Shoulda Called it "The Chase"
Darkness.
Rustling.
Shuffling.
Then...
A pulse of ruby light.
Twinkling... fading...
Then once again...
Darkness.
"... ...mrmmff... come on..."
In a blinding flash, the ruby glow returned. Ripples of crimson light branched outward, illuminating jagged rock and splintery support beams.
Vaporous breaths issued from Rainbow's muzzle as she held a hoof over her pendant.
With a gulp, she turned and looked one way.
A ruby halo illuminated a claustrophobic corridor leading into pitch blackness.
Rainbow exhaled. Pivoting about, she aimed her Element in the other direction.
The light caught a trickle of water from a miniature stalactite. Abandoned mining equipment and dilapidated wooden crates lined the edges of a crooked burrow. Unevenly spaced wooden rungs led towards a higher shaft positioned somewhere above.
All the while, a dull vibration rolled through the foundation of the mountain, issuing from below. Ever so slowly, the reverberations subsided, reduced to a dull hush.
Four colorful faces phased into the visible spectrum, anchored to the pegasus.
"Did... did Dashie make it?" Pinkie Pie asked.
Twilight sighed. "We're all here, Pinkie Pie. Of course Rainbow made it."
"You never know." Pinkie blinked. "She could be a ghost too now!"
"Nah..." Rainbow Dash's teeth chattered as she rubbed her forelimbs. "I'm too c-cold to be a ghost."
"You poor thing." Fluttershy gazed sympathetically at her. "Now that the craziness is over with, maybe you can set a fire to warm yourself?"
"Sorry, Flutters, but..." Rainbow cast a nervous glance at the metal lid a few spaces over from where she sat. Steam rose from the circular edges. "A fire is the last thing I want at the moment. Besides..." She stood up, wincing from fresh bruises. "...I gotta find a way out of this mountain." She shuddered. "Then I gotta make my way to Wyvern Point."
"Are..." Twilight Sparkle blinked. "...are the Talon still after us?"
Fluttershy squinted into darkness.
"Well, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked.
"They... seem to be leaving the tunnel exits, actually," Fluttershy remarked with a blink. "They're gradually flying southwest, one by one."
"Could it be?" Rarity gaped at the others. "We finally gave them the slip?"
"Probably think Rainbow's dead," Twilight said.
"Yeah..." Rainbow shuddered, gazing up at the moist ceiling. "For all intents and purposes, I probably am."
"Fear not, darling." Rarity smiled. "This mountain is most certainly hollow."
"Oh yeah?"
The unicorn nodded. "There are mining shafts and corridors carved all throughout the thing."
"And is there a way out?"
Rarity chewed on her lip.
Rainbow glared. "Rarity..."
"There is, Rainbow. But..." She winced slightly. "It's quite a bit of a trek to get there. A full day's journey without the aid of flight. Maybe two."
"Wowie zowie!" Pinkie blinked wide. "They really tore this place inside out!"
"From the look of things, it's abandoned," Twilight said. "These tunnels probably went out of use years ago. Decades, even."
"Rarity..." Rainbow turned around.
"Yes, but of course, Rainbow." Rarity nodded. "I shall assist you in traversing this jagged labyrinth."
"Well, could you at least give me a general idea to start with?" Rainbow arched an eyebrow. "I'm not asking you to point or anything, but—"
"The key is to go up, darling," Rarity said. "There are dozens upon dozens of corridors, and several of them lead laterally across the mountain like invisible spiderwebs—invisible to everypony but me, of course."
"But an exit?"
"Somewhat northwest of here, and quite a climb." Rarity's horn pulsed as she spoke, "The next few levels above us are quite thoroughly interconnected. So, if you want my advice, I'd suggest that you ascend as often as possible. Once we get high enough, I'll step in to give you some more pertinent directions."
Rainbow sighed. "Works for me." She gulped. "Anyone else in here?"
"No, Rainbow." Fluttershy shook her head. "It's just us. Although, there's quite a few colonies here or there."
"Colonies?" Rainbow blinked. "Colonies of what?"
"Bats."
"Oh."
"Finally!" Pinkie grinned. "Someone to hang out with who won't try and kill us!"
"Brbrbrbrrrr..." Rarity grimaced. "Remind me to close my eyes when we get near them, thank you."
"Oh Rarity, bats are nothing to be afraid of." Fluttershy smiled. "They're like rats with wings."
"You're not sweetening the image any, dear."
Twilight spoke up. "Can we all agree that now would be a very good time to pause and catch our collective breaths?"
"I agree with Twilight." Pinkie nodded. "I'm party train pooped after all that."
"Sorry." Rainbow shuffled head, shining the ruby light ahead of her. "But we can't afford to stick around here... even for a breather."
"Why not?" Rarity remarked.
Rainbow waved a hoof at the ceiling. "Somewhere up there... a bounty hunter named Remna has been hired by the Desperadoes to find me and provide escort to Wyvern Point. She's not going to help anyone if she can't find me—all because I'm stuck down here."
"Rainbow has a point," Twilight said. "Sorry, girls, but we're going to have to stay sharp for a little bit longer."
"But of course." Fluttershy nodded. "Rarity? Care to lead the way?"
Rarity pointed. "The closest vertical shaft is right there, Rainbow."
"I see it. Thanks." Rainbow pensively grasped a set of old wooden rungs and began climbing. "Whew... chilly..."
"You feel a draft?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, actually."
"Good!" Rarity remarked. "That means somewhere high up above the exit to these mines is still open!"
"Boy did I pick a bad day to give up my one and only coat," Rainbow muttered.
"Keep moving, Rainbow," Twilight suggested with a smile. "That'll warm you up."
"Mmmm... here's hoping."
"Do... do you really think they assume Rainbow is dead now?" Fluttershy asked.
"Who?" Twilight glanced back. "The Talon?"
Fluttershy bit her lip and nodded.
"Doubt it," Rainbow muttered. "Between Keris and the Commander... something tells me I've made at least two converts."
"Why do you not sound proud of that?" Rarity remarked.
"Just 'cuz..." Rainbow sighed. The light bled out of the lower corridor as she climbed her way up a narrow shaft to the next level. "Seems like—ever since Red Barge—I've been doing nothing but causing chaos."
"Extenuating circumstances, Rainbow," Twilight said. "I bet that... uhhh... being Austraeoh is a great deal easier when you're not being chased."
"Well, write a book and read it out to me, egghead," Rainbow muttered into the darkness. "Because that's all that Austraeoh's ever had to look forward to."
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And now we get a few chapters of Talon and Theanim while Dash gets her fuzzy blue dock out of the mountain tunnels.
Chin up Rarity, better than demonic spiders.
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
hehe, I was just reading the chase
Well, um...you're not exactly wrong, unfortunately for you.
6911065 and better than those chaos bat things from book one and five
At least theres one good thing about the smaller tunnels Dash, the Giant spiders cant fit down them themselves, though their long thin spiny legs do have quite the reach. And Grip.
Another good reason fr not hanging round much is just in case the dredge coal fire was hot enough to shatter the tunnel lining, causing it to fail and the thermal pulse to destabilise the overhead rock making the roof collapse, given the mine workings are so close above, and meaning that rail travel for wyvern point reinforcements and supplies could take many days or even weeks for things to cool down. Unless the Consortium has a certain special mineral mine up there which is why they spent so much on that desolate line, and theyll run up a tunneling shield or even a heavy squad of boring crews to rip the mountain a new one.
Pokemon myestery dungeon! Austraeoh style!
Plot twist, IC is rainbow dash!
It'd be too confusing to have two daily updated stories with that name.
No, THESE are rats with wings
. Bats are actually quite cool, especially when you look at them up close.
6911081
Exactly what I was going to post.
6911091 the chaos serpents that sprang forth from the strips of chaos metal?
6911147 well, if your definition of serpent can fly, then yes
6911155 Kukulkan, serpent god of the nine winds was a winged serpent that could fly.
Besides the Chaos serpents were energy beings.
So things might get easier?
Haha, yeah right who am I kidding.
... Does Rainbow even had any food with her? I can't remember the last time she's eaten anything. And now she's looking down the barrel of a few days' travel underground.
Also, I'm curious to see what happens when Seraphimus gets back to Braum. Keris may very well be on the business end of a butt chewing.
6911088
inb4 the last chapter of the last book ends with someone dipping a quill into some ink then penning the first sentences of Austraeoh.
6911171 I don't think they were just energy.
ch35 Austraeoh, if there's a more descriptive section in Urohringr or later in Austraeoh i dunno. I think the energy creatures you're thinking of are from the Xonans though.
So, since Rainbow is the Queen of Idiotic Plans, does this mean she's now the Queen Under the Mountain?
6911228 Not just any someone. A lemur. They're one of the primary inhabitants of the dark side, you know.
(they're also the real origin race that created all of the ring worlds)
6911242 Hmm maybe, but Urohringr refers to them as serpents throughout the whole end sequence.
Chptr 194 of Urohringr
And makes mention of them appearing from tombstone sized chunks of chaos metal.
6911279
Ah, yes, the RING tailed lemurs.
Well then, Dash is in another cave. We know what to expect from those.
Bet those bats are of the blood sucking variety.
Couldn't she gather some water vapor and make a cloud to float back down the way she came and just trot out of the rail tunnel?
No time to rest, no food and an extremely long way to go though small cramped spaces. Just your average day for Dash really; she'll be fine.
Wait, are you saying this cave has no monsters in it? That can't be... one of those bats is gonna have to turn out to be a giant mutant vampire killer bat or something, right?
6911228
and so the circle within the circle would be whole again
So, I just caught back u with this story after taking a break after the end of the last story, and now I am just so damn pleased. It feels like I picked the perfect time to catch back up, since I got to read through one of the most tense action sequences yet, all in one go... though I have to wonder, Varalax wants Dash to be dishonest to reach the next seed... what if Dash's chance to break that mold was to go with the Talon, and approach her throne without pretense?
Really liked the introductory imagery provided. I expect it to be a nice scenic breather for the readers after those action scenes, even if it would be a tad creepy for the characters.
Exhilarating chapters
Freezing cold and nothing to eat. At least it's not the first time Rainbow's been through that routine either.
6911130 So are rats!
AJ first Dashie, then we'll get Discord
I hate to break it to you Dash but you've been in the chaos business waaay before Red Barge (not that it's necessarily a bad thing).
You'd have to be crazy to want to read something that long.
Only ghosties are the girls.....right?
6911899 Sometimes you gotta mix things up a bit before they'll settle down right. Chaos has always been a part of things but only because everyone she encounters has become too comfortable with the madness around them. blind to the truth. She has to cause a mess just to get them to listen, but once they do? Everything turns out for the better.
6911294 Well, the chaos metal bit is the same for both parts really. But they seem to be solid entities as opposed to just vapor and mist.
We find ourselves in yet another cave - Only this time, with added Bat Guano underhoof.
6911994 I couldn't agree more and I hope this is something Dash eventually comes to terms with. Just like with the current situation, if Rainbow hadn't stirred the hornet's nest in Rohbreddon everything would still be business as usual with the consortium pulling the strings from the shadows.
6912052 At the same time, She's still right about Verlax. Rainbows gift isn't about perpetuating some insane cycle of destruction and rebirth It's about ENDING it.
If this series has taught me anything, caves are full of evil. Be careful, Dashie!
The Talon was getting boring anyway.
Suddenly. Evil bats!
Hey, Rarity. Be thankful they're not SPIDERS WITH WINGS!
6911270
lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YDNU0b618ug/VrdjzlVZSJI/AAAAAAAAIwE/86Q0wwkO3uw/s200-Ic42/vx.png
Watch out for cave trolls dashie...or moray eels.
6911219
The last time we've seen her eat was in Kunmane, at least a day, maybe a day and a half ago. She does have food in a leather pack she got from Sweet and Reeds, so at least she won't starve
Kinda ironic of what Dash said...
6911925
Of course they are.
Everything else is very physical and dangerous.
It was inevitable.
Well, 50th comment on this chapter, while the 50th Super Bowl is going on. I'm rooting for the Broncos. Whether they'll win, I'll just wait and find out.