It was the most commonly reoccuring symbol in the ancient book. As Rainbow Dash flipped from page to page, she saw it appearing several times—even more so than the symbols that she was familiar with. Sometimes, it would be the header of an entire chapter or paragraph of ancient words.
She was completely incapable of translating the text within, but she was nevertheless intrigued. This was likely due to the gratuitous amount of pictures that the book contained. She saw maps, complex diagrams of architecture, engravings of mountains and wilderness, and more than a trough full of cryptic imagery.
Other than the one reoccuring crest, Rainbow Dash saw something that struck her funny. Even though she couldn't interpret the words or the many symbols surrounding them, there was something uniquely familiar about the hoofwriting. She could have sworn she had seen such similar brusthstrokes when being forced in grade school to skim over the old manuscripts covering Commander Hurricane and the founding of Cloudsdale. A motif feathers and marble architecture in various illustrations only further supported this.
"Was this thing... written by pegasi?" Rainbow Dash murmured aloud.
In the glow of crystals, she gazed aside at the winged skeleton. She saw what looked like the tattered remains of a robe lying a meter away from the pony bones. Reaching over, she turned the fabric around until the hood of the article graced the cave air. On the tip of the hood—above where the equine's face would have been obscured—was the same crest as that which was filling the book in her hooves.
"Looks like you had dedicated your life to something, pal," Rainbow Dash muttered. "You think it was worth it?"
Silence resumed, save for the flipping of pages as Rainbow Dash tore deeper and deeper into the tome. She slowed as she saw hauntingly familiar things. Towards the middle of the book, there were several detailed diagrams of gears, pendulums, conveyor belts, and pistons. She knew that she had seen all of these things before.
"How did these dudes see it?"
She flipped some more pages. The glow around her was intensifying. She found an illustration towards the end of the tome that occupied two sheets. Before her eyes, a majestic series of marble steps and concrete platforms extended into an unfathomably large waterfall stretched before infinite starlight. A grandiose palace bravely stood against the face of oblivion.
"The edge of the world..."
The cave was as bright as daylight at this point. A wind was picking up as the place echoed with a deep, bass resonance. Just as a shadow began creeping over Rainbow Dash—
She slapped the book shut, spun around, and smirked. "Ah ha!" She pointed at an immense shadow peering over the edge of the plateau of gemstones. "Thought you had me, huh?! I've been in too many caves to think that they're completely empty!"
A bulbous red shape leered at the stony edge of the platform. Two long, crimson feelers waved in the glowing air.
Rainbow Dash grinned. "What? You shy or something? It'll take more than that to scare me—"
A gust of musky air blew at Rainbow Dash, followed by a shrill shriek as the creature's head lunged up into the space of the cavern, followed by a pair of legs, then followed by another pair of legs... then another... and another... and another...
Soon, half the body of a one-hundred meter long giant centipede was thrashing before her, waving all of its legs as its headpiece curled about, looming directly over her.
Rainbow Dash had fallen on her flank at this point. She scooted backwards until her spine was to the wall. "Well then..." She gulped. "That's a start."
Another gust of air emanated from the giant arthropod's interior. At the front of its headpiece, a pair of feelers slimily unrolled to reveal twin bards of poison, beneath which was a razor-sharp array of hungry mandibles. The dagger-sharp stingers extended an extra foot each, and the massive thing lunged at the pony.
"Nnngh!" Rainbow dove out of the way.
The ground behind her splashed with gemos and the brittle remains of pegasus bones.
Rainbow scrambled over the shaking plateau. She had to hop over the dragging body of the centipeder—her tail hairs getting briefly caught in the monster's squirming limbs. She broke free, scooped up the book with one forelimb, scooped up a clump of glowing blue rods in the other, and took off for the ascending tunnel above.
The centipede at this time had recoiled its upper body and was lunging at her yet again.
The monster missed by a hair, smashing into the mouth of the gem-encrusted tunnel, showering red rubies down into the throat of the impossibly deep cavern.
Rainbow Dash easily outflew its attack. Once she was several meters above it, she perched on an outcropping of rock, placed her items down, and spun about.
"Okay, you barf-flavored bucket of crab legs!" Rainbow Dash sneered with a wicked grin as she grinded her hoof on the cliff of rock. "You wanna do this the hard way, bucko?! I'm gonna make you wish you had a hundred crutches after I'm done with—"
She froze in place. Her ears drooped.
The creature was thrashing and shrieking angrily below her. It was disoriented in its furious hunger. Rainbow could have pounced on it at anytime.
Instead, she stood up straight and turned around, gazing straight up towards the small speck of sunlight.
Rainbow Dash gulped. After a deep breath, her features softened, and when she looked down at the creature once again, it was with a tiny smile.
"You know what? As much as I'd love to do the dance of the million feelers, you're just not worth my time."
She scooped up the book and crystal rods yet again. Her wings flapped.
"Consider yourself lucky, lame-o."
She shot up, ascending towards the distant entrance of the cave.
The monster was not about to let the whole thing slide. Once it had gathered its bearings, the massive centipede gripped the walls of the cave in its countless limbs and clambored up after her. Its furious shriek filled the claustrophobic chamber as its rancid breath blew at Rainbow Dash's tail hairs.
There was no way Rainbow couldn't have felt it.
"Belle! Pilate!" she shouted as she sailed like a blue blur towards the tunnel entrance. "Now would be a very good time to call off this picnic and gallop away!"
time to bring a centipede to the enforcer party
So the army guys fly down to sweep up Belle and Pilate, only to end up monster chow as a giant maw breaks the surface.
Nice.
A symbol with two sides, the sun on top. Could represent the above and below worlds of earth and machine, could also represent the light and dark sides of the world. The dotted, curved line at the bottom is what has me thinking the most. The bell-like shape (heh) certainly is supposed to represent the world, and the line in the center with the sharp lines is to represent a divide. The sun is an obvious motif. Ancient pegasi, also a nifty clue. Once this whole escape/battle scene plays out, the book will prove mighty useful.
1971161
We know the world to be longer than it is taller, which would lend credit to the concept of the symbol representing the top and bottom of the world. That said, both concepts parallel each other through us of the metaphorical, and sometimes literal, divide. The dotted lines along the bottom curve, however, indicate motion and complexity, a more methodical and mechanical motif vis a vis the more fluid and subtle motion from the sun. That sort of juxtaposition, then, lends its self better to above and below.
Conversely, there is a quite clear divide shown between the light and dark sides of the image, calling to mind the light and dark sides of the world. The barbed-wire looking line in the dead center of the image evokes the idea of choking something from the neck, that is, it represents the grand choke in this context.
There is also a great deal of symmetry present in the image. The sun eats up negative space on the top, creating a concave shape that mirrors the one on the bottom. This also skews the image to make the bottom (or dark) side appear larger than it might actually be, since the sun-side is overwhelmed by the imagery.
The image also looks a bit like a hat.
The specifics aside, I think it's safe to say that the image represents the world, and perhaps by extension, the former order of pegasi or other ancients tasked with this knowledge.
Gotta love that good old-fashioned nightmare fuel.
Also: NEW SYMBOL. FUCK YEAH. Wonder what its name is?
1971327
I sometimes get the feeling that we're overinterpreting things a little. Although it's obvious that IC definitely tries to incorporate a large amount of symbolism in these, it's hard not to wonder if half the inner meanings we're garnering were never there at all.
Maybe eventually, we'll surmise that Everyone is Jesus in Purgatory.
1971403 There's a group for that.
You see, Dash? Caves, though sometimes helpful... Always. Contain. Monsters.
Without fail.
You should know this by now. I'm a little disappointed in you.
This image shall be called "Zadubadabu"
A wild Scolipede appeared!
Go! Rainbow!
1972137
And shall be the name of the third installment.
With the way IC reads the comments, I wouldn't be surprised.
Ew! The flashbacks... I had to deal with way too many of these stupid things at work (along with slugs and spiders, blarg) but a giant one? I shuddered. But, I have a feeling that this centipede (I swear its like Skyrim in ponyland - every cave is filled with crap that wants to kill you) is gonna knock those gliders out of the sky and secure the trio's epic escape! Hopefully. So long as Belle and Pilate haven't already been captured, and the three of them can actually manage to outrun the imminent kerfuffle...
Centipede...Millipede.....there all the same to me so
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So we've got quite a few things to cover in this chapter. Let's get too it!
First off, we've got a new symbol. Until further notice, it will be known as Zadabadabu, courtesy of 1972137. The top shoes the sun while the bottom shows a stitched line containing much empty space above it. There is a notched line between the two objects. I can only guess that it represents the two sides of the plane - Harmonic and Disharmonic. There might be some other symbolism, but I'm pretty sure that's it. Also, we get moment that speaks volumes about Rainbow Dash's character. (You know it's serious when I call her by her full name instead of just "Dash.") At the moment when she was about to attack the centipede, she looks up towards Belle and Pilate and decides not to hurt the centipede, although she certainly could have. I believe this shows how much more humane Belle has made Rainbow Dash (I did it again! This feels good!) around other things. It's truly had a big effect on her, and we see that here. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
A new symbol, hinting at another rune, hinting at another strange word, hinting at another title, hinting at another book?
Oh yeah, there was also a giant red thing with tentacles. That happened too.
Onwards! Away from the scary tentacle red thing in a gesmtone cave!
To quote Monty Python...
A herd of manticores masses just outside of Blue Shelf, waits for the manafences to suffer a sudden and unprecedented total failure, then rushes in and spends a whole day slaughtering Enforcers (while leaving the refugees entirely unmolested), leaving them decimated and confused to cover for Rainbow and Eljunbyro's getaway.
Now, a massive mutant millipede comes barreling out of a hole in the ground just as the same bunch of police state goons finally catch up to them? No way is this coincidence.
"The edge of the world is made of swords."
I can't see the symbol, the image just shows up as a black box on my screen. Thankfully the comments explain what it looks like.
>seen such similar brusthstrokes when being forced
Are you Twitht now?
2151070 It's fate itself.
3687692 I'm catching up to you!
I think that the centipede is going to destroy the enforcers for them
Also, another symbol? What could it be? Its name is likely Innavedr, since the next book is Innavedr, but I can't count, so who cares?
EDIT: Also, 5/8 done!
Hey a description of the edge of the world. I'm keeping note of this, I wonder how it will look when (if?) Dash reaches it.
That was terrifying.
>giant centipede
nope
nope
nopenopenopenopenope
out of all the things
why did it have to be GIANT FUCKING CENTIPEDES?
i think i feel a soooooong coming on!
Exposition action and character development, gotta love it.
Belle, Pilate, and those gliders are in for a many-legged surprise.
I have a feeling that the details in this chapter are going to be deeply important at some distant point in the stories.
I know this is just another typo, but the mental picture of a pair of slick green pony-bards in place of barbs/fangs is just amazing.
Especially once they unsheathe their fiddles.
(Please don't ask how you sheathe a fiddle.)
There's something exceedingly alien about noticing the Live Reader Count on something like this. For a moment, just a moment, I'm concurrent with somebody. But I'll never know who they were, not even by some anonymous username. We're just ghosts to each other, piling layers onto the brickwork of the last generations' footsteps and the recirculations of rereaders.
2022829
I scrolled down to the comment section to post this, and feel satisfied that someone already did - four years ago.
Caught between enforcers and a centipede.
Maybe RD can kite the monster out of the cave and get it to distract their pursuers?
Aww. RD has someone to care about again, so now she realizes there are more important things than kicking monsters around.
I have to wonder, was this an idealized picture, or a depiction of what it looked like in the distant past.
05/03/2017 23:53 UTC
Daring Do! It must be! The adventurer!
Wow, new developments. Don't you just love dynamic characters?
you know what...on second thought I think i'll just be going now
so they made it to the edge of the world, but it seems they never made it back. or perhaps they were traveling there because of this book, and it was some sort of guide or atlas written by someone who had made it there.
interesting.
Another day, another busted image, good thing they now show up in the cover pictures, though it still is not completely ideal.
08/29/2019
16:00 UTC
The ancient book of photobucket.
Told ya.
Yes, obviously. What, you didn't figure that out when you took it from a dead pegasus?