//------------------------------// // Desperate Measures // Story: Mare Do Well: Raining Of Fire // by ShadeJak //------------------------------// “Come on! Who’s next?” Mare Do Well shouted as she hovered in the air, her hooves raised as she glared at the many defeated griffons that lay about her. Most were unconscious, some about ready to be; but it seemed the Phoenix had put plenty of effort in keeping her busy as she journeyed deeper into the palace. As one Rebirth griffon stood, drawing a knife, Mare Do Well flew straight down at him, then looped around, avoiding the swing of his knife, then slamming her hooves into his back, then kicking him in the face, leaving the downed thug injured and unconscious. “Seriously, none of you guys retreating? Fine, more for me!” The pegasus said proudly. As she turned, the pegasus guards she’d freed had already moved to the latest room with her to insure no more griffons they were fighting off were able to join in with the ones Mare Do Well had already been engaged in fighting. Ironclaw was nowhere to be found but she hoped he wasn’t far, and still alive if she hurried; as she knew despite her own physical prowess, with the full force of the Rebirth here she’d need all the help she could get. A larger Rebirth griffon stepped forward, donning some armor Mare Do Well assumed he’d swiped off one of the displays in the castle, wielding an axe in his claws and spreading out his wings as he flew at her. Rainbow grinned under the mask and flew towards him, then flying underneath the griffon as she turned herself upside-down, kicking her legs up to make him lose control. The griffon, however, didn’t seem as affected as she’d hoped due to his size and added protection and instead spun around and swung the axe, narrowly missing the pegasus, who recoiled in shock and tumbled to the carpeted floor. The griffon landed in front of her, sneering as he slowly approached. Narrowing her eyes, a plan came to Rainbow’s mind. Crazy, but it was her best shot. Flying up into the air, she tossed one of her flash bomb pellets high in the air, the explosion creating a flash of light as she picked up speed and causing a makeshift version of her Buccaneer Blast maneuver, resulting in a far brighter, dazzling blast of bright light in the griffon’s eyes and blinding him just long enough for her to fly behind him and wrap her forelegs around his neck. The griffon fell to the ground and shook himself wildly, dropping the axe and rubbing his eyes for a moment before attempting to make use of both of his claws to try and pull her off. The pegasus held on, tightening her grip as hard as she could around his neck to asphyxiate him. The towering griffon rolled himself across the ground, causing Mare Do Well to grunt in pain but she did not let go. Flailing and flapping his wings wildly, the griffon struggled more to get her off, but even then she held on, pulling as much as she could and slowly, his efforts grew weaker. The griffon spread his wings, flying up into the air and then turning on his back as he felt his consciousness fade in one last, desperate maneuver to defeat Mare Do Well. Letting out a loud groan of pain from the heavy griffon squashing her after falling, Rainbow struggled out from under him and took a few breaths as she stood up and looked over at the other pegasi, who around that time had just managed to deal with the latest wave of Rebirth griffons. “Keep it up, guys! The throne room’s just up ahead!” Mare Do Well yelled, rushing through the next set of doors and into the throne room. Just past here, if Twilight’s description had been right, would be the hall leading to where the weapons had been kept. As she entered, she saw an all-too-familiar griffon seated on the Emperor’s throne. “Miss me?” Leo asked with a grin as he stepped off the throne, his prosthetic arm clanking with every step. “The boss wants you and your pals away from his ship if he’s gonna get our prize on board, so he asked me to keep you entertained!” He explained with a chuckle. “Of course, since it’s you, how could I refuse?” Rainbow winced. The Phoenix had really thought this one through; she or the other guards had no way of heading him off at the ship now, and if she wanted any chance of stopping him, fastest flier in Equestria or otherwise, she’d have to deal with Leo quickly. “Fine by me, Leo.” Mare Do Well said with a smirk under her mask. “Pretty nice, huh?” Leo asked, gesturing around them. “The imperial throne room, while war is going on all around us? I can’t think of a better place for our long-awaited true rematch.” “I agree.” Mare Do Well replied. “Especially since we both know I’m gonna kick your haunches again like always.” The pegasus spread her wings and glared at the griffon, who returned the favor. “Remains to be seen, babe.” Leo said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Mare Do Well took to the air and flew at him. The griffon reached behind himself and grabbed the Emperor’s throne with his mechanized arm, flinging it at the pegasus. Mare Do Well quickly swerved out of the way, avoiding the throne but the wind force messed up her flight enough to make her falter and lose altitude. Leo wasted no time charging forward, blade drawn from his prosthetic claw as he swung wildly at her. Mare Do Well dodged as best she could, falling back behind a suit of armor and kicking it at the griffon, who smashed it apart with a swing of his blade just in time for Mare Do Well to tackle him to the ground, causing the two of them to roll across the floor trading punches. Mare Do Well swung her hoof up to knock Leo’s normal claw aside, then turned to avoid his far stronger mechanical one before slamming her hoof in his face several times. The griffon grabbed her hoof on the last swing, however, and flung her off him into a wall. Mare Do Well groaned a little, dazed from the impact and standing again, in time to see Leo approaching her. Before she could move, the griffon pinned her against a column, drawing his prosthetic arm back intending to impale her with its blade. “As far as big showdowns go, I gotta admit this is a little disappointing.” He remarked smugly. Seizing the opportunity, Mare Do Well raised her hind legs and bucked him hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back. The griffon let out a lionlike growl and swung his blade again, Mare Do Well managing to just dodge it, causing the blade to get stuck into the pillar. The chance open, Mare Do Well dropped to the ground and swung her hind leg up, kicking the blade as hard as she could where it connected to Leo’s metal wrist and snapping it clean off. The large griffon stepped away from her, staring at his arm for a moment, then at her. “Any more tricks up that fancy metal sleeve of yours?” Mare Do Well asked, and to her surprise, a dangerous grin formed on the griffon’s face. “Just one.” He said, pressing something on his shoulder. Plates at the base of the elbow joint opened apart, revealing a glowing red gem core, and the prosthetic’s plating shifted and reshaped as several other parts emerged and came together, forming what appeared to be some sort of miniaturized gatling gun that replaced the entire lower half of his arm; causing Mare Do Well to stare agape for a moment at what she saw. “Oh BUCK ME…” She muttered, immediately galloping to the side as fast as she could as Leo promptly let loose a spray of magical energy bolts from the rotating barrels. Ducking behind a column, Rainbow shuddered when she felt chunks of stone being blown apart by the continuous assault of the griffon’s weapon. Suddenly he paused, and she heard a click, followed by what sounded like energy currents building up. What was he… she wondered. She’d had some experience with electric build-up to charge storm clouds, if that applied with here then… Oh no… Spreading her wings Mare Do Well flew as fast as she could under the circumstances as Leo fired a large glowing sphere of magical energy that promptly blew the column to dust and debris when it exploded violently against it, the broken blade from his prosthetic arm flying through the air and bouncing off the floor before sliding right near the column Mare Do Well now hid behind. “Not so cocky now, are you, Mare Do Well? Just a matter of time till I run out of things to blow up…” Leo said with a sinister laugh, firing another rapid spray of magic bolts at the column and blasting it apart. Approaching, the exposed core of his prosthetic arm glowed brightly as he charged up another powerful explosive blast and fired it, leaving behind a cloud of dust in the explosion’s wake. As the dust settled, Leo cocked his head in curiosity. Laying near the column was Mare Do Well’s hat and mask, worse for wear from the dust but their owner was missing. “Disappointing.” He repeated, turning and firing at the next column. A second later, however, a clank was heard and his gatling gun’s barrels stopped rotating. Leo looked down at his prosthetic arm and saw the broken blade had been wedged into the gap where the gem powering it sat, and gripping it in her teeth was the unmasked Mare Do Well. Letting go and striking the flat, broken end with her hoof, Rainbow drove the blade in, piercing the gem. Immediately red light began to shine from it as cracks began forming around it. Leo stared at Mare Do Well in a look of panic and astonishment as the pegasus glared at him and immediately galloped behind the remaining queens’ throne. Leo growled and aimed his gatling gun at her, attempting to charge up another blast but instead sparks of magical energy crackled violently all over his arm. The griffon looked down at the core, the cracks formed all over now and the energy building up around it instead of the gun barrel itself. Leo had just enough time to shudder as the unstable gem then blew up the prosthetic arm and the griffon attached to it in a large, violent explosion of magical fire and lightning; leaving behind only smoking chunks of metal, burned feathers, and what little else remained of the large griffon. Emerging from behind the throne, Rainbow stared down at the metal beak Leo had once worn to replace the one he’d lost in what felt like so long ago, now smoking at her hooves without an owner. “Good luck coming back from that.” Rainbow said as she kicked the metal beak aside in satisfaction, walking over to the column where her hat and mask lay and putting them back on before heading through the next door to find the Phoenix and her friends. Entering the hall, Mare Do Well froze in her tracks when she saw Captain Ironclaw and his guards badly injured at the open entrance to the elevator shaft leading down to the storage area. “Captain!” Mare Do Well shouted, galloping over to the fallen griffon, who coughed and sat himself up. “Mare Do… Well… you made it… hope Leo didn’t give you too hard a time…” The Captain said with a weak laugh. “Eh, the same old tool of a griffon I fought over a year ago… well maybe not now.” Mare Do Well said with a shrug. “Hey, so long as he’s outta the picture I call that a… good thing.” Ironclaw said, smirking. “Not for the castle servants, they’re gonna need a broom and a pan to pick up what’s left of him, assuming they find it all.” Mare Do Well answered, then glanced down the elevator shaft. “The Emperor… is he down there?” She asked. The griffon captain nodded. “The Phoenix… Councilor Swiftwing… he was…” The Captain said, coughing. “I got this!” Without another word, Mare Do Well flew down the shaft swiftly, and was met with another horrible sight that awaited her at the bottom chamber. “Oh my gosh! Emperor Griffonheim!” Mare Do Well flew over and nudged the Emperor’s body with her hoof, noticing the red pool that had formed around him that told her all she needed to know that she was too late to do anything for him now. Twilight, Nessa, and even the Councilor were nowhere to be found and the thin glimmer of hope her friends might still be alive and she could still apprehend the Councilor gave her the motivation to keep searching. The vault had been opened, whatever had been inside it; she guessed the Eagle Eye weapon Twilight told her of, was missing. Noticing and a large passageway next to the vault she’d missed earlier due to it being difficult to see in the dark now lay open, Mare Do Well galloped through it until she found herself standing at an opening that lead to outside the palace. By her guess, the Phoenix and his Rebirth followers must have flown the Eagle Eye out through here, though how they knew of a passage out of the closed-off storage vaults was a mystery to her. Still, it didn’t matter, her new highest priority was catching up to the airship. “They already got what they wanted…” Mare Do Well muttered, looking back and recalling the other weapons in the vaults had remained untouched… “Just added weight. With the Empire’s leaders gone and…” Her eyes widened as she realized where they’d be headed now. “Oh no… they’re on their way to Equestria now with that weapon!” She shuddered. “I gotta catch up to them!” Mare Do Well felt a strain as she spread her wings, then lowered her head. Even with the boost Luna had given her to save her from dying in the theater, she was worn out from the fighting she’d just gone through and it was evident to her even she couldn’t hope to fly at full speeds now and catch up to the Phoenix’s airship. “What… do I do now…?” She said softly, staring off into the distance. “I think we might have an idea.” Captain Ironclaw said, approaching behind her with several of his remaining officers and the pegasus guards. “Alright, all of you grab one of those storm clouds and bring it in here fast!” The captain ordered, and the guards all saluted and flew out the exit way past the costumed pegasus. Curious, Mare Do Well walked over to the griffon and cocked her head. “What’re we doing? You expect I ride a cloud?” She asked. “Nah, those things’ll go down easy. Let’s just say I know my Griffon Empire history enough to know there are a few alternatives to getting these old babies to fly again.” The captain explained with a smirk as he looked towards the eagle-like glider mechs. Within moments, the guards returned, all carrying in a dark gray cloud that flashed with electrical energy. “The airship’s probably gone full-burn, got outta here pretty darn fast soon as the Phoenix got your friends and that big ball-thing on board.” A pegasus guard explained, concern on her face. “Now the dragon mech’s pretty, but it’s more suited for combat then speed, so it won’t be able to catch up to the airship. These babies aren’t well-armed but they’re fast and nimble fliers.” The captain explained. “See, unlike a magic charge, lightning only works as a temporarily fix, so you’re gonna need to get this thing as close to the airship as you can before it runs out.” The pegasi held the cloud in the chest cavity of the glider mech and on three, gave it a firm buck, causing the lightning to erupt from it and circulate through the machine, causing light to form from cavities on its body and in its eyeholes, giving it power. Smirking, Rainbow climbed up into the pilot seat and looked over the controls. From the looks of it, there were two buttons and a joystick of some kind; the former likely used for firing an energy blast and thruster burn, the joystick presumably for steering; which seemed easy enough. Pressing the green button lightly, Mare Do Well felt the machine lift into the air. “Hang on.” The captain shouted, and his officers and the pegasus guards flew to the wings of the craft and ferried it out of the passage. “The airship headed west. Good luck, Mare Do Well…” The Captain said; his claw at his chest where a gash was present. “Thanks. I’ll be back before you know it!” Mare Do Well said, pressing the controls and the glider was soon in pursuit. ~ Standing on a catwalk in the hangar of the airship, the Phoenix gazed up at the Eagle Eye that hung suspended above them. Twilight lay before him surrounded by several Rebirth griffons, a small ringlike device around her horn that she recognized as a magic-suppressor for capturing unicorns. “We’ve only a few hours before we reach Equestria.” The Phoenix said, approaching Twilight. “Soon, the kingdom that stole all we as griffons stood for, will be nothing but ash.” “As cliché as this sounds, you’ll never get away with this!” Twilight said angrily, struggling with the ropes holding her. “I know this for a fact. You assume Mare Do Well’s not gonna catch up?” “We’ve already reached the coastlines, my dear little pony.” The Phoenix replied, stroking Twilight’s chin with his talon as his eyes glared through the dark eyeholes of his mask. “She’d be far too worn now to reach us even if she is as fast as they say she is.” He looked over at one of the griffons and nodded, prompting the griffon thug to turn and leave. “You’re probably wondering why I need you here… I’m sure the Emperor demonstrated to you the secret to powering the Griffon Empire’s war machines and weaponry?” “Yes, I know, magic charges. General Razorbeak used foalnapped unicorns to handle that. But if you think my last act alive is gonna be charging up the weapon that’s gonna doom Equestria you’re SADLY mistaken.” Twilight said venomously. The Phoenix leaned inches from the unicorn’s face and gave a cruel, soft chuckle. “I figured as much.” He said. “And so did the esteemed General. That’s why he created this magnificent invention to work around that little problem called ‘free will’.” The Phoenix stood back as the griffon he’d sent off returned with said invention. The mere sight of it made Twilight’s blood run cold. It looked to be some kind of upraised metal operating table. Gears attached to some kind of apparatus that had a hole go through the top clearly designed to fit around the head of a unicorn, with small arms with needle-like attachments on the sides of the table that had wiring in them. The device looked like a mechanized, old-age torture rack. The unicorn glanced back at the Phoenix, who chuckled again as the griffons undid her ropes and carried the struggling unicorn to it. “This is a magic extractor… one of General Razorbeak’s most brilliant creations. These little prongs in the end send rather unpleasant charges right into the pain receptors of the body’s nerves. On a unicorn enough pain and stress can cause a rather spectacular magic output from the horn in a focused beam, as you may have guessed this part goes onto your head; need to aim the discharge without your struggling after all...” The Phoenix explained in a cold tone that held a slight hint of amusement while he watched his followers strap Twilight in and place the apparatus over her head, her horn neatly fitting through the hole on top. Once she was locked in, the griffons pulled a crack handle on the side, causing the extractor to tilt so Twilight’s horn was aimed at the Eagle Eye above. “I can only imagine how painful it must be, to cause the necessary discharge to reawaken the power of this weapon.” The Phoenix said as he approached and removed the ring from Twilight’s horn, then turned the dial on the side of the device with his claw. “But I suppose we’ll find out soon. For what it’s worth, your actions will further a cause that shall be remembered for generations to come, student of Celestia… how ironic, she no doubt took you in under the belief you had some great destiny that would affect all of Equestria… how right she was, I suppose.” He explained as he then walked away silently, Twilight’s agonized screams filling the hangar shortly after as a beam of magenta magic projected into the Eagle Eye, its core beginning to glow brighter and brighter as the arcane energy crackled and flowed within. ~ “Come on, come on!” Mare Do Well said, spotting the airship in the distance but feeling her glider running out of power and beginning to lose altitude. She knew she had no choice now; she’d have to fly the rest of the way herself. While the ride had given her a chance to rest, she’d have to rely on adrenalin to get her to the ship at this point. Spreading her wings and allowing the glider its last minute of power to expire, the pegasus jumped from the descending machine and flew as fast as she could, the airship getting closer and closer by the second. “Come on, Dash! You can clear a sky in ten seconds flat, you can reach an airship in less!” She encouraged herself. A cocky smirk came to her face as she mustered more wingpower, drawing ever-closer now. “OH YEAH! Mare Do Well is not out of this game yet!” She cheered. ~ Nessa’s eyes slowly fluttered open as consciousness returned to her. She was on the floor, on a red carpet with a firebird symbol the Rebirth had used dyed across it, and before her was an ornate, unoccupied throne with a pair of gold winglike formations jutting from the sides, the backrest resembling a flame, and a pair of griffon heads were carved into the armrests. As the griffoness rolled over, struggling to free herself from the ropes she was bound in, she found a griffon body laying near her, a black hood tied over the head. As she looked it over, the familiar tattered suit it wore was all the proof she needed to know she had found her brother. “Oh no…” Nessa cried, struggling and backing away from the body as best she could. “No, no, no, no, no, NO!” She sobbed, her eyes watering as she felt her body grow weaker from grief. Both her father and her brother were gone now… she was alone until the Phoenix chose to end her as well. “You’re finally awake, I see…” The Phoenix’s voice said, catching her attention and she saw the masked griffon standing at the doorframe, closing the door behind him as he walked in. “Why…” Nessa said, choking out her words as her tears flowed. “The same reason the Emperor is dead, the same reason the Parliament is dead, and the same reason you’ll be joining them once you’ve seen Equestria’s end… because you’re between me and what I want.” The Phoenix said coldly as he approached. “I have to admit, you took his loss harder then I would have imagined… not that it makes any difference.” The Phoenix drew out a knife and continued to advance on the griffoness, who glared at him expectantly, only for the costumed griffon to walk past her and cut away the black hood covering Loken’s head, revealing it to not have been Loken, but Councilor Swiftwing’s body that lay there, dressed in Loken's suit. “Ambition is both a strength and weakness. It compels us to achieve our greatest dreams, but it allows those who recognize those dreams to more easily exploit us.” The Phoenix explained, looking down at the Councilor's lifeless body on the floor. “W-where’s m-my brother…?” Nessa asked, gritting her teeth as she glared hatefully at the Rebirth leader. “Where is he?!” She demanded. The other griffon just laughed. “TELL ME!” Nessa shouted furiously as she struggled harder then ever to break free and attack the Phoenix. “Poor, confused little Princess Nessa…” The Phoenix said; reaching into his hood and untying the mask he wore. “Those family ties are not nearly so… blood-bound…” He continued, pulling the mask away and revealing the face of the griffon underneath. “…as our father would have liked you to believe…” Prince Loken explained with a sinister smile on his face.