"And so it's kind of a hairy game of hide and seek, only we're not just hiding from the Ledomaritan Enforcers; we're attempting to move our way east beyond the territories of the Confederacy and the country that they're at war with," Rainbow Dash said. "I've got tons of berets so far! You should see them!"
"We believeth thee, Rainbow Dash," Luna's voice replied through the pegasus' pendant. Several hours had passed, and a dim light was forming along the horizon beyond the mountains. "There is so much to taken in. It would appear as if thou hast been conscious for such a little time, and yet thou hast managed to acquire quite an ample helping of tasks on thy plate."
"You can say that again!" Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm always super duper hungry! Heeheehee!"
"There isn't much time left for our communication, Rainbow Dash. We feareth that we must rest the moon for the sake of raising the sun soon."
"Yeah, I know." Rainbow Dash gulped and stared into the cold morning winds. "Could you just tell me a little bit more about h-home, please?"
"Beyond what thou already knoweth?"
"There's gotta be a few things you skipped! Not that you're an absent-minded princess or nothing—"
"Perish the thought." Luna's voice paused for a moment, then continued. "The older brother to Twilight Sparkle—the unicorn known as Shining Armor..."
"Who, ol' squint-eyes? What about him?"
"He hath become engaged to a unicorn from the north, a member of royalty, no less."
"No kidding! Who's the lucky mare?"
"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."
"Ewww. Ahem. Well, thank Goddess she's marrying. She sure as hay could use the name change."
"As always, Rainbow Dash, thy humor is lost to us."
"The only humor is that belonging to the parents who named her! Sheesh! Heeheehee..."
All the while, Bellesmith sat beside her beloved a few feet away. She had a long-lasting grin of contentment plastered on her face as the morning dawn rose in golden effluence.
"I don't understand..." Pilate whispered aside, his ears twitching. "Wouldn't now be a good time for Rainbow Dash to ask her ruler about the machine realm? Or about Eljunbyro? Or the edge of the world? Or—"
"Shhh!" Belle insisted, murmuring towards him. "There will be two or three days of the full moon for her to do such, Pilate. Allow her an evening to reconnect. Doesn't she deserve any less?"
"Hey, you'll get no argument from me. I just..." He sighed and leaned forward. "I'm just curious, I suppose."
"You're not alone, beloved," Belle said, nuzzling him. "But something tells me, even as much as Rainbow Dash knows... or pretends to... she will always be an enigma to us."
Pilate nodded. "An enigmatic salvation will do."
"Mmm... indeed."
"—around the lower lakes, irrigating the west fields. Indeed, it would seem as if Cloud Kicker has been doing a fine job with the weather flying since thy absence, though it has taken her a while to learn the fine skills that came easily to thee."
"Heheh..." Rainbow Dash smiled, her wings flexing. "I knew that mare could get the job done, if any. It's nice to hear that Ponyville isn't suffering a drought or anything."
"Affirmative. Even if some horrible disaster was to occur, Spike's mastery of the magic skills can aid the local climate control."
"Seems like he's gotten a lot better at sorcery since I last talked to you."
"He had a lapse two moon cycles ago."
"Oh?"
"He had to hibernate while his wings grew."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened. "Spike's got wings?!" She twitched. "Spike can fly?!"
"Not terribly well, we fear. But it is of little matter. Your young filly friend is teaching him lessons—"
"Wait." Rainbow Dash craned her neck to the warming sky. "Wh-which filly friend?"
"The young pegasus with eyes like lavender flowers—"
"Friggin' Scootaloo can fly?!" Rainbow Dash beamed. She laughed hysterically, pounding her hoof into the earth. After a heavy gasp, she exclaimed, "That's great! That's super crazy great! Like—how long has she been able to do that?!"
"We would guestimate about four moon cycles since her cute-ceanara..."
"Holy—Snkkkt!" Rainbow Dash almost gagged on the blades of grass. "She's got her cutie mark too?!"
"It was apparently an event of major importance. All of her close friends congratulated her."
"Was... was she the first out of that little gang of pipsqueaks to celebrate her cute-ceanara?"
"Yes. We do believe that was the nature of their celebration."
"Hah! Why that adorable little turkey buzzard! Of course she'd be the first one to get it!" Rainbow Dash's teeth showed in her wide grin. "What is it of, your Majesty?! You gotta tell me! What's the cutie mark?"
"Why, it's—" Luna's voice faded.
Rainbow Dash blinked. She sat up straight, gasping. "Princess?! Princess Luna?!" Suddenly, Rainbow Dash was wincing.
The sun had glided over the eastern mountains, casting sharp rays of platinum light over the mountaintops.
Pilate bit his lip. Belle watched, her face stretched sympathetically.
Rainbow Dash blinked again. With a heavy sigh, she hung her head. Her shoulders shook once... twice...
Bellesmith gulped. She stood up and reached a hoof out towards her. "Rainbow Dash..."
"It's... it's gonna be full daylight in an hour." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, masking the sound of a sniffle as she climbed against the mountain winds. "I... uh... I'd better go get a look at the landscape below us, in case there are any Enforcer patrols or whatnot."
Pilate stood up next to Belle, resting a hoof on her shoulder. "There's really no hurry, Miss Dash. We can wait a bit before we head out—"
"Pfft! Screw that! You guys wanna get to freedom or not?"
"Well... of course, we—"
"Then lemme scout ahead! I think I saw a town over the southeast mountain crest before the sun went down last night. Uhm..." She cleared her throat and put on a brave smirk. "I'll go and get a look-see. You two hang out here and don't take a step until I get back and tell you it's safe, got it?"
"We..." Belle lingered, then smiled back. "We got it, Rainbow Dash. We'll wait for you."
"I promise." Rainbow Dash winked and shot her way east. "I won't disappoint."
She left the couple in a blue blur. Pilate and Belle stood alone, gazing anxiously at each other in the morning glow.
Well, thats an interesting turn of events. Also, lunar cliffhanger!
Hmm... That sounds foreboding...
Also, RD is hiding her crying from Belle and Pilate, clearly trying to keep her reputation upheld. And, we don't know Scootaloo's cutie mark!
EDIT: Upon closer examination ( how did I miss this?), it would appear that Dash wants to be alone for a bit. All of the trauma and shock she has experienced up to this point seem to catch up to her upon learning how much her old friends Scootaloo and Spike have changed. On top of that, she gets to speak to Luna for the first time in ten months, only to remember that the connection only lasts until dawn. And:
A wild arc appears!
Aw poor Dash, but at least Scoots has her cutiemark and Spike has wings
And now we're almost caught up with in-show current time. Huh.
>inb4 Scootaloo's cutie mark is butterflies
I suppose it was foolish of me to think IC would stick his neck out on a non-canon cutie mark for Scoots. But I lol'd at "turkey buzzard".
"As long as nopony pushes the Big Red Button on the chaos rift containment unit, nothing could possibly go wrong!"
Explanations? In my Eljunbyro? It's more likely than you think.
):(, very nice. It's just fantastic to show Dash missing home visibly. The whole story she's been so headstrong and driven to get as far away as possible, her burning need to move carrying her on. For her to actually show how much she misses them is very touching. Sad, in a way. We know that she does indeed still have people there she cares for, yet she may never see them again.
Also, 25 damn push-ups for that cutie mark tease! Knock 'em out!!
Troll level: Imploding Colon.
Spike has wings? Scootaloo got her cutie mark?
images.wikia.com/mlp/images/6/64/FANMADE_YEAH!!!.gif
Dash and emotional whiplash. She's able to have these emotional, tender and open moments through Luna, but quickly puts on that brave face when snapped back to reality. She's balancing living vicariously with her fierce desire to live in the moment, a very interesting bit of duality in an attempt to find balance. Not to mention the haste with which she rebuilds walls once her connection is severed. Luna, and her anecdotes about Equestrian life, are the last link Dash has to those tender sides, a last bastion of her emotional growth. Everything post leaving Equestria is buried deep in that comforting blanket of Awesome and kickass the Dash flails around. That is not to say Dash is no longer growing, only that she doesn't like to get attached to ponies again, not since the ones she got attached to were so brutally severed from her life. It is peculiar, then, that she has taken on a few companions. It seems Dash's final bout with Axan truly reminded her that for all the bravado and brave-face, loyalty unto one's self is not loyalty in and of its self. Dash is as dependent as she is independent, and maybe for once she needs someone else to talk to. Now, she sort of does in Belle.
Pairs, beloveds, but most interestingly, surrogacy has become a central theme. Dash through Luna, Belle through Dash, countless ponies to stand in place of Applejack for Dash, sight through understanding (on an emotional and academic level, both), bravado in place of truth, this saga is full of moments where characters use one attribute or person for another. It is a microcosm of the greater, most vague and far-reaching plot-point of the story: Rainbow Dash is trying to fill an emptiness. I hope that she will use the understanding Belle gained to let down some of those walls she's built so high, Luna is only around for so long and even she doesn't have the insight Belle does.
*GASP* Horray for scootaloo!
Can I say that this and Austraeoh are the best pony fics?
Almost forgot: Troll Luna, is in charge of celestial bodies, lets herself get cutoff, anyway. An opportunity to explore half-truths, perhaps?
1888032 0_o That's what I said, only much less eloquently. Hey, I actually analyzed (somewhat) correctly!
1888280 Indeed. It's rather like when your mother-in-law calls and you make crackly noises, complain about the poor connection and press the End Call button.
WHAT?!? SCOOTS!!!
I just thought of something else. The shorter chapters seem to have a lot of subtle information, and I just found this from Divine Intervention:
So Axan apparently knows exactly who/what Austraeoh is, and there is also a prophecy about her/it.
IC... I don't know what you're up to, but something tells me that there's more to Austraeoh and Eljunbyro then meets the eye.
I have a bad feeling about Shing and Cadance's future...
1888991
Sounds good to me, I'll edit it into the comment in a lil' while.
-Minty
1889227
I'm sorry, I just don't comment that much. I'm on chapter 88 right now.
1885458
That's where the whole "depends on how you look at it" thing comes in. IIRC, the band got tired of people completely missing the whole "mom has the hots for son cause he looks like dead dad" tidbit, and said it was just "mom telling son dad died."
Pictures Of Home - Deep Purple
1888944
+1 for you. That wedding will be an eventful and interesting time without Twilight (the rest of the mane 6) or Celestia.
1889664
I do tend to think about things that don'tcross others' minds.
1887812
Colon has a nasty habit of throwing in a lot of what, at the time of reading, looks foreboding, but is never actually acted on. I wouldn't be surprised if nothing ever actually does happen, because Colon loves to make his writing damn near unpredictable.
Heerres Apple!
*swings axe on door #109
And goddamit IC, ya still refuse to tell us her cutiemark.
Aw, I knew emotional Dash was imminent. At least this time around she has someone who knows the whole story, though it may be a while before Dash takes advantage of that. And damn cliffhanger - what's Scootaloo's cutie mark? My head canon is that its a Scooter wheel with wings (soo original, I know) but its interesting to see what other people come up with, even if I think that suits her best. And Spike has wings! It was pretty adorable seeing Dash get so excited hearing about home - it proves that even though she tries to sever any connections she may have with other beings, she doesn't really want to, and in fact can't. Anywho, one more chapter before I'm caught up. Onward!
Awwwwww I love seeing dash like this! She's just so happy and it makes me happy and.... D'AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW!
And nicely done avoiding saying Scoots' cutie mark. Nicely played IC, nicely played...
Lookin forward to the next chapter!
Onwards!
I must wonder if certain events surrounding their marriage will yet transpire...
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So a few things in this chapter. First off, Princess Cadence is an alicorn, not a unicorn as Imploding says. Second, Imploding does a nice job avoiding Scootaloo's cutie mark, so cool writing skills there. Third, Dash seems to get depressed in this chapter, realizing how much has changed in Equestria since she left. I'm forming a plan in my head...what if Luna could get Scoots to talk to Dash on the full moon one night? Luna brought in Celestia before, so why not Scootaloo? These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Curse you Luna, cutting off on us like that . Still glad Dash got to catch up though, This think the signal seemed better this night than a lot of the others.
1887992
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8649rkdmM1qdv0p0o1_500.png
Mother o' cliffhangers... Surely she could have delayed the setting of the moon for another minute? Then again, the last time she messed with the day / night cycle still hasn't been forgotten..
2005886 Well Cadence is a winged unicorn not an alicorn. I would say she's not even on the same level as Whitemane and she is no where near the level of Luna or Celestia, but like most else in the fandom this is just head canon. Although I would hazard a guess that this is the authors head canon too.
SONOFABITCH
Wait. What will happen with the Changeling Invasion? Hmm...
Aww. Such a cocktease.
At least there's a couple more nights to communicate.
Oh shit, Cadence isn't Cadence! Spike we need you to save the day! Luna your going to have to actually do something this time.
1888117
Yes. And you'd be right.
Things ended up better than expected. Kind of.
i love how you casually fix the biggest problem in A Canterlot Wedding. Almost. It's just that you made a slip off in the Whitemane chapter in Austraeoh
Rainbow Dash:
So that's a contradiction, unfortunately. For what it's worth, I like this version more, because in show canon, the crystal arc came after the discord arc, so it's reasonable that Rainbow doesn't know her yet. But it would be cool otherwise.
I also like that Scoots got her cm, another thing that's missing from the show. And it's nice that you don't feel forced to adapt her now confirmed disability into your story... although, come to think of it, I'm not even sure if this was written before or after the episode aired.
You fukken tease
1888032 Ohhhhhh, I sooo missed your analysis
So Luna was about to tell Dash what her cutie mark was when the sun came up.
Thing is, Luna control the Sun now.
Did she want to tease Dash or did she stupidly cut herself of at the perfect moment?
All aboard the feels train.
Spike is turning into a sorcerer and can fly, Scootaloo can fly. Dang, I want to read that story, too!
I'm also curious about Cadance being a unicorn, but that might be as simple as wanting to keep her without having room for her in the story alicorn mythology. This wouldn't be the first story I've seen take that tactic.
Colon, you gigantic sadist. I love and hate you so much right now.
What's worse? Knowing you, they're gonna land in hot water before Dash can talk to Luna again.
Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if someone used the line '[RD/I] can't die; [she/I] [hasn't/haven't] even heard what Scootaloo's cutie mark is!'
The more things change... well, I guess this would have been in motion before the point of divergence, so it makes sense that it still happened broadly on schedule.
And others happened ahead of schedule. Well, some purple magic user was going to end up with wings either way, I guess.
YES! YES! YES!
Even though we'll probably never have a scene where Scoots flies in this story, it's nice to know that she did indeed learn it. I'm so proud of ya, Scoots!
(Scoots is my favorite MLP character)
This just keeps getting better and better!
Wait.. I just thought of something. Can other individuals only hear/talk on Rainbow's end, or is it also possible from Luna's end. If so, I really wanna have Dash catch up with a character at one point through Luna's communication magic. (Like Scoots, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, or Spike.)
GOD DAMMIT, IC! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?!
I wanna know so bad! It's probably just Scootering, but still! Stahp teasing us!
With Cloudy in charge? I'm shocked there hasn't been a drought yet.
All those poor stallions...
8639850
Hey now. We all know that CloudKicker doesnt care if your male female or anything in between so long as your good in the hay heh