The constellations bowed around Rainbow Dash as she soared towards the east horizon. Hours into her flight, she had planted the goggles once more on her head. A light condensation gathered over the lenses, but that didn't seem to deter her.
With quiet grace, she angled her wings to catch the wind currents that would carry her forward with the least amount of effort. She glided for hours, with only the stars above as company.
There was no expression to her face, no curvature to her lips, no moisture to her eyes or shine to her coat. She was one with the sky, an accidental splash of colors against a curious and unpredictable tapestry. Her only purpose—her only desire—was to keep soaring her way through that mosaic, to discover more and more of it, even if it threatened to drown her all the more.
The mountains of Wintergate subsided beneath her. She was finally gracing a flat landscape for the first time in over a week. Windthrow was long behind. Rainbow Dash didn't even bother tempting a glance into her peripheral vision. All that mattered was forward.
Soon, the horizon was burning. With dawn came the rising Sun, the unwitting task of Princess Luna, and the one remaining anchor Rainbow Dash knew she would always have to home... or what she had once called “home.”
As the golden rays melted over the dewy landscape, Rainbow Dash closed her goggled eyes. She expected no mountain to collide with, no cloud to get buried in. Everything was air and wind and forgetfulness. She allowed it to embrace her like a lover, rocking away the memories of yesterday—both painful and blissful. Soon, she was bathed in the warmth of the eastward horizon, and her only recourse was to melt in it.
...are they gone?
I'm out of ammo, Keith, I can't fend off any more of these updates...
got up this morning
"why do I have so many more notifications in my favorites?"
"oh. That's why."
Horly shite so many updates!
Well, at least there was a lot to read. Pretty good stuff too.
Argh, every time I finish one of these, I feel emptier, I need MOAR
And so the journey continues...
That means... *gulp* no... dialogue?
IT'S A SAGA
Onward with the adventure! And we get to read more scenes of the beautiful lands outside Equestria!
looking back, thats alot of green checks. I feel so proud
IIIIIt's Dashie's Third Marathon Evaluation Time!
So in this chapter, we get the true ending of the Windthrow Arc. Dash accepts the fact that she will never see anyone their again, and she is ready to move on with the journey. It's kind of sad, actually...but other than that, it's time for a new adventure! Let us embark forth! These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Okay, I already have two up! This isn't that bad!
My oh my! Time to break out "The Wall" and "Wish You Were Here"!
B-b-but.....Gold Petals -Sam
Annnnd... Back to flying!
I thought she'd thrown them aside when she had to dive after Rockspot.
Do you know what I noticed?
That in the story, it said that Luna raised the sun now... Does that mean something happened to Celestia????
She also said that Luna was her last anchor to her home, or what she once called home...
2114585
I thought that too.
2117715
Celestia's camped out in Ponyville watching over some Chaos Rift...or something.
I just had an idea: Rainbow Dash is going east so she can reach the edge of the world and so... something... to the sun. She mentioned earlier that she could also have gone west.
I'm gonna stop doing the one comment per chapter thing cause it was stupid. also I messed up. also somepony downvoted them. Anyway, I love this story.
>She was one with the sky
I thot she was one with the moisture
Well, I think it's time I moved on, just like Rainbow Dash. GoldDash was a great ship, and I still fully support it, but it is over and done with. Now, we fly east.
3673973
No.
Gone with the wind.
Maybe it's cause I'm tired, but this was somehow the most depressing chapter yet to me.
The last chapter showed Dash wrestling with her emotions, which was distressing. But somehow, seeing her manage to throw those emotions away (for now) and just fly away was more sad.
Another question: When did Dash recover the goggles? when she dove after Rockspot (or rather the monster that had abducted him) it said she threw off the goggles and that they became a spec and were gone. So when and how did she get the goggles back?
5647645 Agreed.
Emotionless Dash is worst Dash
3300612 We all do...
But... didn't she lose the googles while saving the foal? I thought it said pretty clearly that she had to throw them away during the plummet and I've seen no mention of her recovering the googles or ever using them on several occasions she could have up until this point...
What is this feeling I'm experiencing? It's like depression in that it's related to sadness, but it's entirely foreign to me.
I feel the urge to explain what I'm going through. It's like the ghost of an asthma attack (or maybe chest pain) combined with the odd sensation that I should be tearing up or even crying, but can't or won't. This is so strange.
1055318 The HORROR!
logging; Time elapsed: Aprox. 5 hours 20 minutes, 88 chapters, time: 3:15 AM CST 6-17-17
Why do you do this to me imploding colon? My sleep cycle was already janky enough.
Stop writing so good, it's detrimental to my health.
8238212
Holy shit, someone was here literally yesterday
8239542
Yeah, and I was here 6 days later :D
Wohoo and the next arc begins maybe, hopefully I'll get to see these characters again someday. Maybe in later chapters. I'll miss them either way.
2114585
Honestly, thank you for this. This has been bothering me nonstop since that she threw them aside. I knew I couldn’t have been the only one bothered that she just left them.
Wait, when did she get the goggles back? Didn't she "ripped them off" during the foalnapping-monster chase?
9075894
Yea, I figured it was implied that they were hanging down on her neck or back n her saddlebags during the chase.
Those goggles are more important than you seem to think, they would never be discarded so carelessly.
Onward and Eastward. But no matter how far or fast you fly, you cannot escape yourself.
07/14/2019
20:35 UTC
That really is it, huh...
No more Red Turnip or Hushtail or Gold Petals or Astral. They're just... gone from her life now.
9879109
That's just the way it is for the life of a wandering soul it really puts it into perspective
ah man, i was missing this as much as i liked the windthrow story. these beautifully rich PAINTINGS that you make with your descriptions are like pieces of chocolate with indescribably deep flavors
And then, after that emotional departure, we are back to the sky. Flying east once again.
This really should have the sad tag. It's not a constantly teary-eyed, punch-you-in-the-face, need-a-detox-of-puppies kind of sad. But it's got a constant undertone of loneliness and depressing themes that make me feel a little empty inside.
Now that she's out of the story, I do genuinely feel bad for Gold Petals. It's entirely possible that she will never actually know why Dash had to leave or why she seemed so horrified as she did so. Dash kissed her, freaked out, explained nothing, and then bolted as fast as she could. They will likely never see each other again and GP is just going to have to wonder.