Plan Your Day Off Accordingly
Xarchellus leaned her wrinkly head to the side.
"And precisely how long will it take for this ancient apparatus to reach the Light Side?" the elder asked.
"We don't know," Rainbow Dash replied, standing on the balcony of Bleak's Plummet. The Princess Stardust drifted a few dozen feet away in the choppy waves, surrounded by various bleakweed submersibles. "It could just be a matter of hours. Or it could be longer than a day."
"But you've already started the process of drawing it towards this side?"
"Totally." Rainbow Dash nodded. "From what we can tell, the machine's purring like a kitten and the Gondola is on its way over." She smirked. "We came back here as quickly as we could."
"At this point, the attack forces from Rohbredden are only a few hours away," Flynn explained. "Nevertheless, we now have a very probable opportunity to get through this mess with as little bloodshed as possible."
Xarchellus and her advisors stared at the Herald as a whole. "Please. Do tell."
"The collective forces of Bleak's Plummet will wait until the last second," Flynn said. "We know that the structure you have here is super vulnerable to a direct attack. So... you won't attack. Instead—once the Rohbreddenites get close enough, you'll submerge and cruise west. By the time you'll be forced to surface, you'll be out of range from the attack group's detection."
"And how can we expect the Rohbreddenites to blindly ignore the passage of Bleak's Plummet directly beneath them?" Xarchellus asked.
"Because I'll be confronting them," Rainbow Dash said firmly as her friends looked on. "I'm their big friggin' target, after all." Her brow furrowed. "Once they see me... they'll ignore everything else. Trust me."
"And if somehow that isn't enough," Logan rumbled, "We'll distract the ever-loving shit out of them."
"How?" Xarchellus exhaled. "With so few numbers? They'll eradicate you in a blink."
"Not necessarily," Rainbow spoke with a devilish smirk. "I know a thing or two about playing cat-and-mouse with a bunch of baddies."
"And she'll have us at her side," Ariel said. "After all, the Job Squad's most at home with running away from creeps."
"Heh... darn tootin'," Bard grunted. Wildcard snickered breathily.
"Remember..." Rainbow leaned in. "The whole point here is to distract the Rohbreddenites just long enough for the Gondola to arrive. Once it's here, we're hauling our butts to the edge and taking a cosmic elevator ride to freedom."
"And even if those foolish mortals were suicidal enough to attempt a cross-plane pursuit, they simply would not be able to," Remna said. "The apparatus appears to respond to the Austraeoh's touch and the Austraeoh's touch alone."
"They will be left strranded on the worrld's edge," Kepler said. "While Rrainbow Dash and the Herrald venturre towarrds theirr destiny."
"And Bleak's Plummet will have begun its exodus back home to Equestria!" Nicole exclaimed, smiling. "Undetected, too! Don't you see? The bait-and-switch works for all of us! It even works for the Rohbreddenites... even though they'll be too frustrated to know it."
"It really is the best plan," Echo said, nodding as he stood at Nicole's side. "I know we've been putting this shit off 'til the last second, Matriarch, but it's only because Rainbow here has been doing her best to find the most harmonic, peaceful solution possible." He swallowed. "I... uh... I suggest you take her up on her offer. Where we're going? And the lengths it's going to take to get there?" He shook his head. "We really can't afford to have a whole bunch of angry xenophones chasing us the whole way out of vengeance."
Xarchellus took a deep breath. "I appreciate the lengths that you are willing to go, Blood of Luna, to preserve the livelihood of the majority of my brothers and sisters. And it is a noble thing to not wish undo malice upon our zealous nemeses." Her good eye narrowed. "Nevertheless... I do not see how your group can accomplish this so-called 'bait and switch' on your lonesome."
"They will not be alone," Enix said firmly, stepping into the center of the group. "My finest warriors and I will stay behind to assist her in this endeavor."
Rainbow attempted to say something—
"Yo. Nostrils." Echo glanced at Enix. "We all get that you're super badass. But remember... Rainbow and her comrades will have the luxury of making a swift exit over the edge. But you? Catching up to Bleak's Plummet won't be easy with a bunch of Verlaxion-worshippers on your scarred flank."
"Nor was it easy for you to make an overtly-humble return to your place of foaling," Enix replied, glaring at the stallion. "And yet, you took such a risk, Ryckmun, even at the most probable expense of your life." She turned and faced the gathered sarosians around her. "So too am I willing to exercise such courage. I'll gladly sacrifice my life... if it means the safe passage of both Bleak's Plummet and the Blood of Luna... the latter of which stands to save the entirety of Equestria and this plane as a whole."
Echo opened his muzzle—only for Nicole to place a hoof on his shoulder.
"Shhhh..." She smiled gently. "Take it as a compliment."
Echo sighed. "Yeah... I know." He gulped. "Just not used to it, though..."
Enix continued, her eyes tracing the velvety faces in the crowd. "I trust that I am not alone in this most righteous commitment."
Multiple battle-scarred sarosians marched forward, standing tall. "We swear our lives to the Matriarch, the Mother of Nightmares, and the Blood of Luna!"
The air filled with loud, reaffirming shrieks and squeaks.
Xarchellus inhaled deeply. She turned to face Rainbow and the Herald. "Do you accept the pledge of the Nightbloods, Rainbow Dash?"
All eyes were on Rainbow, and she fidgeted noticeably.
"It... would help immensely to have an extra set of hooves over sea and in the air, especially if we're going to make this whole shindig work." She cleared her throat, then frowned. "But hear this. I am not making us go to war!" She turned about, gazing at the entire crowd. "I'm already in enough hot water as it is with Frostknife, and there could very well be some griffons in the coming attack force that I'm totally not cool with hurting. The whole idea here is to reduce casualties to a minimum, and the same goes for any bat pony here willing to lend a leather wing."
"With all due respect, Austraeoh." Remna glared at her. "What you ask for is impossible."
"Doesn't mean we can't fight for it anyway." Rainbow's nostrils flared as she gazed off with a melancholic expression. "It... feels like a long friggin' time since I've actually tried."
"I would not be pledging myself and the strongest of my flesh and blood if I had no expectations of making a difference," Enix said. "I promise—you will have enough help to make this plan of yours possible, and we shall abide by your commands, Blood of Luna."
Wildcard gestured.
"'Sounds like a dayum good deal to me,'" Bard interpreted.
"Yeah." Logan nodded. "Take the ball and run, girl."
Rainbow breathed. "Very well." She pointed at Enix. "But as soon as your work is done, you and your buddies are going to fart your way west and rejoin Bleak's Plummet! Got it!"
"Indeed." Enix nodded. "We will blend with the night, unseen."
"Haha!" Kepler smiled through his tusks. "Glorrious!"
The air filled with enthusiastic murmurs, rivaling the thunder.
"Well then..." Ariel swiveled to face Rainbow, smiling. "Looks like we've got ourselves some volunteers." She raised an eyebrow. "Just how—exactly—are we going to get through this as unscathed as Bleak's Plummet?"
Rainbow took a deep breath. "Well.." She glanced at the glowing silver runes fitted into the grand structure of Bleak's Plummet and its surrounding submersibles. "...that depends on how we can exploit the Rohbreddenites' attention span."
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Time to take bets on who's gonna die! My money's on Ariel. It's always the cute ones.
Cover your fans, everyone. Because things 'bout to get crazy.
The full plan is in place and all the pieces are coming together. Now to wait and see how this will fall apart.
Call me crazy, but I think this will work. They've got superior intelligence, east horse, and lots of ancient magic. Meanwhile, Seraphimus is quite a few straws short of a nest, and would probably not notice Bleak's Plummet surfacing directly in front of her if she was in Shell-hunt mode. The only question is: will Seraphimus be able to be redemmed? And how far will Rainbow go to try to do so?
Crap that's two questions
And the countdown has begun.
*hugs Dash* Hey, even if you don't always succeed, the trying part matters a whole hell of a lot. At least to me it does. Just remember this moving forward into the Dark Side, that no matter how much it hurts, you can't forget to try.
Activate last stand mode!
Unknown to Rainbow is the huge monkey wrench in the plan that is the third as-yet unseen ship. Oh my.
No one even notices RD's scatacological expressions any more. They all have just accepted them. Also I'm accepting that "fart your way west" is foreshadowing for shit hitting the fan and spraying back at the sarosians.
Or they could do what Shell did, and when you prove too elusive to catch directly, they'll just take your friends as bait, Rainbow. Because...
They won't be undetected, Chandler's trawling with nets.
I still think the Sarosians should just bail now and skirt south of the Rohbredden ships. Rainbow can run around, do her thing, or even avoid a confrontation period and sneak off to the Dark Side. Why such a plan would be unfeasible hasn't even been addressed; it's like Rainbow wants a fight to happen. Perhaps she's secretly hoping for one last chance at redemption with Rohbredden? Either way, if this fails and the Sarosians croak, I imagine she'll spend quite a while afterword beating herself up for not taking the safer route.
...
7603763
That would slow them down. Some ropes at best. Very flimsy.
Beak's plummet, a submarine city which can't go undetected if ships pass above it. Brilliant /s
I just had to remind myself they're still in the Twilight Lands, so all this is happening under a blanket of nocturnal darkness. Fair enough, the Rohbreddenites won't be half as perceptive as they would have been in the light of day that way.
7603182
NO
DON'T EVEN DARE
IC, IF YOU'RE READING THIS, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST NO!
Oh boy, RD-style plan time
I think we all know how this will turn out!
I have a sneaking suspicion Enix and a hoof full of bat pony are going to be forced to taking the long way around.
Mostly because there is a chance when Enix and her gang start heading back West, they may just lead the Rohbreddenites to Bleak's Plummet. And there is that third ship.
7603502 Let's hope it's Keris commanding that one. Probably not though, they were keeping an eye on him. Wouldn't want to leave him alone much less with a ship.
The darkness hungers to consume them all.
7603182 I bet most of our beloved characters are going to die on the Dark Side instead of here.
I'm 50/50 on Enix and bat company join Dark Side or die "holding the line" as Dash and Herald get on the Gondola and leave.
I'd bet Chandler bites it though. And if they don't some how make it onto the gondola, a left behind Seraphimus will probably jump off the edge of the world in suicidal hopelessness, unable to pursue her only purpose in life now. Or she turns West and meets Dash on the other side of the Firmament.
A stoppable force meets a moveable object, more at eleven.
he's just channeling Reinhart now, isn't he?
I've never heard a xenophone played; what does it sound like?
Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you may land among the stars, and one often finds impossible things being done by those who did not know they were impossible.
09/14/2017
18:44 UTC
8426479
I never got that saying, since the stars are further away than the moon and all...I mean, I get it's significance, but, even as a kid, I always thought it makes more sense to say to aim for the stars and even if you miss you might land on the moon...
9451977
I'm closing in on people again at long last!
The fact that they got to the edge of the world & back to Bleak's to wait for Seraphimus & Gang seems too convenient. Just for this fight / meetup to happen. Bleaks plummet could have already moved a little away, Dash & Gang could be onboard the gondola in a few hours & Seraphimus ending up staring at a vast ocean. I'd love to see the whole meeting with the "bad guys" situation, but seeing the way we moved forward & ended back here just for it to happen, takes me out of the submersive storytelling so far. Is it just me?
Could work perfect, could be a total clusterfuck. IC likes to mix it up
If souls are falling to the Dark Side…
…and Rainbow killed Shell…
…and they don’t know what one faction is entirely made of…
…50 bits says Shell - the Shell - is going to come back to haunt Rainbow.
Heck, it may even be that Rainbow’s old, dead, not-anchored friends could come back to fight Rainbow…
Holy yipe.
Just start insulting Frost Bitch. That'll literally distract them so much it'll seem unfair.
This plan seems too good to work.