whole. “Little pegasi aren't born with the ability to fly. We gotta teach ourselves. So, I went to flight camp. It got boring at times, and I was a bit too cool for all of the classes that they had, but that's another story altogether. Ahem.” She gestured with her hooves as she spoke, “This one day, a bunch of bullies were poking fun at my friend Fluttershy. Fluttershy was a really tiny, dainty filly, and it took her a long time to learn how to fly. This is kind of a normal thing for pegasi, but these bullies didn't care. They just wanted to be cruel to a pony, and they picked her.”
She leaned back and ran a hoof through her mane, her eyes dancing between the candlelight of the infirmary.
“I thought it was dirty cruel, of course,” Rainbow said. “She totally didn't deserve to be treated like crap. So, I stood up for her. I told the bullies to back off. But they weren't about to let a blank flank tell them what to do, no matter how awesome she was.”
The foals giggled. Swirls listened intently, leaning her head aside.
“So, like, I challenged them to a race to protect Fluttershy's honor. I was going up against two really big-headed morons, and I knew it was time to make them eat their words, Rainbow Dash style! The flag waved, and we took off for a lengthy circuit around the southern edge of Cloudsdale. I was totalling smoking them, of course. But one of them got touchy and blew me off course with his wings. He was a few neck-breaking seconds from winning. Now there's not much in this world I hate more than losing. That's true now, and it twas definitely true then. I beat my wings faster than I ever did before. Not only did I soar past him, but I broke a barrier that had never been broken before in this day and age! I produced... the Sonic Rainboom.”
Every foal's eyes went wide.
“What... What's the Sonic Rainboom?!” a filly exclaimed.
“It's like breaking the sonic barrier, only you're flying so fast that you shatter the magical leylines fused to this world and—” Rainbow went cross-eyed in the middle of her explanation. She glanced down at the foals, only to see blank expressions facing her. “Ahem.” She smiled and made a wide circle with her hooves. “Imagine a huge splash of color exploding above you, taking up the entire sky, filling the world above with every piece of the spectrum as far as your eyes could see.”
“Wowwwwwww,” the foals chanted.
“And you made this happen?!” Limey remarked. “All by yourself?”
“They said it was a legend, a myth,” Rainbow Dash said. “An old mare's tail. But I proved them wrong, and I entered the history books.” She turned and glanced at Swirls. “So, as you can see, I've made the impossible happen, and I've lived to tell the tale about it. Things that appear too good to be true are simply that way because they haven't happened yet. And once they do, it only means that the world can get so much better, with newer and awesomer barriers to be broken.”
Swirls took a deep breath, smiling gently. “That's certainly an amazing tale. You must have lived an exciting life, Miss Dash...”
“Heh... Well...” Rainbow Dash gazed down at her hooves, fidgeting. “There's something that I tell myself each morning I see the sun rising ahead of me in my flight.”
“And what's that?”
Rainbow Dash gazed up at her with a calm expression. “That I haven't lived. Not yet. It's a barrier that I'm still soaring towards. I expect it to be really, really loud when I break through it.”
“Hmmm... I wish I had your strength,” Swirls said.
“Hey...” Rainbow Dash planted a hoof on her forelimb. “Don't ask to be downgraded. You and your Silvadelian buddies are waaaaay out of my league. For a while there, I was worried that I couldn't fit in with you guys.”
“And now?” Swirls asked.
Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well, let's just say I still hate to lose.”
“That means you're going show the Matriarch who's boss, right?!” Limey remarked.
Swirls chuckled, coughed, and smiled with a roll of her eyes.
“One thing at a time, kiddo,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now...” Her ruby eyes lit up as she grinned at the small crowd. “Who here wants to know about how I did the impossible Sonic Rainboom... a second time?!”
And they all gasped and cheered for her to continue.
Happy Rainbow Dash is happy; always easier to give yourself a pep talk when you can pass it off as giving one to someone else.
HA, dangit...
told my self not to make an account until i caught up with the story and got first comment on next chapter, close enough...
It's great to get this little piece of heartwarming interaction before RD goes and faces up what sounds to be an immense dragon. Then again, it also sets our mood up higher so that it can be crushed with that much more devastation, but who would do something like that?
More SS&E canon (Saros / End of Ponies to be precise)
I love this please more.
This one time, at flight camp...
1421043
It used to be easy to get first comment on this.
But now... Huzzah! The readers have been doubled!
1421067
Given how things have gone so far, I'd give it about 50/50 odds either way.
1421109 , yeah i've noticed, i started reading when colon put up 176, i've been reading 10-20 chapters a day and night, and finally caught up, you can only imagin how much i want more (and dew to my newbness i've replied to myself and several other people trying to reply to you)
I just sat down and read all 182 chapters in one 6 hour sitting.
i need moar!
Anybody else notice that Imploding Colon's profile pic is upside down? Could it be a sign!?
1421067
Spurred from the group chat:
Lime has a good point about there perhaps being something here that I overlooked, though I am still inclined to say that looking too deeply into this chapter would lead to one falling in. But oh well, let's dive in head-first for the hell of it.
What does this little bout of exposition say about Dash as it relates to her personality portrayed through the entire story? She's constantly on the move, constantly running, and never satisfied with staying in place, even temporarily as evidenced by mutterings in this chapter along among countless others. Her bravado is a front for her nagging feelings of inadequacy. However, we've already covered the "running from something" front, more interesting are the potential merits of a "journey, not destination" philosophy. If one never arrives, is there value in travel? If one is constantly looking to break barriers, can they every truly be satisfied? It is no coincidence that a story expanding on Dash's desire to never stop "being awesome" or "breaking barriers" is 182 chapters long and focused almost exclusively on moving in one direction, fast. Can Dash ever be fulfilled?
1421164
Check out his user page for the answer.
Once again, another impressive chapter.
This has to be one of the greatest stories on fimfiction, and it is most definitely my favorite story. It's like one of those good books that you never want to see end, and i'm glad it looks like there's lots more story to be told.
This actually motivated me to start writing my own fiction. Forgive the advertising, but Austraeoh's just been that much of an impact on me. Keep up the good work Colon; you rock.
1421195
Your comments on the length of the story itself struck me as the most pertinent at this point. Dash has visited Windthrow, Evergreen, Verdestone, Darkstine, and now Silvadel/The Sanctuary, five populated areas that have less and less knowledge of Equestria the further away they get. She's on a highly important mission, yet she has the time to stop and help out at each of these locations. She's risked her life a dozen times for every time she's avoided a dangerous situation. If you ask me, that isn't the behavior of somepony looking to break barriers - it's brushing up against suicidal.
Remember back, waaaaaaaaaaaay back in Chapter 11 (or so). Dash goes into the cave system despite acknowledging the danger of doing so. She narrowly escapes a cave eel attack. There are so many crazy risks like this that they can't be written off in the name of "awesomeness". To me, she's trying to find some way to feel something again. Danger is the only way she knows how to do that.
This also explains why she latched on to Gold Petals, yet left Windthrow so quickly after their feelings became apparent (yes, I'm mentioning Gold Petals again. RD/GP OTP.) She felt something again, but this time she wasn't expecting it. It scared her, and she ran away because she was unprepared to deal with it.
Whatever happened in Ponyville scarred Dash deeply, and she has become numb. Danger reawakens some sensation in her, so she actively seeks it. It is a selfish motivation, which would fit in nicely with the overarching theme of the story. She's on an extremely important mission for Equestria (her friends/Celestia/Ponyville, whomever), but her real motivation for such loyalty is just to be able to feel something again. In other words, corrupted loyalty. Personal motivation masquerading as noble sacrifice. I don't like accusing Dash of being a self-serving mare, but it seems to be the key that opens the most locks at this point.
Also, 400 total likes! Celebration for IC!
1421619
I've postulated previously on the precarious possibility the Elements of Harmony act as major themes in each of these locations. It's a little too muddy, but for certain Darkstine is Magic. I'll spare the re-hasing of what corresponds to what and why, but anyone willing to sift through the comments can find it. More important is your apt observation that, "...she has the time to stop and help out at each of these locations." For someone who might as well be on a mission from god, Dash sure does walk a fine line between taking unnecessary risk, sightseeing and keeping her nose eastward.
Setting aside the philosophical trope that all actions are inherently selfish, canon Dash has certainly shown herself to keep a balance between fierce loyalty to others and arrogant ego stroking. That duality is, perhaps, what makes her one of the most compelling characters of the show. She is at once dependable and flippant, caring and lazy, a great friend and a horrible individual.
Sacrifice of what, though? She hasn't truly shown herself to have a death wish, despite some interesting choices, and she hasn't shown herself to languish too much in the praise of other's for saving them. I have no doubt Dash is using bravado as a cover for emotion, no doubt that she is running away from something, and no doubt that she is attempting to fill some void with "awesome," but I can't say that what she is doing she is doing for herself and herself alone. What we are seeing is that duality of loyalty and bravado played out in the long-term, over the course of many weeks and through many situations in the face of dire circumstance and little hope. It is inner conflict, struggle, the desire to do what is right, but to also do right by one's self.
Austraeoh is not about saving the world, it's about Rainbow Dash fly east (and the discoveries, personal or otherwise, that leads to). It is an exploration of character.
1421721
When I say "sacrifice", I'm referring to the journey as a whole. Most people/ponies would probably agree that going on a long-term, dangerous journey like RD has taken is a pretty big sacrifice.
However, the most intriguing part of your latest comment was the last line. It got me thinging - what if you're absolutely, 100% correct? What if there is no Midnight Armory, but just... east? More land, more ponies, each new place getting her infinitesimally getting closer to the edge of the world. Maybe she can make it to the edge, maybe she can't. What if the edge is impassable for a pegasus, enhanced or otherwise?
I don't want to ignore the point you were making there, because it's spot-on, but I can't help thinking of Dash's reaction.
1421818
Sacrifice of material needs, perhaps, but Dash was never the type to really treasure material goods unless it was wonderbolts related; working with malleable and ever-changing clouds for a living does that. Remember Dash's cloud house? It was very flashy, but when we got a look inside it was merely a bed and a dresser, and a borrowed book! Perfect metaphor for her personality. A wild motif appears! (For Dash, stability is change, never staying still). That also reminds me, we still haven't learned to whom the initials on the goggles belong, since it's a material good Dash treasures I would guess something wonderbolt related. I mean, think about it, Dash is constantly moving and treasures what three things? 1) Her element: the last connection to her friends and past life, literal connection to the ruler of said past life and provider of confidence, guidance and all around magical deus ex machina. 2) The book: Obviously TBD still, but it tends to come up when she's thinking about her friends, and I have somehow also connected the book to Applejack in my mind. 2a) She also, briefly, treasured a single apple until it rotted, refusing to eat it despite hunger. 3) The googles: As described, initialed by someone important, extremely useful when flying into the rising sun.
Each good holds significance and each are practical. Moreover, with not much left in Ponyville and a chance to maybe fix something, Dash's journey is not a sacrifice so much as it is a last hope. It's not a sacrifice to Dash, anyway, it's duty, loyalty, her purpose.
Extreme despondency, but Dash isn't the type to give up that easily. But to talk about endings? Who knows, so long as there is a fandom and so long as this site is active, and with no hints at all, I'm not sure Austraeoh will ever end. It will keep going until writing it gets boring, or reading it gets boring I suppose.
If it were an impossible mission, Luna would not have been cruel enough to send dash on it.
1421818
1421721
Agua and Pilate you are the Siskel and Ebert of this Fanfic
1421991
Oh, OH! I call Ebert!
Yay, happy Dash! And holy in depth examination in the comments! (which is awesome, by the way - you know you've written something pretty great when people willingly analyse the bejeebus outta it). I agree with a lot of what was said, and seeing as it was phrased a crapton more eloquently than I could've put it, I won't rehash it. The goggles bit reminded me that they haven't been mentioned in a while, though...hmm... oh yeah, and this story better have an ending eventually, or I'll probably go crazy. If there's one thing that bothers me, its a lack of closure - open endedness, to an extent, is cool, but when too much is left up for interpretation I get cranky. Although I do really like the theme that this whole thing is about the journey rather than the destination, I'd still really like to have a finishing point somewhere, or at least an obvious pointer as to what supposedly happens after the words come to a stop. Anywho, like someone else already mentioned, I can't tell if this optimistic interlude is to amp up our confidence for Dash's success with the Matriarch or to give us a break before shit gets real and the casualty roster really goes to town. I'm running out of ways to say that I'm eagerly anticipating the next chapter, so I'll just use this from now on (unless I find a really inventive way to say it that begs sharing ) EANC!
Challenge accepted.
1421195
That comment made me think of the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. The idea of having a destination and never reaching it is the one of the key themes of the play (although it is put a little more eloquently than I managed just then ). If you haven't read it before, I suggest you do, it's quite good .
1421818
Hmm I'd say it's more of a risk than a sacrifice. From the sounds of it, Ponyville is ground zero for the chaos rift, so that's all of her material possessions eliminated. The only things she would have left are the bonds she has with other ponies there, and her own life, as well as the few physical possessions she has left. Having lost all of her close friends in a traumatic experienceand having an amount of physical property that can fit into a saddle-bag, she doesn't really have that much to sacrifice apart from herself - As Pilate explored, even that might not be much.
Pretty good relief chapter, although the mood seems to be ricocheting back and forth more than a shuttlecock in a game of Badminton. Two chapters ago we had a triumphant rush as Dash once again seemingly solved the problem, followed by a mood-crushing chapter when Sam and her have the fight, then this chapter when she brought back into some level of confidence. It doesn't break my suspension of disbelief, as these are circumstances where tension is high etc. but too much more mood whiplashing will probably stretch plausibility a bit.
That said, I'm loving Dash at the moment: it's good to see a character that bounces back and doesn't get kept in the depressed territory .
Also,
" “Really?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “I thought Ember Speak was the one who could fly.” "
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/312/563/05d.jpg
1421991>>1422006
Does this mean I get to cash his paychecks?
Is it just me or dose it seem that rainbow dash will most likely be able to clear the smog from doing a sonic rainboom in it?
goodness! I finally caught up!
and about time, too!
and now I can finally put this in my favorite list! (since I did not want to see 100+ numbers on my favorites)
awaiting the next chapter with eagerness~
1422396
I have read it, and it is, indeed, fantastic! Your analogy is apt and I commend you for it. (You should also check out Waiting for Guffman, by the way, one of the original Christopher Guest parodies).
This chapter is most certainly not without its problems, and the arc does seem to have a wonderful "bi-polar" element to it, doesn't it? Despite all the analysis and prose, there are many things worth critiquing here. Primary among these is the laziness of using the sonic rain-boom story as exposition. Looking at the whole story: there's the non-stop talking head syndrome*, the inability to make real progress in any direction, the incessant dragging on scenes for no reason other than to fit in something witty or poignant but with no discernible effect on the story, the list goes on. We can talk and type to death about the one-dimensionality of characters, the constant deus ex machina and so on. All of this before the actual grammar issues and formatting critiques. Moreover, don't let the ability to read between the lines dictate how deep or meaningful anything is, sometimes you can read between the lines because the space is so empty and vast you can fill it with whatever you like.
That said, it's still extremely enjoyable to read, and beat to death with analysis, memes and cheering. Taking the thing at face value and the literal literary critique seems petty in the face of the fun had through debating motive, intention and thematic story elements. It's not high cultured literature, it doesn't have to be.
*Interestingly enough, Austreaoh still maintains a fair bit of "show-don't-tell" despite the constant dialogue. Usually I have to post this video (and do so anyway because it makes me laugh):
This is Three Dawg ooooooowwwwwwww and your listening to Galaxy News radio.....
That Children is fighting the good fight
Brilliant! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Luna_lolface.png
Dat reference to the comments.
AND ANOTHER
IIIIIt's Dashie's Seventh Marathon Evaluation Time!
So e get a nice little break from all the drama and feels in this chapter, which gives us time to recover from this arc's epicness. But I find it interesting that Dash is willing to talk about her past again. Perhaps it is a sign that she is getting ready to stop running away from what happened in Ponyville and to move on from it. Also, this chapter has the most beautiful quote: "Things that appear too good to be true are simply that way because they haven't happened yet. And once they do, it only means that the world can get so much better." Is Imploding a professional writer? He seriously ought to be. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. N...no...only three left...you can do it, man...
Rainbow Dash does a sonic rainboom at the end of the arc.
Ah, the glorious Rainbow Swag returns.
Now we get a break from all of that big adventure. I needed a rest. I'm so exhilerated!
I find it funny how Rainbow Dash can talk about how awesome she is and that seems to make her feel better.
It's like she's feeding her ego with her ego!
Egoception!
a second time
ohhhh rainbow
1423292 Walls of text, walls of text everywhere! mememaker.net/static/images/templates/13888.jpg
Whoa.
Oh hey, downvotes on my comment. I guess, in hindsight, it was a bit rude...
Exposition!
reminds me of a gag in a different story:
Twilight is reading a newspaper, and sees this headline:
pegasus breaks sound barrier!
she thinks "but that's old news", then reads the next line:
no, seriously, she broke it. nothing has gone supersonic since!
Ah yes. Sometimes it's easy to forget that RD is a total ham...Now is not one of those times.
General Iroh (Mako), Tales of Ba Sing Se
07/28/2019
17:46 UTC
Yeah fight the good fight just like three dog taught you
Rainbow... Your egghead is showing... Again, if I recall correctly. X)))
The ultimate power move for this story would be to have Rainbow psych herself up telling the story of how she's beating the odds and done the impossible multiple times before, only for her to confront the Matriarch with Luna and get her teeth kicked in. I still have a bad feeling about all this...