Sunlight.
I shot up with a gasp. I was alive; I was in one piece. There was still a horrible weight around my neck. I flung two hooves to my throat and felt the pendant. My vision dashed down, and I saw a pair of ruby eyes being reflected by a golden finish.
I sighed.
"We hath noticed a disturbing pattern."
I jolted. Turning around, I looked across the edge of a cliff and saw Princess Luna sitting beside me. It was early morning; the wind was in her cosmic mane. Behind her, there stretched rows upon rows of rocky mountaintops. There was no civilization; we were someplace remote.
"Every time a favor hath been done for thee, thou shattereth its value by attempting to perform an even more dramatic favor in return." Her wings flexed in the golden light as her midnight eyes narrowed on me. "Selfishness and selflessness art indeed polar opposites, but we hath lived enough millennia to see both qualities become one within thee."
I winced. Running a hoof through my hair, I muttered in a cracking voice, "Is it still standing? Ponyville, that is?"
"Thanks to the masterful sorcery of our sister and the swift speed through which we relocated thee, that village remaineth in one piece. It would appear as though the essence of Discord within thy body is not only a danger to thyself, but it poseth a threat to the very stability of the rift our sister is endeavoring so desperately to maintain."
"I seriously, seriously didn't even think about that," I said, gazing down at the deep ravine below us. "I just... nnngh... I dunno what I wanted—"
"Thou hadst the intention of allowing thy pendant, the one remaining piece of the Elements of Harmony, to act as a buffer through which our sister's task could be either simplified or completed early. Twas a noble concept, but not a very smoothe undertaking."
"Tell me about it." After a deep breath, I smiled nervously in her direction. "I must say, Your Highness, in spite of my little tantrum, you're treating me with a great deal of respect."
Luna gently nodded. "We understandeth the motivations that brought you to such a melodramatic point, and we forgive thee for thy shortcomings." Her eyes blinked. "Besides, it would be very uncouth for a Princess such as ourselves to call thee a 'stupid bucking idiot.'"
I winced heavily. "Yeah... g-good thing you are not uncouth."
"Verily."
A long, hard sigh escaped my lips. I ran two hooves over my aching brow. "So lemme get this straight. I can't go anywhere near the rift, because the rift—as it turns out—could go kablooey thanks to the chaos energy that's inside of me...?"
"That is an affirmative."
"And on top of that, being closer to my home village drains the life out of me faster..."
"Indeed."
'But it doesn't really matter because in a matter of months, I'm gonna be dead anyways?"
"We art afraid so, Rainbow Dash."
"Then seriously, Princess, what's the friggin' point of keeping this darn thing around my neck?!" I swatted the pendant so it spun around my chin and frowned at her. "Time's the one winning here; not me!"
"We may yet find a cure for thee, Rainbow Dash. We have the finest sorcerors of Equestria working around the clock—"
"Do you seriously, for one second, believe that anypony has a hope of fixing me?" I asked in a low tone.
Luna held back her tongue. Her eyes fell to the rocky cliff beneath us.
I sighed, slumping down on folded limbs. "If Twilight was still around—now there is a master sorceress who could have figured a way out of this jam."
"We know that it may seem bleak, Rainbow Dash, but thou must not give up hope—"
"Where are we?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"This place!" I exclaimed, waving my hooves towards the craggy vista and the misty mountains beyond. "I've flown pretty much all over Equestria in my life; I've never seen these cliffs."
"That is because we art located on the eastern edge of the Canterlot Mountains."
I did a double take. "East of the mountains? That's... that's almost outside of Equestria's Borders!"
"Most certainly. Thou art correct."
"What the hay for?! Do I—like—have a death aura around me now too?"
"Not quite, Rainbow Dash..."
"Then what?"
"We hath learned that we had completely underestimated the impact thy chaotic essence hath been having on the rift. As soon as we brought thee to Canterlot for safe-keeping, pegasus messengers from Ponyville told us that there was a noticeable difference in the anomaly. The disruptive turbulence had lessened. So, while thou were unconscious, we took thee even further—beyond the very mountains of our capital. As we standeth here, it turns out that the rift is the calmest it's ever been since our beloved sister began guarding it."
"So..." I looked at her. I gulped dryly. "So I'm like a poison? And all of Equestria is at risk so long as I'm staying here?"
Luna said nothing.
My nostrils flared and I looked down at the rocky cliff. "All of my friends are dead, and I can't even hang out with and take care of everypony's who's left..."
"There is still thy place of birth, Rainbow Dash," Luna said. "By our estimation, Cloudsdale is distant enough from Ponyville for you not to serve as a danger to the rift if you wouldst desire to move in there—"
"Your Highness..."
"Thou could stay in the loving care of thy family—"
"Luna, you just don't get it, do you?!" I exclaimed, sneering. "There is nothing left! Nothing!"
She raised an eyebrow, staring at me with a neutral expression.
I groaned and ran a hoof over my head. "I... I never told many ponies about this, not even my friends. I didn't think it was a big deal at the time. But, I guess, having friends around made it so that it wasn't a big deal." Gulping a lump down my throat, I sniffled and gazed off towards the misty horizon. "My mom died over a decade ago. I never really knew my dad. I don't have any extended family to hang out with because—well—there are none. Cloudsdale is just a bunch of white mists with several cool pegasi living inside, but I never made friends with them! If anything, I saw them all as ponies I had to prove I was better than. So, when I was instructed by the Cloudsdale Commission to do weather flying in Ponyville, I took the job up in an instant. I wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Besides, I was... kind of kicked out of many social cl-clubs while I went through flight camp. I just didn't blend in with other ponies. I wanted so badly to show that I was better than the rest of them, that I could do stuff on my own. And then I met Twilight and the rest and... well... I-I guess a lot of that stubborn pride flew out the window." With a groan, I closed my eyes. "Now that window is shattered, and there's no climbing back through it again."
Luna slowly nodded. "We did not know of this..."
"It wasn't your place to know, Princess," I murmured. "Only mine." Brushing a hoof along the dusty cliff face, I grumbled, "There is no life for me in Cloudsdale, even if it is just a few months of living. I don't know why I was so desperate to 'save the city' after Discord gave me the zap."
"A wise pegasus once said 'There is always somepony to be loyal too.'"
I turned and squinted at her. After a blinked, I smirked bitterly. "Isn't it also uncouth for a Princess to eavesdrop?"
"Perhaps," she said. "But wouldst thou rule out the possibility of living a life in such a place?"
"You and I both know this is no longer about living," I said. "Guess existence is really just all about dying in slow motion." I gazed off into the mists once again. "Only I've got a ticket to the finish line sooner than the rest."
"We shall find thee a solution, Rainbow Dash," Luna said. "Thou must not give into despondency."
"I dunno about despondency," I grunted. "But I know a thing or two about wind."
"We beg thy pardon?"
"I'm sorry, Luna." I shook my head, groaning. "But I can't think right now. Not like this, not cooped up on the side of a cruddy mountain. I gotta..." I gazed upon the clouds, feeling my wings twitch. "I gotta fly. I do my best thinking when I'm flying." I gulped. "And my b-best feeling."
Luna quietly nodded. "If it would improve thy spirits, then please feel free to do so."
"I dunno what it's gonna improve," I said, extended my feathers, and took wing. I muttered against the blistery, foggy wind, "That's the whole point!"
And I lost myself.
Hello, I suppose I should say something. At least I have some stuff to talk about in this chapter. So this explains the flying east and never turning around part of Austreoh. I never knew about RD's family, but like she said "i wasnt your place to know, only mine." well, it looks like we caught up with the start of the series so maybe we'll finally go back to the present now, unless we have a super summary of what happens on RD's journey like an early sequencing chapter.
Well, thats what I got. Hope u liked it guys.
No Scootaloo goggles. D'aww.
And the thing about flying. D'aww.
Thanks Celestia the princess is not uncouth.
Over The Mountain - Ozzy Osbourne
SO CLOSE we are almost there
It's looking less and less like loyalty is the motivation for Dash's journey. The argument could be made that she is being loyal to Equestria by distancing herself from the chaos rift, but that's a decision that (I hope) almost anyone would make. We kind of got the feeling that Dash was running from something by the latter half of Austraeoh, and now we're getting a very clear look into what that something is. There's still a lot that needs to happen before Dash leaves, such as getting the goggles, green book, supplies, and info about the Midnight Armory, but it won't be long until RD leaves Ponyville for good. The next few chapters are gonna be interesting.
Subject: Rainbow Dash
Suffix Title Obtained: "The Lost"
Preview: "Rainbow Dash, the Lost"
-Minty
This quote is just brilliant.
I'm getting chills, man. It happens when things come full circle.
...onwards.
Do you, now...
I wonder how many more chapters there are until the beginning of Austraeoh. This needs to either hurry up or drag on more, but I'm not sure which one I want more.
this is such a sad feel story...
I LOVE IT
It is really interesting how this whole story has been structured so far. We start right in the middle in Austraeoh with no explanations of anything prior. Then we jump to the future with Belle. Now we're back to the beginning, trying to catch up with the middle, which was where the story started in the first place.
You just don't see that a whole lot, you know?
The wind, you say?
I'm really missing the beautiful prose you had in Austraeoh. The early chapters in particular; that was what drew me here. Not that I want to complain. I suppose it's time we learn the history, and I'm glad for it.
1705260
well, it's not that uncommon. Homer did it with the Odyssey
It's called in medias res which is latin for "into the middle of things"
1705260
It's fun is what it is.
At first I just thought that this was your usual serial story. Author making it upas we go. But now, I can't help but feel that IC has the entire darn thing planned out.
Really loving all this back-story. So I guess everyone was right in guessing that Dash was flying east to get away from the Chaos rift. Still wondering when the whole armory info dump will take place, and when Rainbow gets her two quest items (goggles and book). This site really emphasizes what I love about this fandom - I've read so many stories on here that are loads better than full-fledged novels (this story being one of them). I've actually put my physical read later list on hold because my free reading time is taken up by ponies. The creativity and dedication never cease to amaze me. So anywho, Onward!
Is that so?
And then RD and Luna figure out how to SKY-pe. Somewhere along the way the Midnight Armory is mentioned, and here comes the Austraeoh.
IIIIIt's Dashie's Ninth Marathon Evaluation Time!
So, after all of those canon personalities, we get what I think is a non-canon chapter here. (Sentences sound better when you think then in your mind, huh?) Dash talks about her parents' situation and her feelings about Cloudsdale here, but I kind of like it. It shows that, after all that canon, Eljunbyro is still its own story at the end of the day, and should be jugded as such. Also, when Dash takes off at the end - I believe we've just witnessed the beginning of Austraeoh. (Sheds nostalgic tear.) These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Two...left...two...left...<cough>
i am guessing the next chapter is where we come up with a solution. but i wonder if there is another way.
Day 2...3 hours in,time:1:20 am. Time for sleep.I shall return...and I shall beat this.22 hours is my time to beat.
2238999
Sweet tap dancing Luna in a tutu... 22 hours?!
Karma... police...
So maybe this is how she starts flying east? Or is there more?
Fly. Simply.
no, this can't quite be the beginning. she doesn't have stuff packed, and she also needs to be told some about her destination first.
4763005 Dont you remember how much queen whitemare educated rainbow on what she was exactly doing or where she was exactly going? i think that either rainbow had a very very faint, obscure, vague understanding, or just blind hope that traveling east for the last of her days would help her find some solution...but like all other previously asked questions, time -and continuous reading- will answer them. c:
Briefly ignoring the seriousness of this chapter, I thought this line was hilarious.
It's freaking 1 am. What am I doing?! I can't stop reading!
6459886
Well, if my clock's anything to go by, my time of 4:01's got you beat.
And thus, with those words, Rainbow Dash starts to fly east.
Man, this has been such a wild ride and we're not even a third of the way through this thing!
Goodbye, my friends! I may see you again someday, but for now I must bid you farewell!
6497364
Now is my chance to catch up!
Suppose I should have made this post in the last chapter, but I know far too well what dash is going through regarding applejack. I fell for someone who died rather suddenly and unexpectedly before I could tell her my feelings, about a decade ago and it still haunts me. So... Unrequited love for someone who is gone forever? Yea, been there. Done that. Got a T-shirt.
hehehe
This seems to have the same formula for success as Background Pony.
1. Come up with a complex set of rules to royally screw over the protagonist.
2. Write hundreds of thousands of words.
3. PROFIT!
I guess RD's cheerleading parents won't ever exist in this fic. Bummer.
8468355
R.I.P. Windy Whistles. Your non-existence will dearly be missed.
And that right there is one of, if not, my favorite lines in this story . Let alone one of the best lines I've ever seen (a version of) Luna say.
8737562
We agree with you most verily. Luna for best snarky Princess.
8193127
It’s by the same guy, so I think you’re onto something here
Uncouth, or factual
08/24/2019
00:36 UTC
Their magitech is super crude compared to the east to he honest.
...
FLY!!