Ever East
At that precise moment, Enforcer Shell struck the lower platform first. Rainbow Dash vaulted off of him, slipped, and landed in a slide.
Wincing, Shell grlared at Rainbow, crawled up to his hooves, and unsheathed his crystal gun. Less than a second later, Rainbow Dash spun, knocking the weapon out of his telekinetic grip with her tail.
"Ha!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a grin. "Not such a badflank without all your nifty toys—"
Shell's left hoof slammed across her face.
Rainbow stumbled back, only to be pummeled by a left punch, then subsequently bucked in the chest with Shell's rear hooves.
Spitting blood, Rainbow rolled opposite of the way the upper conveyor belt had taken them. The light from the red flame below glinted off her pendant as she struggled to her knees. The air thundered with Shell's heavy steps as he marched towards her.
With a hissing breath, she galloped towards him, spun, and bucked her legs high.
Shell side stepped, jumped, and came down with both forelimbs slamming onto her backside.
"Gaaah!" she exhaled. Before she could scramble away, Shell bit hard onto her mane hair, twisted his neck, and slammed her meatedly over the golden platform.
Rainbow Dash lost all oxygen in her lungs. She tried to inhale, but couldn't swallow any air from the sudden pressure Shell was applying from behind. He grabbed her in a vicious headlock and began twisting his forelimbs in an effort to snap her neck.
Struggling, she gnashed her teeth and flexed her back muscles.
Rainbow's wings expanded, shoving Shell off of her. In desperation, she kicked off the ground to gain some air.
"No." Shell's horn glowed.
Rainbow sputtered, lunging to a stop in mid-air. She saw magical light ensnaring her feathers in her peripheral vision.
"There is no escaping," he growled, then yanked his head to the left.
"Ghhhh!" Rainbow wheezed as she was telekinetically hurled to the left. She slammed hard into a swinging pendulum.
Shell clenched his jaw and jerked his head to the right.
Rainbow found herself being tossed against a metal strut. Her body went numb with pain as she was then forced to the floor. Spinning around, her body slid like a chunk of ice across the bridge and straight into Shell's waiting hoof.
He stepped hard onto the weak joints of her left wing.
"Nnngh—Aaagh!" Rainbow squealed in agony.
He leaned over and spat. "There is only dying." His eyes flickered from raw mana as he spun around completely. "Raaaugh!"
Rainbow spun, flailed like a ragdoll, and plummeted down the depths of the machine.
A horrendous clap of noise announced her rough landing atop a bridge below. She quivered all over, her face wrenched in pain. She tried crawling up to her knees, but could only collapse.
Then something tickled at her quivering eyelids: a hint of lavender light. Her ruby eyes flew open.
Straight ahead of her, at a length of twenty meters, was the golden pedestal mounted with red flame. As soon as Rainbow Dash observed this, the image was blocked by the shadowy figure of the Prime Enforcer landing between them with a thud.
"Let's face it, pegasus." Shell marched slowly towards her, adjusting his beret and cracking the joints in his bruised neck. "Dying is all you'll ever be good at. Why else would a pathetic waif like you be so far from home?"
She seethed, her eyes darting desperately to see the billowing red flame on the other side of him. She found her neck throbbing as a his harsh telekinesis was lifting her by the pendant.
Shell's venomous glare came into view. "You've obviously given up everything that's worth to you. So let me give you something to be loyal to." His horn brightened as he concentrated energy on the golden necklace. "In your death, you will be property of Ledomare, no matter how ugly that form of property may be."
She wheezed to say. "You... m-might not wanna d-do that..."
"It's never a matter of want," he said. The pressure of his magic field increased around the pendant, rubbing up against the ruby lightning bolt. "It's only ever about need—"
Just then, the Element responded, sending a bright pulse of flickering crimson light into his face.
"Gaaah!" Shell reeled, raising a hoof before his squinting eyes. His horn strobed awkwardly as his telekinetic grip faltered.
Rainbow saw it. With a sharp breath, she flapped her wings and soared forward.
Gasping, Shell tried physically reaching up for her.
She interrupted him with all four hooves slamming against his skull, then leaping off.
"Unngh!" Shell fell flat to the surface of the platform...
And Rainbow Dash soared.
Rainbow Dash dove.
Rainbow Dash's forelimbs reached deep into the red flame and grasped it...
FLASH!
She lurched forward under the purple canvas of night. A gust of cold wind billowed against her braided mane and silken nightgown. She looked every which way, shivering. All was silent and calm. After a few seconds, her ears pricked up. Rainbow Dash blinked, and very slowly pivoted about on the balcony of Verdestone.
A tall, milk-white alicorn stared down at her with a tranquil smile. Her pearl blue eyes sparkled with the cosmos.
"Whitemane..." Rainbow Dash stammered. She gulped, her face pale as she clung to her gown. She froze, then squinted. "Yeesh, were you always so friggin' huge?"
Whitemane let loose a dainty chuckle. Then, with a delicate stretch of her wings she uttered, "Eljunbyro."
Rainbow Dash blinked, then nodded. "Gesundheit."
"Endurance has been reborn," Whitemane said in a deep, melodic voice. "The spark may continue flying east, to reach the end of the world and beyond."
"Uhhh... yeah." Rainbow Dash gulped. "About that. I got a little side tracked."
"Did you, now?"
"I kind of sort of died."
"Then you are deceased as we speak?"
"Boy, wouldn't that be a mind-bender."
"Well?"
Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head. "No. I mean, you're talking to me and stuff. The only way that could happen is if you still had that mind-link thing going on."
"It was a fortuitous spell, Rainbow Dash. But my magic, like my alicorn blood, is limited. I regret to say that this is the last time I will have to speak with you."
"Oh... Uhhh..." Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her wind-blown braids. "Well, that's cool. I-I-I mean..." She winced, and her voice cracked, "I don't think it's cool because you're going away, but it's alright with me, because I'm pretty sure I can handle getting to the Midnight Armory on my own."
"Are you?"
"Uhhhh..." Rainbow Dash bit her lip. "Yeah...?"
"Is it because of you and you alone that your voyage has begun anew?"
Rainbow Dash eyed the celestial horizon above Emeralidne. She narrowed her gaze. Then her wings flexed as she looked up once more at Whitemane. "Ding Dong."
Whitemane raised a royal eyebrow.
"Erm..." Rainbow Dash smiled nervously. "Belle, I mean. That stubby-headed unicorn saved me. She... She seems pretty cool and stuff, if not a bit on the prissy side..."
"She is in need of great help, as is her beloved."
"Yeah, so?" Rainbow Dash frowned. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here. As a matter of fact... eheheh..." She blushed slightly. "I'm more or less getting my flank kicked."
"Your destiny transcends death and space and even time, Rainbow Dash," Whitemane said. "You have the gifts that this world needs to stay intact."
"Well, hey! Whaddya know..."
"But you cannot discover all of these gifts on your own. A spark does not set itself aflame, after all."
"So... like..." Rainbow Dash scratched her left forelimb with her right. "What do you want me to do?"
"Soon enough, you will do that which needs to be done because it will be your desire, not that of an alicorn."
Rainbow Dash merely stared up at Whitemane.
"Help Bellesmith," Whitemane said. "Help her beloved. She helped you, after all. The difference is, she did not achieve Eljunbyro by choice. But you, Rainbow Dash, your choice is your endurance. Live the life that has been granted to you, and this world will prosper from it—both the light and even the dark."
Rainbow Dash exhaled heavily. "That's a tall order... helping the world prosper and all... sounds really dangerous." She blinked, and her wings stretched out vibrantly. "Where do I start?"
"Go east, Rainbow Dash," Whitemane said as the heights of Verdestone fell under a heavy fog. "Ever eastward, ever energetic, ever Eljunbyro."
Rainbow Dash smiled. A warmth came over her, and she took a deep breath. "Yeah..." She murmured. "I could do that in my sleep." Her teeth showed in a devilish grin, and before she knew it, she was flinging her body forward.
FLASH!
Her front hooves gripped the empty golden pedestal as her rear limbs kicked straight up.
"Nnnngh!" Shell was charging her backside with a missed swing.
Rainbow's back legs came down and gripped his forelimb blindly. With a well-timed twist of her body, Rainbow Dash snapped the stallion's hoof at the wrong angle.
"Aaaaaaaugh!" Shell wailed, hobbling back on three limbs as his one leg dangled loosely.
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth, kicked off the platform, and spun three times before slamming both her rear limbs hard across Shell's gasping face.
With a stunted scream, Shell flipped off, spiraled, and plunged into the darkness below.
A loose beret fluttered to the ground, encrusted with the medals of the Prime Enforcer. A half-second later, Rainbow Dash's four hooves landed all around it. Catching her breath, the pegasus reached down, dusted off the stallion's hat, and replaced the common one on her scalp.
"Hmmmm..." She smirked as she fitted it over her mane. "Now that's a step up in the souvenir department, though it smells a bit like raw cabbage."
She took a deep breath, smiling casually as the machine realm around her lit up with a golden aura. Her pendant pulsated with magical red energy from the center. She gave the pedestal one last glance, tilted her head straight up, and flexed her wings.
"Still, some things smell better than others." She soared up through the platforms, pendulums, and gears. "Back at ya, Whitemane."
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Gahaha! It was.
That's better.
Foreshadowing a trilogy? Hmm...
Wait, is this going to be finishing at 100 chapters?
I hope not, because this is just the ending of another arc right? Albeit a massive arc, but surely we can't stop this at 100 chapters...
Onwards!
Finally killed Shell. That guy was not nice. Not even a little bit.
-Minty
1841504 no thats an acutal word in german. it means "to your health"
Excellence. I smell a road trip coming on; I'll dive into Whitemane's stuff later when I get a moment.
1841544
It's sort of felt like it was going to end at 100 chapters for a while, but I could see this easily being the half-way point of some much larger arc considering the nice new description and character tags.
Wait! I found something! The description! It has changed!
IC what you did there, it looks like we won't be stopping at 100 after all!
Onwards!
YES. OH YES. He needed that beating. He needed that beating so badly there aren't even words to describe it.
OH LAWDY THIS IS GOOD
Forgot to say, long live Whitemane.
One of the motifs that got a resurgence in this chapter is color. The lavender light of magic/destiny, the red light of loyalty/power, the gold/yellow underlying current, Whitemane's tranquil omnipotence represented by being all colors at once, and of course Rainbow Dash painting wide brushstrokes with her own prismatic person onto a dull world full of earth tones. The other important theme that gets played with here is destiny, and the poignance Dash making a choice to fly eastward and achieve these states as opposed to be conscripted by destiny. How many times have we seen Dash fly in the face of her lavender guideline and instead chose to do what she considered just (or awesome)?
Still, these things sort of pale as motifs in comparison to the growth Dash seems to be on the verge of. Austraeoh is the lone wolf where as Eljunbyro is acceptance of support. Dash's healing required her literally explore how own loneliness via a harrowing eastward joinery. It required her to live through literal versions of her own personality, to experience physically her mental healing. Eljunbyro is the phase of healing upon which Dash must re-learn what it's like to accept assistance, and to provide it. It is to remain independent in spirit but not in body. She needs to remember what it's like to be among a group, to depend but not be dependent. She is slowly putting back the pieces one long personality trait at a time. Belle knows this, Belle knows intimately Dash's desire to be free spirited. However, Belle also knows well how much of Dash pines to be among friends, longs to give and take, to be loyal. Eljunbyro is friends, beloveds, support. It is a path to inner peace, balance. It is ponies supporting ponies, Rainbow Dash supporting the world. It is carrying the spark to start the flame.
"meatedly"
Is that even an adjective?
Pretty awesome chapter, through-and-through. It looks like Belle and Pilate are going to be sticking around a while longer, which is good, and things are going to get pretty awesome as they explore the rest of Ledomare (and possibly Xona?).
The only thing that really bothered me about this chapter was the use of FLASH to signal the transitions between RD's fight with Shell and the dream sequence with Whitemane. The past few chapters have been very cinematic, which has been enjoyable, but using FLASH as a cue for the transition broke my suspension of disbelief. It made it feel a bit too much like read a script, or the stage directions of a script, whereas it could probably be handled better. Meh, it was only a minor issue.
1841504 There must be a continuation, but it will be called Zadubadabu.
That is definately a better name that makes no sense at all. 
Subject: Rainbow Dash
Suffix Title obtained: "The Winner"
Preview: "Rainbow Dash, the Winner"
Wow! Pony Quaritch is clearly not a pony to be fucked with. Who knew he would be so tough?
That fight scene was awesome! And it looks like Dash has just gained two new party members. I hope Dash is ok with being the third wheel - although Belle knows about her unrequited (possibly?) love for Applejack and what happened to her and the others, so she should be considerate for the most part. Still, I suspect some interesting character development to come from their future conversations. The one thing I'm left wondering about is how Belle and Pilate plan on keeping up - they can't fly, so they're either going to travel through the machine or Dash'll have to take it slower. Plus, finding food for multiple ponies is always a lot more difficult than for just one... I'm way overthinking this, aren't I? Anywho, what I wanted to say in all that was: Yay - the main quest is being continued!
1841706
This. I agree with all of this.
Until the next chapter!
Light From Above - Black Tide
So if Pilate and Belle end up traveling with Dash, how exactly do they do so? It's not like they can fly or anything.
1841559 arch.413chan.net/Fluttershy_THAT%27S_THE_JOKE-%28n1312391456944%29.png
1841706
Rereading the chapter, I noticed the emphasis on color, as if Dash is being truly reborn. Though red, yellow, and violet are the only ones mentioned so far, I would note the lack of green again. Seeing as RD's next task will be to help Belle rescue her beloved, I wonder if green will not show itself during/after the rescue? Reuniting Belle and (zebra) Pilate would be a moment of reflection for Dash, one in which she might (re)discover her purpose and drive in heading east. So far, she hasn't really been doing it for any reason other than "to reach the Midnight Armory", which she has basically been assured she can't reach. A reminder of her own beloved would give her a reason to continue - the "wind" provided by Eljunbyro.
Keep an eye out for green, and long live Queen Whitemane.
1842708
Zeppelin.
Food hasn't been a problem for Dash, she only seems to need to eat when the plot requires there be filler or drama.
1843271
The book (green cover/green eyes) already showed up when Dash got her bags, and helped inspire her to run the gauntlet for Belle. Belle and the zebra have already been reunited, and are waiting above on the platform. These things are, as you say, related. Dash's drive eastbound it as much about running away as it is about self-discovery and healing. Dash doesn't care much about saving the world, she does things for much more personal and awesome reasons.
I can't help but wonder why consuming the red flame allowed RD to have a calm chat with Whitemane. We were never given an explanation for them, were we?
I can only guess that it's a pure harmonic energy from the alicorns of yore that keeps the machine running and is visible because of Rainbow's aura--Red being the color of loyalty, of course. Ingesting this energy must have boosted her harmonical alicorn signal to Whitemane for a brief time. How else could they have communicated so easily at such a massive distance?
Speaking of which, I hope Rainbow get's a chance to see the sky again and check in with Luna. She has to be worried sick at how long it's been and the circumstances in which they last spoke.
1843517
if by 'has to be worried sick' you mean 'has to have all but given up hope' or even 'has to have given her up for dead... then yeah. Luna must be worried sick.
1843467
This. Right here. This is why I shouldn't comment at 2:30 AM. Previously established plot points become... optional.
1844501
I wouldn't think too much of it, I do all the time! That, and prior to that chapter I had 100% forgotten that the book was given to Ember and should for no reason even be with them right now.
Okay so.
It's done. I'm caught up.
*Takes in a breath.*
YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS!
This is what I wanted. What we all wanted. Moar. Nao. I mean it, nao.
Ever Rainbow Dash.
I don't think he's dead. Nobody's ever dead unless you see the body, especially when they fall from a great height.
Oh right. CC still think Rainbow is dead. RD better survive to make a return trip.
Heh. There and Back Again, much?
my big question is: can the other elements be revived?
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So we get the finale of the Shell battle here, which ended I'n a really magnificent way. It reminded me a bit of the first Windthrow fight, which also took three chapters to complete. It appears that this is the last we'll see of Whitemane, however, which is pretty sad. But that's okay. Also, I've noticed a big emphasis on destiny and the destiny of Dash as of late. I think hat'll play into Eljunbyro somehow soon, but I can't be sure yet. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
So I was hearing Bayonetta's "You may call me father" through this.....and then the climax theme after the flash..... glorious
I really, really, REALLY wish we could have heard the sickening splat of Shell hitting the floor.
>and slammed her meatedly over the golden platform
Forever a meatbag ;_;
Kindness.
Bye, Whitemane.
3687076
The best adverb.
Well, Rainbow, I hope you know the grand scheme of things with Belle, because Whitemane didn't make it so clear.
Goodbye Whitemane. and thank you.
So long, shelly baby!
Hold it! We didn't see a undoubtedly dead, splattered body. Unless you find that, no villian can be declared safley dead. Therefore, he will return!
1841567
1841588
What was the description before? I'm late again
5958817 I suspect it was originally just the part about belle and did not have the "rainbow dash flies east" til this part. Also how are you today?
5993693 I am doing quite well, thank you. As for beert... only beert knows.
Foreshadowing
Ever the bold one eh Rainbow.
Wearing a fancy hat does not a hero make, rainbow dash.
Huh. So Shell is a bit of a badflank without all his nifty toys.
Wow, and Dash is kind of getting her butt kicked, too.
Ahh, well, it was helpful while it lasted.
Now that's more like it! Also, no body no confirmed death. I bet we'll see Shell again somewhere in the next thousand chapters.
"Sounds dangerous... I'm in!"
"Enforcers. I hate those guys."
"This beret belongs in a museum!"
"Who needs a map?"
Newest LoL skin: Rainbow Dash, the Prodigal Explorer.
Seriously though, Shell's gonna turn up again, like a bad penny, and nopony will be surprised.
Gets me everytime!
Wait, that's it?
Yeah, I have to call Never Found The Body on this one.
It seems like Rainbow needed a pick me up before fighting Shell, makes sense as she was in a coma for who knows how long.
Having made corned beef before, I can say that raw cabbage actually doesn't have much of a smell.
05/02/2017 02:39 UTC