Rainbow Dash trotted forward on soft blue hooves. She squatted down along the edge of the forest. The morning light illuminated an arid patch of earth where several pebbles had collected along a dry riverbed. Within the crook of two large rocks, a single throng of lavender flowers bloomed. Delicately, Rainbow Dash plucked a pair of them loose, turned the petals about in the cool air, and stuck them into her saddlebag.
With a liberal flapping of her wings, Rainbow Dash galloped forward, took off, and flew towards the eastern line of trees. As the wind whistled in her fuzzy ears, it brought back the sound of Luna's words just a few hours before sunrise.
"Thy life is a short one, Rainbow Dash. We can only relate to thee as an observer, for our days art many. Regardless, we feel that it is supremely important to impart some wisdom to thee. Thou art resilient, courageous, and responsible. Even still, thou art still too young, too fragile, and too precious to obsess so much over loss."
Rainbow Dash glided over a shallow lake. She flew just a few inches from the placid surface, turning her blue face from side to side as she inspected her teeth. She looked back at her tail, frowning at a clump of sap still stuck to the prismatic fibers. With a few heavy flicks, she doused the hairs in the water, breaking the reflection and sending ripples all across the mirrored sky. With flexing muscles, she ascended just in time to scale a line of wind-swept pines.
"We understandeth that loss has been a great deal of thy life, but we insist that thou not alloweth the bleakness of death become thy obsession. That which liveth soweth death, but it is still conducive to life. And, far more importantly, it is conducive to harmony. Harmony is a two-edged sword, allowing some elements and refusing others."
Rainbow Dash broke through a cloud, throwing a breathless glance to her west. From her high altitude glide, she could see the lavender shape floating at an even pace. She tried not to focus too long on the pulsating sight, or else she might suffer a cold spell and lose her tail wind. As she looked ahead, she almost got a wing full of brown feathers shoved into her muzzle.
Grunting, she shifted to the left, trying to recover from the shock. Her ears echoed with a symphony of quacks. A flock of geese had gathered to her right and were cruising their way at a leisurely pace. To Rainbow's amusement, they didn't seem the least bit frightened by her. So, with a smile, she flapped her wings at a slower pace and glided easily along with them, practically filling the missing gap of their majestic "V" formation.
"In the end, that which we do to promote the tranquility of this world measures the most. We have great faith in thee, Rainbow Dash. We have great faith that though thou might be experienced in death—yay, also in pain..."
Rainbow Dash sat lonesomely on a thick branch stretching from a tree planted along the edge of a massive canyon. As she took another lazy bite from a daffodil sandwich, her lithe body formed a dark sihouette against a red and pink sky. The sun cascaded into the west horizon, casting amber bands across the grand valley of lush green forests stretching wide beneath the pony's dangling hooves.
"...thou art still a sower of life. Thou maketh this universe, as imperfect as it already is, something far more worth living in. Remember that, and remember the lives that thou hath blessed as thou continueth your journey."
As the sky turned into a dull, dark gray, Rainbow Dash touched down on a pile of lonely rocks lying horizontally in the center of a forest clearing. She squinted curiously down at the enormous slabs, jumping up and down as if to test how loose they may have been. She was surprised to feel how solid they were.
Shrugging the discovery away, she flapped her wings, preparing to perform another flight. A cold shock ran through her body. She gasped, flinching, expecting a horrible spell to floor her. Instead, the sensation ended just as swiftly as it began. She stood in a precarious lean, squinting confusedly into the shadowed treeline of the clearing around her.
Then, with a knowing breath, she spun and faced north. She caught the horizon just in time to see the lavender light dying out, going cold, then pulsating with a pattern that she hadn't seen yet. It strobed slowly, like a giant's pink eye lazily winking at her, beckoning her.
To her relief, it no longer made her dizzy to stare at the sight.
Rainbow's limbs jerked. She almost took off right then and there, but something made her stop. She bit her lip, looked down at the slabs of rock, and then reached back for her satchel.
"We art proud of you, Rainbow Dash. It is our promise to you, until the very end of time—whether it cometh in a few centuries or a few eons—we shall forever preserve the mightiness of thy name, so that generations upon generations shall be inspired by thy legacy. Although, we do not believe that we will have to do this, Rainbow Dash. Thou art one in a million. Thou art they own legacy, for thou liveth it. Sooner than later, this whole world, this whole universe, will no longer be the same."
Rainbow Dash took off, staring down at the clearing and the stones in the center. She smiled to herself, a smile that turned gradually into a devilish smirk. Then, in a sapphiric blur, she spun around and tore her way north, cutting across the last sunlit lengths of the sky.
In her departing shadow, several bright shapes marred the topmost slab of rock, weighed down by heavy pebbles. They were stalks of lavender, twelve of them total, arranged in a neat little ring. Even upon the death of daylight, they positively shimmered.
"If thou still hath death in thy precious heart, then speak of it with thy new friends. We trust thou wilt see the truth in their eyes."
Okay, cool. So she does still have a way of meeting up with the rest of the gang.
This was a nice chapter. Good to see that Luna's words have put Rainbow in better spirits. I have to wonder, though: Does Rainbow know the significance of the twelve-part ring? She wasn't there when Belle saw it all in the sequence. Of course, Belle could have told her later. Or, perhaps, Rainbow intuits it.
And now, the motley crew of the Noble Jury!
Damnit brain, not the time for this song.
I really, really enjoy that the start of this story stares down Austraeoh so directly. What Luna said is really the key to understanding this journey: Rainbow Dash doesn't have a destiny, she creates one.
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Luna's magic number can't be a coincidence either. Maybe when Dashie starts really getting into the deep and nitty gritty of the ring, Luna might be able to offer some deeper knowledge.
3146319
Yes, it's Austreoh, but Dash is different, better.
Forty four-count side-straddle hops, ):(. Knock 'em out!
3146334
Yeah, that number is definitely popping up more and more (especially since it was revealed there would be twelve parts in the series).
I actually had a fleeting theory the other day that all of this might parallel the old Norse mythological concept of Yggdrasil, the world-tree that connects all worlds together. It ties in with the Old Norse origin of the titles, and even begins with a vowel like them. But then I remembered that Yggdrasil had nine worlds, not twelve. I still wonder, though, if something like that will pop up later (arguably it already has, in a sense, but perhaps it'll be expanded).
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12 broken pieces of the ring, 12 lavender (lavender light, lavender beacons) flowers laid in a complete ring, 6 friends and 6 elements, 12 months in a year, 12 symbols.
3146623
Twelve Xonan foals, as well, though that may have little importance - something Nightshade did as a result of the number's antecedent significance.
Wow. I've never been a Luna fan myself, but I do love the element she puts in the story so far. I liked the last two stories but I'm REALLY impressed so far.
Luna is a very wise mare.
Damn...this slower pace from having to separate from the Noble Jury is going to allow Shell plenty of time to catch up with them. Still, this IS a nice breather. I hoe though, that we can get caught up to what's been going on with the others aboard the ship though.
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Thanks for the heads up. I hadn't started reading yet, but the premise of the story seems really awesome!
I wonder what's happening with the Noble Jury??? I guess ill just have to wait and see
Onward and Eastward!
3146623javascript:void(0);
Twenty-four tiny marshmallow hooves kicking Nightshade's ass.
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Whatever's going on, they're doing well enough to keep Rainbow Dash with fresh linen and tasty daffodil sandwiches.
(Daffodils are actually quite toxic)
Twelve? Man, we've been seeing a lot of that number. I kinda want to know what those stones did to Dash. No doubt they were some ancient artifact left there by pegasi to allow RD to see her friends.
3146502
Rainbow Dash is Odrsjot.
3147456
Possibly, but unless they are nearby(I hope they are following Dash secretly, or are just in front of her) or can see into the far future, I doubt it. Zadubadabu or not, those Pegasi aren't likely involved here.
I'm sorry, I love this story and the message that Luna is trying to say, but my brain is wincing at all the improper high English conjugations.
"thou still hast death"
"our days are many"
"lives that thou hast blessed"
"for thou livest it"
"if thou didst not believe"
"they have an answer"
"we are all the same"
I guess Ponky's not around to correct the scriptural grammar anymore...
We're just starting the second quarter of this series and some themes have already been discarded in favor of conflicting ones. The shift from loneliness to a group is well-known, but more subtle is Dash's confidences have changed. She used to denounce violence when it wasn't immediately present, but when the opportunity presented itself, she was completely gung-ho and ready to lay a (possibly lethal) beatdown on anypony in her way. Now, as her talks with Luna have shown, she may be ready to quit violence altogether. We shall see.
She's also learned to honor the past without letting it get in the way of the present. When was the last time the color green was conspicuously mentioned, implying a reference to Applejack? She still misses her friends dearly, but it isn't paralyzing to think about them. She's still loyal. Now she has another group in which to invest her loyalty, and it has proven to be a wise choice. Her past remains safely in the past. Eve the chaos within her seems to be losing its gradual toxicity. Was her past important? Absolutely, but she's realizing that her present doesn't need to be weighed down. Once she realizes that her future is worth living for, the shift will be complete.
Is this the Xonan border? huh. i expected more violence.
A tiny glimpse into the terrible indifference that has to come with immortality. You are but ants! How spiffy. And well, the lonesome chapters are coming to an end already. Let's return to base.
3146516 Yggrdasil also wasn't a ring - though both Jormungandr and the Uroboros would be examples of a classical hringr. Given how Jormungandr encircles the world of mortals, it can be argued that the images of Yggdrasil as you apply it here is anything but farfetched. Quite the contary, with the homelands of the alicorns and other existing worlds already mentioned, the ring is just the reach of one world among many others - and quite frankly, wouldn't the homeworld of harmony make for an awesome Asgard?
3149169 It's true, isn't it? Either they have bypassed the war completely or they have not yet reached the border. My money is on the latter option. Then again, that ring of flowers smells like Xonan magic.
Maybe they're not even out of Ledomare yet. Didn't a few of the crew say they were getting dropped off at Gray Something or Other?
Mmm, gotta say that I'm loving these first few chapters. Got the same quality to them as Austraeoh--that serene pacing, vivid descriptions and air of mystery--but with the emotional growth and re-establishment of communication witnessed in Eljunbyro and Innavedr. Nice.
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I'd say that it's just the engine. When the ship moves, the have to draw upon the energies in the book which means that it's effects upon Rainbow Dash are no longer contained. When they reduce speed, or even stop, the energies are largely contained and the crystal settles to pink (somewhere between the original red and the lavender energy of the book). That's my running theory.
Or could be a new energy form. As Twilight was lavender, this pink (and, note: winking) might be it channelling Pinkie's end of the spectrum. Not enough material to back this up, though, so I'd say this one is a pretty wild pot-shot. :shrug:
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HL3 Confirmed.
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Yes, it would.
I have to say, one of the things I'm most looking forward to with this series is how all this mythology will be applied and fleshed out. And there are still eight more installments to come. I mean, with that much narrative space and with only so much mileage left to the edge of the world, you have to wonder to what extent other worlds in the ring might be visited (or, will it only be the dark side?).
The climate is quite heavy and really Austraeoh-like. I'm fine with that, the constant explodin' and awesomin' of Innavedr started to get boring.
3147665 She has to distance herself from the Noble Jury because it's carrying the book, the flame was messing with her near the end of Innavedr.
3134536 Make time.
IC I love this paragraph! Go Luna! Keep going Rainbow, and look to your new friends. They can help and comfort you.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
This chapter was great. Luna's speech, the way it was written - it was awesome. Also, I realized something that I honestly should have realized before - Dash wasn't flying in the Noble Jury because it would have given her dizzy spells. But she had an epiphany in this chapter - an epiphany that she can't dwell on the past. She has to keep moving forward. By no means must she forget those that have been lost - But she must also not allow them to hold her back. When she realized this, the flame's dizzy spells stopped. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Another wonderfully poignant chapter. I figured Rainbow still had a way to directly communicate with the rest of the gang, considering all of her fresh supplies. Although I guess Roarke could have flown them to her or something, but this is better. I'm glad that Dash has regained some of her confidence, and not in a "false bravado to cover up the pain" way, either.
Luna is one of the best characters in this story. And again more flying chapters, which are still my very favorite
>Thou art they own legacy
I'll guess that you meant to type "thy", although "thine" is the correct word to use in this case
3146964 awww, gross, that guy. Bleh.
Luna's speech made me think of this kick-ass song about prevailing onward in the face of death:
Twilight would be proud, Luna.
The correct archaic word is Yea, just so you know.
-Spirit
4427654 Well how do you know Luna isn't just a Masochist?
The twelve flowers, once again a reference to the symbols? or just some imagery for us IC?
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If you think about it, that's the exact opposite of what the story, and the show, for that matter, has told us. So far, we have been told time and time again that Rainbow is the chosen one, this Austraeoh that is the spark, the destined spark to bring life and harmony to the world.
Yet . . . I remember distinctly that Rainbow was told that Belle and Pilate, both parts of Eljunbyro, I presume, did not choose their fate; it was destined to happen, and Dash chose her fate.
This one thing that I find odd. It's like the story is both confirming and denying destiny. It's an odd conflict, to say the least.
R.I.P Luna until the next lunar cycle. May you eth in peace.
A somber, but effective pep talk! You go meet up with your pals, Dashie!
5859964 For that kind of emotion, somber is necessary. I love how he shows Lunas' centuries of experience and knowledge whenever she is offering advice or comfort to Dash. And I also like how she is written not cold or jaded, she cares, Deeply, always will, but Ancient. With all she has seen and done at a certain point things that happen would affect you very differently. you would either become a total ruin, or develop a deep, powerful ability to cope with things, like loss, without losing sight of what matters.
5260931 nah, we still have a few more nights for her to talk.
She really is just like a mother to Rainbow. Wonderful to hear just how highly Luna thinks of Rainbow, even though we already know.
05/18/2017 16:26 UTC
Awesome speech, Luna. No wonder why you're my favorite princess. You seriously have a way with words :P
July 17, 2017
9:28PM
Even as cryptic as alicorns are, this speech was Crystal clear
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She might have added a few golden statues and Wonderbolt titles if she actually saw everything she did
Luna's speech resonates with me. That was quite a powerful message. She has a deep understanding of loss, as one would expect from her.
Now that's a beautiful moment.
I could see it as part of an animated film.