Hours later, the foggy haze refused to clear up. Perpetual rolling mist greeted Rainbow Dash from jagged peak to jagged peak of the lifeless highlands. And yet, with each line of craggy earth that the equine scaled, she saw flimsy bands of color.
The lavender she had plucked from the airship ruins didn't stop there. Wildflowers had utterly penetrated the deathly landscape over the centuries, devouring whatever patch of rich soil was available between the rows of exposed stone. In a way, they formed a path for her, a highway of pastel joy amidst utter bleakness. She followed them lazily, if nothing else but for the fact that they gradually led her eastward.
Rainbow Dash was flying at a leisurely pace, for what it was worth. She flapped her wings only once every half a minute, allowing the cool winds and the constant breeze through the sloping valley to carry her for miles upon miles. As she glanced down at the serpentine flower fields, her eyes registered neither joy nor lethargy. Everything about the flight was like clockwork, and her feathers sprang into action only when they needed to, lifting her forward and upward just in time to avoid yet another mountain peak that sliced ineffectually towards her fuzzy blue belly.
There were times when Rainbow Dash rested; there were times when she didn't. Occasionally, she would stop flying altogether, typically picking the eastern clifface of a given land ridge to sit and face the direction that the sun had risen hours earlier.
During one of these "rest stops," her stomach gurgled outrageously. She promptly opened her saddlebag and unwrapped a daffodil sandwich. It was freshly baked: both the bread and the contents thereof. As soon as she took a crunchy bite of it, she hummed in delight, though her face didn't register a smirk. A lingering silence hung off every expression she had to donate the landscape around her, even as she scarfed down a delicious treat. When her meal was done, she sat for a while with her forelimbs hugging her lower legs, her eyes plastered to the gray horizon before her. For a while, she appeared as distant as the mountaintops looming around her.
Eventually, with a sigh, Rainbow Dash kicked off the cliff and flew directly eastward. She may not have looked it, but the pegasus had been reenergized. The meal had a part to play in that, and when Rainbow Dash found even slopes of earth, she actually touched her hooves down to gallop for a space in time instead of fly. When her hooves got tired, she simply flapped her wings instead, easing her body into a delightful glide.
In such a fashion, she continued with her quiet and graceful scaling of the world.
Once every hour, the pegasus would glance to her left—towards the northern horizon. The sky was empty, and the hills were devoid of life. Still, that didn't stop her from glancing—more and more frequently with each passing hour.
At last, about two hours after her meal, she craned her head towards her left and squinted once more. She saw it: a pulse of light that matched the color of the flowers in her saddlebag. The pegasus' heart skipped a beat, and she slowed her flight so that she could make a better observation of the otherworldly beacon.
The lavender pulse loomed beyond the shadowed bodies of mountains, as if something indescribably bright was capable of piercing the high-altitude rock formations from the opposite side. As Rainbow Dash slowed down, it appeared as if the source of the light was speeding up. The pegasus flapped her wings and twirled her tail, adjusting her wind speed so that—as best as she could tell—she was flying parallel to the phenonemon.
This type of navigation continued for another hour or two. The day was coming to a close, forming dim shadows across the sharp mountain peaks that Rainbow Dash continued to skim by. As darkness approached, the lavender light grew no brighter. It stayed consistent, like a star, save for its gradual movement along the horizon north of her.
Rainbow felt a shudder roll through her as the chill of evening melted into the valley. To throw off the growing goosebumps, and also in anticipation of the nocturnal journey ahead, she flapped her wings, accelerating her flight so that she flew ahead of the lavender beacon. The craggy hills grew darker and darker. As a precautionary measure, Rainbow Dash gained altitude, flying high enough until she felt certain she could coast along into the starlight, unimpeded by any mountainsides looming ahead.
It was then that the world bequeathed Rainbow Dash its most beautiful canvas yet. In the absence of maretropolises and their incessant torchlight, utter darkness loomed across the valley, and through this onyx field bled a tapestry of stars, nebulae, and milkyway bands. Rainbow Dash craned her neck multiple times to look up into the violet haze of distant star systems twinkling against oblivion. At some point, she let out a breath and simply twirled until she was gliding upside down.
She coasted over the world like a leaf gliding across a black pond, all the while her eyes drank in the cosmos looming before her. The cold chill of night numbed her wing muscles, so that she felt as if an invisible hoof was carrying her forward, dragging her like a blue sled across the universe, with all the colors and specks of light available for her eyes to devour.
When she exhaled, it was the most lonesome of breaths, and yet it had a squeaky sound to it, like the starved semblance of a song. Her lips almost curved into a smile.
Pebbles rattled loudly as her flank brushed against the knifing edge of a mountainside. With a voice-cracking yelp, Rainbow kicked off the rock before her body could plunge into the errant plateau in front of her. Her heart beated swiftly like a shrew's for a minute or two, but she calmed down, curving around the jagged mountain until she evened out into a steady glide once more.
Catching her breath, she looked fitfully north, as if in search of her anchor.
It took a bit of scanning the blacker-than-black horizon, but she eventually saw the lavender glow. In spite of how brightly it pulsed, there was no hint of a reflection across the pale stone mountains. She couldn't even discern a shifting of shadows from the slowly shifting light source.
Somehow, this didn't surprise the pegasus in the least.
Rainbow Dash yawned. Having a near-brush with death had very little effect on the onset of exhaustion. With a muted groan, Rainbow Dash brought a hoof up to her pendant and ran the edge of her hoof against the ruby lightning bolt. She hummed in a low tone, as if channeling something deep and earnest through her being. With little delay, a crimson beam swam forth from her necklace in a swath, illuminating the mountaintops directly beneath her.
Rainbow scanned cliff after cliff. At last, she saw an even slab of stone along a slope's eastern edge. With a twirl, she landed swiftly atop the bed of rock. Reaching into her saddlebag, Rainbow Dash pulled loose and layed out a white blanket that still smelled of having been freshly laundered. She stifled another yawn, trotted around three times, and eventually plopped down, lying in a curled fashion across the plush fabric.
The scent of the blanket soothed her, and her ears twitched as if serenaded by the phantom sounds of laughter. For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, a smile alighted the pony's lips, and she allowed it to carry her softly into the starlit throes of slumber.
I absolutely love it when this series goes to non-dialogue mode. It brings out the scenery so much more. This is what drew me to Austraeoh.
Definitely feels good to read these types of chapters again,but where are the others?
I'm liking this so far. Very reminiscent of Austraeoh.
Just like old times, eh?
Methinks somebody wants to give RD a belly rub.
I love these chapters. Nostalgia infusion!
Hooray for ye olden chapters!
Though, it makes me wonder what happened to the rest of the Noble Jurists...
More Lavendar light, eh? Noble Jane, perhaps? And from the looks of it, she seems to have just restocked on supplies from it.
Onwards and Eastwards!
This descriptions are not only a beautiful, I can sense some inspiration in old, XVIII romantics novels. Truly marvelous. The closest reference I would call, would be a "Sir Thaddeus", however I'm really, really sure that IC didn't read that. Hmm. Still, it's splendid.
- Verlax
Y'know, I love this. Haven't had these descriptions of scenery in a while. It makes me wonder where everybody is, though. Sure as heck didn't just throw RD out the window.
On second thought, Floydien might have.
3133554 i.imgur.com/yEG4dDJ.jpg
Hmmmm, I wonder why she isn't sleeping on board the ship...
It seems the others may not be with our cerulean protagonist, after all. Alas, it appears that truly, her journey is not theirs.
That Element is quite the magical Swiss-army-knife! Tonight? Headlights!
Very beautiful but where are the others?
Also why are people using my Onwards and Eastwards D:
Onwards and Eastwards!
So is Dash doing her little solitary flight run for nostalgia's sake? Is she somehow scouting out a course? It doesn't seem like it, but ya never know. The others aren't far off (if the freshly baked bread, laundered blanket and lavender light are anything to go by). Does she want to be away from them when she contacts Luna? I dunno why that would be an issue, though... Meh. *Le Shrug* whatever's going on, I like it.
To infinity and beyond!
I imagine this is what it's like to get a fix after going without a narcotic for so long. As much as Eljunbyro and Innavedr held my attention, this kind of meandering description feels like a long-awaited reunion after leaving the hallowed chapters of Austraeoh. I know that hoping for 200 chapters of Austraeoh reprise is foolish, but a part of me hopes that this will mostly continue for the next few months. Seriously, the narcotic example isn't that far-fetched. I might have to go back and re-read these a few times. It's addictive.
3136946izz
I'm hoping that I'm wrong about Rainbow Dash continuing her journey alone, and that the dizzying effects of the Ruby Flame or whatever it was called is keeping her away from the Noble Jury, which may indeed be the source of the lavender illumination.
I will never have been happier about being wrong about something.
Needs more popularity. This is ridiculous.
i.imgur.com/3eKv4.gif
The beautiful imagery! The wonderful imagery! CAN'T HANDLE THE IMAGERY.
You know, I just realized that while the old Austraeoh-type chapters like we've been seeing so far are still some of the most wonderful things about this story and the main reason I ever got into it, now that we actually met other ponies and got attached to them for so long, it makes me a little sad to see their sudden absence. The constant reminders of their presence (the old Ledomaritan warship, the freshly-baked bread and clean blanket, etc.) The suddenly loneliness is rather refreshing after the action-packed events of Eljunbyro and Innavedr, but in the end it's still, well, lonely. It makes me think of everyone Dash has had to leave behind up until now, mostly Gold Petals and CC. Makes me wonder how things turned out for them, after Rainbow Dash came into their lives. If Gold Petals ever got over Dash leaving so abruptly, if CC ever found out what happened when he suddenly lost contact or if the Silvadel ponies re-established contact with their neighbors to the west.
All of that aside, I look forward to seeing where this leg of the story goes. Considering the fact that Rainbow Dash still has freshly-cleaned laundry on her, it's very likely that she recently was in contact with the crew of the Noble Jury- the last ponies we saw her with. Whether that was a parting gift for when she split off on her own, or supplies from their last meeting on a parallel journey east, we are yet to know.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Alright, so there are a few things to note in this chapter. Â First off, is that lavender light Belle on board the Noble Jury? Â I can't imagine what else it would be, so that's what I'll assume from here on out. Â Also, Imploding makes a point about how Dash's dandelion sandwich is, in fact, a sandwich. Â It is unlikely that Dash sat down and actually made it herself. Â Also, Imploding mentions Dash's blanket having been freshly laundered. Â She had to have received these items from the Noble Jury. Â But why is she not on board the airship with her friends? Â Why distance herself on purpose from an easy mode of transport? Â There's no way to tell just yet...These are my thoughts so far.Â
-MASH
Another beautiful chapter. It also seems like a flashback were it not for the emphasized points about the sandwich being fresh and the blanket being recently laundered. Still makes me wonder why she isn't with the others. Also what I would give to look at stars like that. Such a wonderful mental picture of gliding upside down and looking at the stars above.
I was wondering where the rest of her party had gotten to until the daffodil sandwich, then it occurred to me that this likely took place before or during Astreaoh.
Unless its a jump foreward and everypony is gone. I hope not.
3133190
3150108
3156267
I imagine they're that lavender light she's paralleling. She can't be too close to them (if only while they're moving, perhaps?) because of what they're using to power the ship, so she's keeping a safe distance while ensuring that they stay on more-or-less the same course.
She can stop to eat and rest without fear of losing them or getting left behind (aka losing to them) because she's frigging Rainbow Dash.
3147665
you asked "Why distance herself on purpose from an easy mode of transport?" maybe she (rd) missed the astreio chapters as much as we did so every now and then she takes a few days for her self.
Time to start another 'catch up' marathon!
3147665
Um... She had the terrible dizzy spells on board the Noble Jury, didn't she?
might be a few month behind, but still wanted to say that these are my favorite kinds of chapters
3287337 More like a "Fatch up" mareathon! Haha!
3697259
4059406
I have a feeling that she's flying alone because the red flame powering the ship was making her dizzy.
So reminiscent of Austraeoh. It's beautiful. Maybe she's not in the ship because of the dizzy spells there?
-SPirit
So the lavender glow may be Noble Jury perhaps? Perhaps the red flame makes her chaos side react so she cannot fly with it.
3133554
Fucking belly wubs, man. They're like crack cocaine.
4793836
That's what in thinking, at this point.
Well, things sure are peaceful, huh?
Weird. This chapter seems wordy for the sake of being wordy. Typically you paint the scene in a faaairly wordy way, but not enough for me to see as a problem. I'll use the most unhelpful criticism ever and say that this chapter didn't seem to 'flow' as well as your usually stuff.
Probably just be imagining things though, meh. Onwards!
Oh jeez, I hope the rest of the Jury is okay.
These chapters are a bit too... quiet for my tastes. Something else is up.
Ah yes, I forgot.The power source of the Noble Jury gave Dash massive headaches/dizzy spells. That would probably be why she isn't smiling much, she cant hang out with her friends without suffering. For a minute there I was worried.
She has it much better now. Fresh, cooked food, clean blankets, she is not roughing it nearly as hard. And she still has the amazing views that she used to.
Umm... Did we skip a book or something? Cause I'm pretty sure the description said "Rainbow Dash and her companions fly east", not "Rainbow Dash flies east".
Ahh, now here's the comfy-core stuff I loved best from the first book. I actively screenshot about a third of these descriptions, just because they're too precious not to save somewhere.
Nice, the NJ must be nearby and providing a mobile rest stop for resupply and laundry.
... how do you bake daffodils?
As long as that beacon continues its course, she knows those she has come to treasure are safe and sound. But never again will she take her companions for granted.
05/18/2017 15:27 UTC
Ah, yes. I was missing this kind of style. Feel very relaxed.
July 17,2017
9:11 PM
Always love the calm, but where is the Night Janitor?
So calm we haven't had this for a while.
*Insert creative comment here*
I remember there were a bunch of complaints that the previous two books totally deviated from the style we all grew to like from the first book, but I feel like these quiet, flowery chapters come up just often enough now. It's enough of a return to form, a reminder of the series roots that it keeps us going without oversaturating the story; we can't help appreciating them that much more thanks to their rarity.
Like the poppies at Flander's Fields, the sign of peace after this battle seems to go on forever in that small place.
09/05/2019
20:35 UTC
After all the terrible stuff our heroes went through seemingly endlessly the last 2 books, these chapters of peace is a great reminder that the world is not nothing but terrible. Ooo how I missed these chapters where we just see things go peacefully for a time.
Also, how long till the Lunar Line reopen?