The Risks That We Take
The edge of the world...
Kepler and Flynn set up their station along the marble precipices of the last solid surfaces of the plane. The golden towers vibrated and hummed as the Gondola continued its harmonic ascent from afar. Meanwhile, Flynn erected an elaborate crystal-powered antenna attached to a black metal box.
"It's... uhm... it's for detecting massive surges in the leylines," the balding unicorn explained. He smiled sheepishly as he continued tweaking the apparatus. "I know that you and your invisible friends are waaay better at detecting this sort of phenomena than I'll ever be, but it doesn't hurt to have a failsafe, huh?"
"Just keep on keepin' on, dude." Rainbow patted his back as she hovered over the misty surfaces of Emeraldinian architecture. The constant roar of rushing water and broiling thunder felt strangely relaxing compared to the true storm that was upcoming. "I'm going to be far off... dealing with Rohbredden's finests and a bunch of nasty sound effects, most likely." She winked. "It'll be super cool to have you and your doohickey ready to signal us upon the elevator's arrival."
"Hey..." Flynn breathed nervously. "Just h-happy to help." He gulped, ears folding melancholically. "Wish I was half as happy to see the Stardust go."
"Get over her," Rainbow said with a wink. "I'm sure she's already gotten over you."
"Jee. Thanks."
"Anytime, bud." Rainbow glided over to Kepler. "K-dude. How's it hanging?"
"That rremains to be seen, Rrainbow One!" The optimistic wyvern squatted at the marble edge, tinkering with a runic boomstick. "It depends on how the oft-misunderrstood laws of grravity decide to function along the way to the Darrk Side."
"Look at it this way..." Rainbow Dash rested a hoof on his hairy shoulder, leaning forward. "I'm super okay with losing my lunch in zero-g... so long as it means leaving this cruddy ocean waaaaaay behind."
"Mmmm... out of the firre and into the frrying pan, though?"
"I'll take it one step at a time." Rainbow leaned back. "I just want this fight to go as painlessly as possible."
"We should always wish forr heavenly things."
"Totally, dude."
"Just concerrn yourrself with the no-doubt glorrious acrrobatics that you arre surrely about to perrforrm, Austrraeoh," Kepler said with a smile. "It will give us all something to speak prroudly of along the rride to the otherr side."
"Now there's a happy thought." Rainbow's eyes narrowed on the boomstick he was tweaking. "Got a handle on that?"
"I would think as much."
"You've... uh... memorized the moonwhinny commands for firing off the 'GONDOLA!!!' signals... r-right?"
"Ha-Hah!" Kepler winked through his spectacles. "Have you forrgotten who you arre talking to?"
"Just... y'know..." Rainbow shrugged. "...wondering if those whacked-out words are tougher to say through those pearly tusks of yours."
"I sufferrr to underrstand how the poorr midnighterrs manage the complex phonetics with such ghastly fangs!"
"Touche." Rainbow smirked, fluttering off. "Stay classy as ever, Kepler."
"I shall attempt to with grreatest sincerrity, Rrainbow One."
Rainbow chuckled slightly to herself. Soon, she approached Logan who was sharpening his axe. "You know... odds are that you're not going to get to used that baby much."
"Oh yeah?" The large stallion muttered out the side of his muzzle. "Odds are the odds aren't going to go as you expect them."
"Must you be so stupidly pessimistic?" Rainbow asked.
"It's not pessimism so much as looking for a fight." Logan turned to throw her a manure-eating-grin. "In which case... I'm always turned on."
"You got that right!" Flynn hollered from afar.
"Shut up, baldy!" Logan spat. "How about we switch strategies and use the shine from your skull to blind the enemy armada?!"
"We can just shave your flankcheeks and save half as much time!"
"Oh that'll give the midnighters something new to worship!"
"Hahaha!"
"Ahem..." Rainbow Dash leaned in, brow furrowed. "How about saving the crudeness for the Dark Side?"
"I dunno, Rainbow," Logan muttered, returning to sharpening his blade. "The way I figure it... once we get there... being 'crude' will no longer be a snazzy outlet."
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see." She "punched" Logan in the shoulder. "Just remain on your A-Game. We just might need you and Remna yet."
"'Ow,' by the way."
"Yeah right. Say..." Rainbow turned about, squinting across the marble platforms. "Where is that dragon pony anyways?"
"Over there... roundabouts..." Logan pointed towards the far edge of the platforms. "Being emo."
"Of course." And Rainbow walked off.
Remna shuffled slowly across the forest of rusted metal stakes. She reached a violet hoof out, brushing them past an array of dangling crystal vials—all of them empty. The air filled with gentle percussion, like glass raindrops against the dull bass roar of the endless end.
When Rainbow arrived, it was on soft wings. The pegasus touched down, staring across the thunderous space between her and her once-foe. Clearing her throat, Rainbow said, "Kepler and Flynn are just now getting set up here on the edge. Bard's situating the Stardust while Ariel and Wildcard work things out with their halves of Enix's crew." Rainbow took a breath. "If Fluttershy and Rarity are correct in their estimations, then the enemy ships will be here in just a few hours. We... uh... may have some time to kill before then. Could be a good opportunity to rest and collect our thoughts. That kind of stuff is super important for mortals, y'know."
Remna said nothing. She continued gently caressing the dangling vials, her expression grim. Lethargic.
Rainbow arched her eyebrow. "What are you even doing, Axan?"
"All of the blood is gone. Drained." Remna murmured, her green eyes reflecting the crystal jars. "It's telling, don't you think?"
Rainbow stirred where she stood. "You've never struck me as one to get sentimental over dead alicorns."
"It's not sentiment," Remna grunted.
Thunder and water.
"Whitemane's blood was there," Rainbow said.
"I've looked and looked for it," Remna muttered. She shook her scarlet head. "I found nothing. Not like you did."
"Well..." Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe it all dried up when I touched it."
"Impossible—"
"Or maybe I just imagined it. Either way, enough of Whitemane's essence was there for me to get a wake-up call. Look..." She sighed, slicking her short bangs back. "What does it matter? We've got a lot of crud to deal with on the horizon... heh..." She bore a bittersweet smirk, waving towards the cascading sheets of water below them. "And with only one horizon left, that means something, don't you think?"
Remna slowly turned around to gaze at Rainbow Dash. Her eyes looked lifeless.
"Lemme guess..." Rainbow moaned inwardly. "I'm about to get another 'holier-than-thou' lecture on the banality of 'mortal humor.'"
"Have I... truly been of assistance to you, Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow did a double-take, visibly taken back by that sudden inquiry. "Uhhhh..."
"Bard and Wildcard pulled you out of the Quade. Mortuana and Kepler set you on the right path." Remna's green eyes hardened. "Ariel, Logan, and Flynn have protected you at all times since... and even a few ponies and griffons under my sister's influence sacrificed their livelihood to ferry you further east."
"You... restored my body when I was nothing but a bloody pulp, Axan..."
"Only because I had reduced you to a bloody pulp in the first place." Remna's voice growled ever so slightly. "Aside from exterminating Nevlamas at a key moment, how exactly have I gone about ensuring the safe and secure journey of the Austraeoh?"
"You totally kept me from freezing my butt off south of Wyvern Point!" Rainbow said. She shook her head. "Look... Axan... mistakes have been made, and we can debate your aloof tactics over the last two years until we're blue in the face. But... like... d-don't you think it's a bit late to be second-guessing the importance you've played in this whole shebang?"
"Ages ago, Rainbow, I made the lazy decision to remove myself from the pressures and politics of this dying world," Remna said. Her voice limped in guilty, fuming breaths. "It was a defeatist attitude... and as soon as I isolated myself and my brood... I died... along with this world." She gazed tiredly at the empty, clattering vials suspended beside her. "If I bled, I suspect I would be as dry and lifeless as these vessels."
"Shouldn't all immortals have gone through a mid-life crisis millennia ago?" Rainbow bore a cynical smirk. "Heck, Verlax did! And look at what it did to her!"
"Rrrrrrrrrr..." Remna growled with sudden, draconian fervor. "This is not a jovial matter! I pledged myself honorably to Mortuana and I've yet to accomplish anything!" She sighed, her voice lowering to a calmer tone. "The universe of Urohringrs needs the Austraeoh... and the most pivotal thing I've ever done is murder you."
Thunder rolled.
"Look, Axan..." Rainbow kicked at the granite floor, sighing. "Take it from me... I know a thing or two about dealing with bad decisions." She gulped, gazing off at the nebulous cosmos lingering beyond the edge. "More like I know a thing or two or three or four." She shuddered. "And every time I do something horrible... the only way to get back from it—I've discovered—is not to constantly obsess over it. Doesn't stop me from obsessing anyways, but—point of the matter is—I eventually get over it. Because I have to. And... guess what?" She smirked hopefully. "I always end up doing something spectacular and awesome that more than makes up for the mistakes."
Remna slowly nodded. "By that logic... you've yet to make even worse mistakes than the things you've committed so far."
Rainbow shuddered slightly at that.
Remna cocked her head to the side. "How do we know that this 'carefully thought-out' engagement with the Rohbreddenites isn't your next mistake?"
"Jee..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"You are putting the Herald and Nightbloods—the Austraeoh's most precious commodity of protection for this very moment—at unnecessary risk for the moralistically noble goal of protecting the denizens of Bleak's Plummet."
"So kill me for wanting to leave the crud in my wake way better than I found it, Axan!"
"No doubt you will make it in one piece to the far end, but what of your companions? If they perish, then you will have nothing to protect you against the chaotic elements of the Dark Side—"
"Well those are the risks we have to take!" Rainbow Dash snarled, her hairs bristling. Her tail flicked with an angry blur. "That's what it means to be a mortal! And I'm sorry that you can't understand that!" She leaned back, shivering slightly as her breaths calmed. "You say that you feel like you haven't contributed much, Axan. Are you sure that's really how you feel? Or maybe it's that you haven't taken as many risks as you would like to?"
Remna stared solidly at her. "I trusted you to be the salvation to this world, Rainbow Dash," she said in a quiet tone. "Even after what you did to me and my brood... I followed you. I believed in you." She swallowed. "A Divine such as myself doesn't know a greater risk than that to take."
Rainbow bit her lip.
"You were doing 'villainous things' long before you ever stepped into Ledomare, Rainbow Dash... much less Rohbredden." Remna breathed. "Perhaps the one risk that you must take is to accept the ruthlessness deep inside of you. It will get you farther than I ever could. And maybe... just maybe... in imparting such wisdom to you, I will have finally done my part."
By now, Rainbow was facehoofing. She groaned in a dull breath. "Y'know, Axan... the more and more you sound like Verlax... the more I wonder if I've failed you..." She sighed. "And maybe even failed Mortuana."
Remna blinked.
"Mmmfff... whatever." Rainbow turned tail in a huff. "Things are gonna start heating up soon. So... j-just be ready, y'know? That's all I ask, Axan. Be ready." And she trotted briskly away.
Remna said nothing. With a calm breath, she turned to gaze once again at the vials. Her violet ears twitched to their gentle percussion. Meanwhile, darkness lingered ever so thickly beyond.
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I've a sinking feeling Axan can't or won't make it to the Dark Side.
Damn that dragon-pony is a downer. Someone give her some magic firebending powers or something! Cheer her up.
So the big question of the day for these two is who failed who in the end? I kind of feel that Rainbow has learned far more from Axan then she ever did or will from Dash.
7613275 Gonna be honest: better her than Bard
7613275 Hmm...a fair assessment. But so far I think there's an equal chance of the same thing applying to any one of the others.
So. Many. Death flags!
So bloody many!
Ain't it fun, how this life is giving
Us the chance to be a hero or a fiend?
It's our choice, so let us try to make the...
Best of...
What our Fates have laid in our cribs!
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
Getting over one's mistakes has value, but I believe the main thing you need to do with your mistakes is learn from them so you don't repeat them while also taking responsibility for making them in the first place. Thing is, guilt isn't a bad thing. It can feel like a bad thing, but that's only if you let guilt damage your ability to think and act. Guilt is an important part of learning from your mistakes, because its the weight that trains your soul, the same way physical weight can train your muscles, to become stronger so that you can make better choices in the future.
Never run from your guilt. Face it, get stronger from that weight, acknowledge your fuck ups for what they were, learn from it, and grow as a result.
I'm not a fan of Axan, because she constantly ducks the worst of her crimes and mistakes with the usual immortal drivel and refuses to acknowledge that destroying Silvadel was a mistake that she has yet to learn from. Probably because she doesn't think she has to, or that the whole Austraeoh thing is more important. It makes it hard for me to see her growing as a person and to take conversations like this seriously. But I'll try to give her the benefit of the doubt here and that maybe somewhere in that thick draconic skull of hers she can still somehow grow and learn, it's just taking a lot longer than it would for other people because she's got a giant immortal dragon complex that makes it hard to think and feel like a person. I'll also give her some credit that she has been doing her bit to keep Dash alive, though the crux of this seems more that she's worried it won't matter if Dash gets herself killed by taking heroic risks to do the right thing, especially with the Dark Side and its grimdark blood and death fest waiting.
Hell, I'll even give her an inch over my own stubborn instincts to say Axan does have a point. I kind of want to throw up a bit saying that, but I'll be fair to her; the Dark Side is going to be the kind of place where a bit of ruthlessness probably would lead to a higher chance of success than trying to maintain complete nobility and morals.
Bottom line is though, the risk of death is going to be ludicrously high for all of them no matter how Dash approaches things on the Dark Side, or even here with the Central Guard. Being moral is never about surviving, or minimizing risk. If protecting others, including your enemies, was easy then literally everyone would do it. You don't take those risks because you think its easy or you're certain it'll all turn out okay in the end. You do it because you feel that those morals are worth the risk of life and limb. If you die doing the right thing, doesn't change that you still did the right thing.
But I'll acknowledge it's not quite so simple for Dash because she can't hand off this Austraeoh task to anyone else and basically has to live. So it comes down to balancing on a knife's edge between maintaining one's morals and staying alive. Like Dash says, take it one step at a time. I normally encourage her to think her way through things, but in this case she might just need to stick to trusting her instincts.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst, keep on Easthorsing.
7613275 Sinking. Heh. Because she can't swim. I think you might have just predicted how she is going to die as well.
I really like the growth that we have seen from RD so far in this epic. She goes from compete disregard for her own life to complete disregard for anyone else's lives except for her closest friends to complete disregard for anyone else's life only if the peaceful option is inconvenient to take the peaceful route unless it isn't an option. Here's to hoping that she isn't avoiding bloodshed just to spite Verlax and instead because she is truely bent on harmony. Although I might argue that the pacifist route isn't noble or harmonious. It is the most orderly route, and complete slaughter is the most chaotic. Verlax won. She stopped RD from being an element of harmony by transforming her ultimately into a bringer of order which is just as bad as being a bearer of chaos. Both sides prevent the plane from working naturally by either stasus-ing everything through order or by reducing the plane into nothing through chaos. The balance has not been reached and I hope that this battle allows us to move closer to a harmonious blend of chaos and order.
For all that power and smarts, neither Axan nor her sisters seem to be very wise. They also seem to be incapable of learning from their mistakes. Axan keeps focusing on the end goal at the expense of destroying everything around her trying to reach that goal. That same mentality lead to her loosing everything back in Silvadel.
And now I'm getting the feeling that Axan may die, probably in a noble and sacrificial way, thereby making her big contribution. And that would be a bummer, not only because her curmudgeonly personality can be a hoot and she only stands to grow as a character, but also because her strength and resilience would be a huge boon on the dark side.
Also, wouldn't it suck if Rainbow had a dizzy spell in the midst of this final showdown?
7613275 Axan's got character progression left. I think she stays.
Bard or Ariel are my guesses of one dying.
I can also see Keris joining
Watch Axan channel Gandalf and be all "you shall not pass" at the Gondola.
And then Axan the White will return on the western edge of the world.
7613275 If anything, I think it's more likely that Axan is the only one (aside from Rainbow) who makes it to the Dark Side. If it comes to Lerris and Chandler is posturing with his hostages and trying to bait Rainbow with the Gondola right there, which of the Herald would be most likely to just haul her in and start it up?
I can also see Bard using the Stardust as an exploding ram to take down the third ship and save Bleak's Plummet, and everyone else getting away fine. All I really want is for this to start already!
7613482 Why?
Why do you do this?
Again, I feel like we're invoking the Lerris Effect. Either characters no one's mentioned will die, everypony dies, or nopony dies. Or everyone is Verlax/a changeling/Secretariat.
Axan hasn't grown enough to die yet, so I think she's safe for now. Though I'm still really wondering if Verlax is going to win in the end; Rainbow Dash might not have to have been disloyal to get to the last seed, but that doesn't mean her test is over yet. Is she going to have to betray her companions and leave them behind to escape Chandler's clutches, or will she somehow pull things off? Or maybe Axan is the one who shows/makes her leave everyone else behind for the good of the plane. I have a feeling Rainbow is going to need to be dragged away from this mess once things go down, and Axan is the perfect dragon-pony to do so.
But you're already blue in the face. Does that mean you can't debate Axan's tactics at all?
The suspense is killing me! :D
This is starting to tense.
We have not seen the Robhredden side of things, and this is putting me Ill at ease. The enemy approaches, and I believe that the way of harmony should not be mistaken for one of pacifism. Afterall: "You cannot make Harmony without Harm"
And I am getting the feeling this'll be Bard's finest moment. I do not believe he will die, since the ponies/Wyverns/Alicorns/Zebras/Scampsters/Changelings/Dragon Divines and Griffons Dash associates with, are remarkably resilient. I think they'll make it through, Or atleast, The saurosians will escape with little commotion since making a bunch of hard-core, fluffy eared, experienced pirates into hostages...With merely three ships, sounds like a really, really bad way for losing said ships.
Especially if your Hostile, flying pirates, posses explosive shouty boomsticks. Have recently been reconnected with their patron goddess. And we guess have the Batpony variant of Ecological U-Boat type XXVIIB and/maybe/would be OP Type XXIII in a fleet that launch Angry BatBirdEquines.
No, I'm more worried for the Herald.
7613488
Keris joining will seriously shake up the shipping charts. #SwanShipsIncDoesn't sound unreasonable. What, with all the religious zeal hanging about a single bloodthirsty catbird ex-boss, people not believing you...and getting to see that your entire career was basically in the name of some half-crazed Ice Dragon who molded your entire world to fit her needs to test a SINGLE equine. Who wasn't even ensured that she or he would actually arrive at all.
Yeah, I'd be asking myself what I'm still willing to put up with.
...Axan's gonna die.
I think this is the most "equine" we've seen Axan. Kinda feel bad she doesn't quite "get it" though. Maybe this will be the moment she does? Or something horrible will just take place instead -__-
7614047
Don't give IC that idea!
7613482
No....
No no no....
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no, don't
Pl0x?
Youve used Phone a Freind, and Lifeline, Do you wish to Remove one Answer, or call it.
Is that your Final Answer?
The Answer Is.
Right back after these messages.
What's with the updated cover arts?
7614278 http://www.fimfiction.net/group/1477/austraeoh/thread/280609/guys-i-accidentally-all-over-ics-cover-art-what-do
What, are you looking for moments of fame now, Axan? You fought by her side and protected her in numerous battles. That's your job as Herald, literally. I swear to dragon Jesus, suck it up, it's embarassing to have been murdered by a scaly old Kylo-Ren-impersonating hag like you!
While Princess Stardust says she feels as if she is waiting for her funeral, I look forward to the ship going out in an epic explosion, taking the first two of Chandler's transports with it.
7614278 7614303 I noticed this last night, but figured it couldn't be that new. Now I feel silly for not saying anything.
So many chapters preparing for a battle. I feel like singing One Day More every chapter.
I might be late to the party on this one, but Wildcard is Snake Eyes. Covered face(or mouth, for him), never speaks, is wise regardless, dual wields melee weapons, has a tragic past, is a total badflank.
Protip: joking about a dead sibling might not be the best way to develop a good rapport with others.
Sorry Dash, she literally did that already.
Aside from an interlude chapter, it seems like the next wave of chapters will be the battle.
You're not useless, Axan. We can always just tie a rope to you and use you as an anchor.
7616965 it's like DBZ: dozens of episodes of ramping up before the big showdown.
7613628
This is what I'm afraid of. Bard would do anything to protect his little sister.
Heh.
She's risking the batponies by protecting the batponies? That doesn't make sense, Axan.
Very interesting talk. This is the most unsure we've seen an immortal be. At the end of the first book she just gained perspective, but now she's showing actual growth. She doesn't quite understand it yet, as rainbow points out she's contributed plenty, just risked little. But she's starting to recognize that Rds journey isn't just about minimizing risk, but spreading harmony. She recognizes she has more to learn.
This is very cool. She might be the member of the herald with the most character growth
Axan hasn't shown much emotion before this. It's honestly a good thing to see.
7613339 imagine if everyone put as much effort into life as you put into this thoughtful comment!
7613482 maybe she goes full draconequuis in order to win.
7616965 I love how they tie in so many earlier songs into it.
The vials are empty. I suppose that's what powered the elevator?
Kepler is best wyvern.
It's true. I know how it feels to feel useless, and that is exactly how Axan feels.
An infinite being of unriveled power, and what can she do? What has she done?
I think Axan is going to do something brash and brazen. Something destructive, but Noble in her eyes.
Y'know, I keep forgetting that for all this time Rainbow's mane has been super short. Probably helps her aerodynamics.
But yeah, everything else about who might die, Axan being emo, etc etc has already been said.
.....can you guys like...stop triggering red flags? Especially death flags?