“If there's one thing minotaurs are obsessed with, it's ancient architecture,” Astral said. “No matter what geographical region you're from, you're bound to find minotaurs digging into the ground in packs. They're convinced that there are structures hidden beneath the natural surface of the world.”
“Structures?” Rainbow Dash remarked, all the while keeping guard at the cell's wooden door. “Like what kind of structures?”
“Things of intelligent design,” the frail unicorn remarked. He struggled to stay upright as he murmured, “Labyrinths, machinery, dungeons, weapons—things that belong to ages before history was written. They have a veritably spiritual need to find these supposed relics, even if there's very little evidence leading to their existence.”
“So it goes without saying that they'll sacrifice anything to get what they want,” Rainbow Dash muttered. She motioned towards Rockspot's dad and the other ponies. “Even if what they want sucks for ponies like us.”
“They've threatened over and over again to take our lives,” Astral said. He gulped and stared sadly at the floor. “They've made true with their word on several occasions. I've lost many friends...”
“Well, you're not gonna lose anymore,” Rainbow Dash said with a snarl. “Not if I have something to do about it.”
“You seem to be a courageous type,” Astral spoke. “But you're just one pegasus.”
“Yeah. Stinks to be the minotaurs. They're gonna need a few tanks before they can call it even.”
“Don't be coy.” Astral frowned. “Even if you could buck two dozen of them across the head, it doesn't guarantee all of our safety. If we're to get out of here, we need a plan.”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “Ughhhh... But I did so much planning just to get here!”
Astral glanced at her flimsy blanket of a disguise. “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “I can see that...”
“Perhaps if she made a distraction?” Rockspot's father spoke up. “Something out of the blue that will throw all of the minotaurs into a frenzy? After all, there're still six more of us at the Machine.”
“Just what 'Machine' is this?” Rainbow Dash made a face. “Does this have something to do with the minotaurs and their fetish for weird underground stuff?”
“I've only seen parts of it the last few times I worked down the tunnel,” Astral said. “I have no idea what it is. Probably some leftover contraption from proto-Wintergate. It doesn't matter. It's important to the minotaurs, and they're working us to death over it.”
“Then maybe I should do something to drag all of the minotaurs out of the tunnel,” Rainbow Dash said. “Then I can get you guys out, fetch the six, and find us a way out.” She looked at the group. “Is there another exist besides the quarry?”
“There are several service shafts along the way. The minotaurs themselves built vertical escape routes in the event of a cave-in,” Rockspot's father said with a shuddering breath. “They may be cruel creatures, but they're not stupid.”
“Cool beans. Here's what we'll do!” Rainbow Dash grinned at the group. “I'll go and pull off a wicked crazy distraction at the quarry. When the minotaurs run out, I'll fly back here, yank the door open, and then we'll head down the tunnel. The minotaurs won't even remotely expect that. Then we'll grab the other six of you guys, find a hatch—”
“And then what?” A mare asked in a hoarse breath.
Rainbow Dash blinked. “We... uhm... gallop?”
Another stallion muttered, “I don't think this is a good idea. Those minotaurs will sick the monsters on us in a flash. We wouldn't make it to the nearest village.”
“Hey.” Rainbow Dash looked at Astral. “You said something about...” She bit her lip, then uttered, “Ch-chaos strips?”
“Yes.”
“What do?”
“Huh?”
“Tell me all about them, ya horn-head.”
“Oh.” Astral cleared his throat. “They're leftover relics from the Chaos Wars, when Discord ravaged the world.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “You don't say...?”
Astral nodded. “They were used to summon abominations that Discord had crafted in the nether. Rumor is that it's made out of his special, regenerative bone. It emulates how the great Lord of Chaos was capable of creating matter out of seemingly-nothing. He was merely reaching into an alternate dimension of discordant energies. The chaos strips function in the same way, but each one of them is enscribed with the ability to only summon one thing.”
“In this case, ugly-as-tartarus bat creature thingies.”
“Erm... That's a poetic way to put it,” Astral remarked. “Regardless, there are always two strips and—”
“Two strips?”
“Yes. It's how they maintain equilibrium. If a single one of them is destroyed, then he other one replicates another. The only way to eliminate them from this realm of harmony is to shatter them both.”
“I'm guessing this Thunderhorn guy has them both?”
“Most likely he just has one,” Astral said. “If he's smart, he would have given the second strip to another worker or overseer. If you want to ensure that the creatures don't attack us, you have to fetch both of them.”
“Well, that sounds like fun,” Rainbow Dash grunted. “Alright, so, lemme get this straight. I gotta get both chaos strips, make a distraction, fly back here, free you guys, and get us down the tunnel before any minotaur discovers either me or the mess I've made of the door's lock right here.”
“Mmm...” Astral winced. “Yes...”
“Whew! And I thought my morning was gonna be boring!” Rainbow Dash cracked her joints and approached the door. “Well, guess I'm off to continue doing my one-pony-sneaking-mission.”
“Wait!” One of the ponies exclaimed. “How will we know that it's okay to run out of here?”
“Duh! I'll have come back!”
“At least give us a signal of some sort.”
“Pfft!” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Just listen to my voice.” She whipped her cloak back onto her blue features. “Seriously, you ever heard another pony whose voice cracks half as much as mine?”
For some reason, that was enough for the many prisoners to nod in agreement.
“Miss Dash!” Rockspot called out.
She paused before the door. “Yeah, squirt?”
He smiled, his cheeks red. “Thanks for being so awesome.”
“Save it for when I've ruined the minotaur's day, huh?” Rainbow Dash shoved against the door. “And I'm off! Nnnngh... Nnnnngh! Nnnngh—Horsefeathers! Why won't this thing—?”
“You... uhm...” Astral fidgeted. “You have to pull.”
“Oh. Uhm. I knew that. Ahem. I'm off!”
And thus morale for the imprisoned was shattered before they operation even began...
I don't think she is going to pull this one off. anyway bad puns aside I saw this fic when it was on the new additions and I though "hey that looks interesting maybe she is migrating". Well now having read the entire thing in about 3 hours I have come to guess is that Rainbow is in serious trouble from the yellow eyes thing, the other mane 5 are more than likely dead killed by the thing hurting Dash, and Equestria is in a sort of Chaos. You sir know how to keep me intrigued by withholding just the right amount of info and having perfect cliffhangers. 5 MUSTACHES FOR YOU
This story would make a great MLP video game.
Dash, you silly filly... dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Rainbow_Dash_lolface.png
972110
I second that notion, the sense of freedom and exploration is refreshing, far more so than games like Skyrim where the world is tiny and you can't walk five meters without running into a new and pointless quest or another dungeon.
972110 I agree! This would make an excellent sandbox game! I imagine it being similar to The Legend of Zelda, where there is freedom to explore the big open world and side quest are just there if you want to kill time.
972110 It must be made! Now, who knows any game developers willing to make it? Maybe some of those bronies who are making games... I shall look into this.
-THEpandaman007
She looked at the group. “Is there another exist besides the quarry?”
Should be "exit"
1276098
No, she is saying that there is still a world full of life outside of their cave.
...jk
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So in this chapter we get some answers in regards to history, which I liked! Apparently there was a period of time in the past where Discord ravaged the earth. (either when the royal sisters or when the mane six fought him, probably the former.) After this Chaos War, as it is called, ended, Discord left behind a number of relics. They are known as Chaos Strips. In the same way Discord creates matter out of seemingly nothing by reaching into an alternate dimension, these Chaos Strips made of Discord's own bone are used to create an unlimited number of one kind of object. They always come in pairs. Evidently, Thunderhorn (the minotaur leader) has two Chaos Strips that produce the bat monsters. This is making more sense to me now...yes, everything is falling into place. I don't think Discord has fully returned yet, but enough of his power has seeped through his stone imprisonment to possess the mane six, minus Rainbow Dash. That or a pro Discord extremist group is using Chaos Strips to slowly bring Discord back. By now, it has basically been confirmed that the other five members of the mane six are dead or captured by Discord or for another reason out of the field of play. We still need to learn what that thing Celestia is meditating on is, though...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
man this is just getting more and more interesting.
i think what drew me in was the fact that it was so vague to begin with and i really wanted to see where it went. i'm glad i kept reading.
1049251
newmediaist.com/files/FarSide.jpg
The minotaurs' hunger for ancient technology reminds me of the Brotherhood of Steel.
1932707
I was thinking more along the lines of the Falmer from Skyrim. This whole story so far reminds me of Skyrim, in some way or another.
>Is there another exist besides the quarry?
Just one of many errors I've seen in this story. y u no get a le editor ;_;
This can't go down well. No matter how awesome Rainbow Dash is, she can't pull of something that hard. If she does, I will very impressed with the fictional character in this story. I know I'm also impressed with this chapter, the way you released the information was great, slowly but surely. And the minotaurs are attacking the ponies because they don't want them to mine up any structures, I guess? Have they been making the crystals as well?
3673275
Because fuck u.,
This bodes well.
3858234 no fak u gooby
The other mane five aren't dead. Celestia turned them to stone. So much hate from Rainbow.
Does Spotty have a crush? He even remembered to use the right A-Word. Now that's impressive.
4019575
STOP SPOILING THE STORY
4019575 ExCUSE me? I have just about had it with these spoilers! You could at least have had the decency to hide your comment so as to avoid ruining even more of the story for those of us who have come here late and have no idea what will happen! *sigh* great, now I know even moren of the story than I did before.
the
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... yeah great dialog and action. But the description of ponies is horrible. No offense, but Rockspots father "has a messy brown mane". Astral is a "pale unicorn". The list of OCs is disheartening since all of them have either no, or almost no description to them. It makes it hard to visualize them when we don't know what your OCs really look like, I mean just a little bit of LUS would do great here. I'm not a real pro-LUS kind of person, but when you have a mountain of OCs. Either a linked page, or a chapter dedicated to "Here's what the OC's Look Like Reference Guide" would be great.
Oh, Rainbow Dash...
Should be exit. Also, godam, Rainbow Dash. You just don't know when to quit? Suppose that's why I love ya.
Horse breath?
Someone's got themselves a bit of a hero crush
I really like how you go out of the way to pay attention to detail, instead of just slapping a lot of human terms on everything, and make practical pony alternatives, like using 'hoof' instead of 'hand' where many people would not.
I like how you've kept Dash's personality from the show almost entirely intact. Even faced with near certain death and attrocity, she's too busy showboating. It's crass and not always in best taste, but I wouldn't have Dash any other way.
Discord just here playing Minecraft, apparently?