When the blizzard hit, Rainbow Dash thought she would be prepared for it. It struck with such severity that she could barely fly a straight path. A huge downdraft cascaded across the mountainside, pelting her with relentless flurries of snow and powder. Every time she attempted flying straight up, the draft flung her at an awkward angle. For fear of being tossed blindly into a mountainside beyond the veil of frosted clouds, she stuck to the mountainous slopes, crawling her way forward against the winds in hope that the sheer body of the craggy landscape would eventually block the throes of the relentless blizzard and give her some relief.
In such a grounded fashion, Rainbow Dash scaled the cliffs and slopes of the eastward ridges. At least, she hoped that she was climbing her way towards the east. The blizzard had struck in the middle of the day, and the sunlight was evenly dispersed through the translucent soup of ice and frost. What was more, the storm had sent her in a dizzying spiral as soon as it struck. For all she knew, she could just as easily have been trekking north, south, or—worst of all—back west.
The hellish grayness was closing in on all sides. Everytime Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to breathe, she nearly choked on the bone-chilling flurry. She clung to the rocky walls, using her wings to steady her. Her vision was reduced to about ten feet, and she used it to find her way up. Her only progress was the feeble knowledge that—despite her predicament—she was ascending the stony peak. It was her slim hope that she'd reach the summit and have a firm platform to rocket herself skyward as soon as there was a break in the winds.
This, of course, was a noble pursuit. However, it was starting to take too long. The blizzard would not let up. From the windblown icicles she was spotting along the ascent, Rainbow figured that the ghastly phenomenon was common to that particular section of landscape. She was having to deal with the very real and utterly horrifying fact that the sun would fall before she'd enjoy a respite.
Rainbow Dash's teeth chattered, but she couldn't feel it. She couldn't even hear it, much less the muscles in her jaws or the breaths coming out of her nostrils. Moisture was freezing over her nose and clinging to her lashes. She wished that she had somehow acquired for herself a canvas mask back at Windthrow. Years of exercising her wings and hooves had made her unprepared for protecting her face first and foremost. It was one thing to purposefully launch herself into danger for the sake of a well-planned stunt. Rainbow Dash wasn't entirely equipped to deal with the consequences of marching directly into prolonged peril.
Her thoughts bounced back to the truly hectic moments of her life as of late: quarry eels, hydras, minotaurs, and extra-dimensional bat-creatures. She had endured so many chaotic and unpredictable hardships. Surely she had it within her to survive a single blizzard.
And yet, the light was fading from the milky world of madness surging around her. She felt the cold intensifying, if that was even possible for her frayed nerves. Marching into the flurrying flakes felt like swimming through knives. Regardless, Rainbow Dash persisted. On wobbling hooves, she pulled herself up cliff-face after cliff-face, struggling not to slip and fall into unfathomable nothingness just mere inches from her quivering figure. She hadn't used her wings for hours, and she wasn't sure the feathers had what it took from the constant punishment to give her a much-needed lift.
The day was dying. A stone gray darkness melted over the howling cyclone. Rainbow Dash paused to press her back against a wall of stone, panting. She hissed through gnashing teeth as she reached a hoof up to her ruby pendant and rubbed it. A dim glow emanated, then slowly intensified, warming her ever so slightly and bringing a miniscule glow to the frozen hellscape descending all around her. Rainbow Dash wondered if this would be the last thing she would see—a bubble of crimson luminescence hopelessly veiled by snow on all sides. The mountain whistled from the sheer force of the winds slicing past its granite shoulders. It sounded like a swarm of invisible creatures soaring towards her from a distance.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, attempting to meditate, to find her center. She had lived a very hazardous life. She was prepared to experience many things. She was ready to stumble, ready to hurt herself, and even ready to die. One thing she never wanted to experience before the end of her days was panic.
So, with a sharp breath, she opened her eyes, and took one step forward. Only... the mountain had disappeared beneath her. To her shock, a swift gale had side-swiped the mountain, shattered a throng of icicles, and flung them hard into her side like a blast of glass shrapnel. Rainbow Dash could no longer make broad assumptions about the usefulness of her wings. As she sailed off the mountainside, she had no choice but to exercise them. She found the entire endeavor taxing, for try as she might to extend her feathers, her appendages were failing her. The blizzard had done its damage, and half of her body wasn't responding to what her nerves were telling it. Soon, she found herself plummeting—twirling—and ultimately diving towards a deep crack in the earth, a sudden gorge that threatened to swallow Rainbow Dash whole.
She hardly had the breath to scream.
And... Cliffhanger. I love it!
The Saga continues
Ah, the peril continues! This is the hidden gem of fimfiction.
She's free-falling?
This isn't good...
992013 My dear sweet Luna!!! That is the single most beautiful song ever!!!
Wow it's literally a cliffhanger.:)
A message from MASH-
Hey there, readers! Just wanted you guys to know that, as per usual after a Marathon, I will be taking a 2-3 day break from evaluating. The evaluations will resume at the end of that time period.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
1453292After a couple weeks of slowly trudging along, reading all your evaluations, I have finally caught up with you! That said, I will now take a break so you can get back ahead. I find the evaluations to be somewhat interesting.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So in this chapter, I started to feel legitimately scared by the description. It really felt like I was on the mountain with Rainbow Dash. These chapters are great in their own way - there's usually not a lot of plot going on, but it doesn't need plot because it's so beautiful. Also, the cliffhangers are back...God dang it. These are my thoughts so far.
P.S. 1466411You're actually waiting for me to catch up...?
SO TOUCHED. See now, if I wasn't coming back from a hiatus, I would make this a Marathon night...
Hmm...well, I do like a good challenge...but later. I'll be sure to dedicate a future Marathon to you, my friend!
1470855There's no need to strain yourself, I think it would be a good thing for me to slow down my pace here. Also, I think that the 200 chapter limit has been reached, I wonder if there's a sequel to this terribly long yet amazingly beautiful story.
1472212It has...ended?
Mother of Celestia...But Austraeoh is the Fanfic of Ages. The Essence of Description. The Definition of Plot (in the most non-sexual way possible). It was said that, the day this masterpiece ended, Rainbow Dash would descend from the Heavens and judge all fanfiction. Those such as Austraeoh would be told, "come with me, for you have written well of me. All non-Dash stories would be confused. Dash would then say, "know this-the goodness and quality with which you wrote, you wrote of me." And the bad fanfiction would be shunned and cast aside, for they had made a mockery of Rainbow Dash. And when they inquired as to when they did this, Dash would say, "these clopfics and trollfics and gorefics you wrote about the least of your brothers, you wrote about me."
Brace yourself, FimFiction. The shitstorm is coming.
-MASH
P.S. I'm here all week.
blizzards are no fun i have been in one. 70mph winds and crazy amounts of snow. would hate to have to fly in one
I wonder what Dashcicles would taste like?
Whats gonna happen!?
1472729
That's... that's fuckin' beautiful, man.
1625068
frozen skittles
1472729
One thing's for certain, I look forward to reading your evaluations once I reach Eljunbyro and, after that, Innavedr.
103 chapters to go!
awwww shit
1453292 ;_;
I read the title for this chapter, and I felt my heart sink. I knew something bad would happen, just as I have been predicting for the last few chapters, and it just did. The cold of that mountain already sounded horrible, without a dangerous blizzard threatening to sweep her of her hooves and throw her to an untimely death battling against her. Of course, that's exactly what did happen, so I want to know what's going to happen to her. But alas, I have to take part in this horrible thing called 'sleep', and I must wait until later tomorrow to continue my reading session. So close to the half-way point, too!
1625068
They be good.
Blue speck on a white blanket.
3868936 With a shit ton of dust, dandruff, and a fan blowing it all around.
Here lies Rainbow Dash.
She died an un-awesome death.
...
Huh, I could have sworn I heard the wind scream "Like hell I did!".
Anyone else reminded of that sad episode from Season 1 of Pokemon where Ash and his boys get caught in a snow storm, and he forces everyone into their Pokeballs to stay warm, but they refuse and stay out too share their heat with him and he says "You win, we'll all be cold together..."
Just as the epic bit of this tear jerking number starts playing:
Anyone else? Just me. Whatever.
9885066
Oof those feels! I never knew that piece had a real name.
This Dark will be Long, for sure.
On the same note, can someone contact Hinterland Studio, and make a crossover game with MLP and Long Dark? Three races, each has bonuses. Earth ponies last longer, Pegasi can fly at the cost of calories, Unicorns can craft faster, or some other bonus.