Fire erupted out the side of a forested hillside. Rainbow Dash burst on through, her body outracing the flames and streams of loose soil. Spiraling, she plunged towards a thin forest of trees that had formed northwest of the desert. A large open valley dipped below, but it fell from her sight as her flailing body twirled wildly, struck the ground, and came to a grinding stop against powdery dirty and dying grass.
"Mmmfnnngh... guhhh..." The ends of her mane and tail hairs flickered with tiny sparks. Soot and sediment covered her from head to hooves.
But she was alive.
"Grnnngh... koff... haackkt..." Rainbow flexed her muscles, pushing up on quivering legs. "Celestia on a bike! I friggin' hate caves."
Gravity took over, and Rainbow slumped down onto her fuzzy belly. She moaned into the dirt, then tilted her head up towards the stars.
The bright sight of the Lighting Bearer loomed above. It was the closest she had seen it thundering overhead since Nevlamas shook the pegasus off her pursuit, but Rainbow had no energy to dart after it. She felt burns on her extremities, and her wings ached all the way to her spine. Every squirming movement her muscles made sent waves of anguish through her legs, tail, and feathers.
The stars faded, giving into blackness. The faces of Bellesmith, Pilate, and Kera dwindled in the dark, and as Rainbow fluttered her eyes shut, she imagined she was on a cloud over green fields and sapphiric ponds. The happy voices of friends rang beneath her, and she gave a devilish smirk.
"So... so easier this way..." she whispered into the air as the wind picked up. "I should have..." She clenched her teeth, curling into a fetal position on the grass as her burns surrendered to memories. "Should have just joined y-you guys..." Her eyelashes glistened with beads of moisture.
"Do not let the fires consume you, Austraeoh," the voice boomed.
Rainbow gasped, her eyes flinging wide open and dry. She looked towards the sky, twitching to spot the author of that noise. The stars broke with a shadow, then flickered naked once more. The pegasus could have sworn she heard the massive beating of wings, growing faint in the distant horizon.
"You are something greater than death." And just like that, the voice was gone.
"Nevlamas...?" Rainbow Dash stood up, wincing. Her knees quivered as she took a few limp steps down the dusty hill. "No. No friggin' way. That's..."
The mountain exploded above her.
She spun east and gasped, her ruby pupils shrinking.
"Hressshaaaaaukkt!" The Dark Divine burst through the hillside as if it was made of sand. With antlers brimming with chaos shards, she glared down at Rainbow Dash, her twin slits shining aquamarine beams through the desolation.
Rainbow gritted her teeth. With one beat of her wings, she was back in action, spiraling northwest across the valley.
"Raaaaaaaaauchkkkt!" Nevlamas tore through the air after her, launching sporadic burst of flame.
The fireballs sailed earthward, landing in the forest of withered trees and igniting their dry branches. As the chunks of plasma exploded, they gave birth to shrieking serpents who flew through the air, launching themselves at Rainbow's speeding body.
"Nnnngh!" Rainbow beat the first wave off with her legs, headbutted a second charge, then spun upside down through the trees with her head tilted downward to more properly expose her pendant to the night. With a bright strobe of ruby energy, she dissolved the shrieking companies of serpents attacking her head-on. Twirling about, she glided her way through the trees, with reptilian agents of chaos lighting up the parts of the forest that weren't burning as they attacked her flank.
All the while, Nevlamas coasted over the scene, her massive shadow spreading over Rainbow Dash in the starlight. With wings spread wide, she snarled and launched a wide swath of flame over the valley.
The aquamarine plasma formed a perfect ring of fire. Surrounded by sparks and leaping serpents, Rainbow Dash had no choice but to launch her body out of the forest. She shot up, the burning branches sliding out of her peripheral vision. There was a flash of starlight, then the Divine's two snapping jaws.
"Hressshaaaaa!"
"Gimme a dang break!" Rainbow's voice cracked. With agile grace, she twirled, missed both jaws, and planted her hooves against the edge of the dragon's lunging snout. Nevlamas' nostrils flared, raising the temperature all around Rainbow. The pegasus kicked off before twin spurts of flame could consume her body. Hurdling over Nevlamas' forehead, she aimed a ruby spotlight at her eyes. "Smile, gorgeous!"
"Auugh!" Nevlamas' skull reeled back, and she spung. A single wing sliced through the air, and its leathery scales smacked into Rainbow's body.
"Gaaah!" she soared skyward like a hoofball, being swallowed by the stars.
Nevlamas gazed up, her eyesight returning as she produced thunder with a growling breath. Beating her wings even harder, she sailed after the pegasus' loose figure. Gasping, Rainbow Dash ascended through a thin veil of clouds, flying as swiftly into the chilling altitudes as her wings could afford.
It was no use. Nevlamas caught up, her body causing loud explosions of distorted air with each wing-flap. With a deep inhale, her chest lit up like an aquamarine boiler, and she vomited so much flame into the air that the war-torn valley glowed with virtual daylight.
When the flash was over, and only starlight remained, Nevlamas stared through the settling smoke and ashes.
"Hchkkkkt...?!" Her body twitched, every bloody scale freezing over in confusion.
For the pegasus was gone...
Pulled a fast one on you queen STUPID
Woo! Finally caught up with 80+ chapters.
I have a sneaking suspicion that our favorite flying friend is going to fly smack into Nevlamas' forehead. Probably not a correct suspicion, but a suspicion.
If anything, Rainbow is slowing down 3/4 of the death and destruction that would be heading for the Ledomaritans. Hopefully the rest of our heroes (and Nightshade) will have a chance to make some progress.
3682655
Nailed it.
But now I have no idea what's gonna happen. Calling flame magic again. *shrug*
Title Achieved: The Cloak of Fire
Earned by Losing Nevlamas in a Dogfight.
Hell.
(in honor of Minty)
no idea where s/he went.
Looks like team Rainbow's blasting off again...
I glad my life doesn't have this many cliffhangers.
The mysterious voice intrigues me. If Rainbow was right, and it's some salvageable part of Nevlamas, it gives me more hope for my "Redeem the discorded dragon" theory.
And, what, did Nevlamas mail Rainbow off to an alicorn or something? It's either that or some deus just ex'd the hell out of this machina.
So is Axan back?
Nevlamas: I am FIRE! I am DEATH!!!!!!
Rainbow Dash: *disappears*
*Nevlamas gets her butt whooped by a faster than light Pegasus known as Loyalty. Nevlamas doesn't even see the attack coming.*
Moral of the story: You can't hit what you can't see.
At least that is how I wish it would go.....
Axan would make for a great cameo in this scene.
As much as I enjoy thread discussion, it's nice to see a chapter of nothing but action every once in a while, so I can just sit back and enjoy it without feeling compelled to share my thoughts about what is transpiring.
Uh...
That's it, I guess.
3683855 I'm glad I'm not the only one in camp "Save the Dark Divine"!
Rainbow Dash has leveled up and is kicking butt.
Sir, theyve dissapeared from our sensors.
Or, theyve made the jump to light speed.
So waiting for Mr Plaid in the canyon with the ass whupping. 8}
Axan is just sitting back and watching the whole show, eh?
Dun dun dunnnn
Celestia on a bike? Apparently that's worse than Celestia on a tricycle.
At least she didn't say Celestia on a unicycle.
3684229
I hope so.
I may be late the party, but i at least I'm here now. After everyone is gone. And I've finished reading this update.....wait up guys!
3684229 I was thinking so too!
3683627 I remember when those titles came every chapter back in Austraeoh. We should start this again. It'll be fun.
Have I mentioned recently how I love, and am kinda in awe of, the sheer speed at which you write? Thank you, Implon, for apparently having no life and continuing to bring us pleasure (and copious boomer spit).
3684902 Why go plaid when you can go rainboom? Is harmony the local Schwartz or something?
Don't look behind you
Rainbow dash is not there
Perhaps Axan is finally showing up again? About time.
Axan has returned, although she's definitely keeping things mysterious about her involvement in the whole Austraeoh affair. One has to wonder when she's going to get more directly involved herself. Oh, and Nevlamas just needs to give it up already.
24
Whitemane, Axan or a piece of Nev's true self being burped up for a bit. I'm really not sure but I somewhat suspect the latter - it might be a distorted perspective, but Axan and subtle just don't get together in my head. Oh, and I finally remembered what Nagu'n's been reminding me of all this time. Fits nicely into the last three chapters, too:
3684550 But I'm feeling perfectly fine as it is! I just want to sit on my couch, watch war and drink chaos all day. Stop saving me already!
I probably could have put this up a while ago, but I only remembered its existence a view minutes earlier:
IIIIIt's Dashie's Second Get-Backing Adventure!!
Alright, so I'm pretty sure that was Axan talking to Dash. The bold text makes me think so. And Dash pulled a fast one, didn't she...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Two...left...
I don't think it's Axan, but definitely one of the Divines.
Who is that? Whitemane? Or maybe a Divine?
-Spirit
Was that the small part of Nevalmas that remains uncorrupted?
Rainbow Dash is a master of survival. No matter what happens, she still ends up alive.
learn new words, skirts
It only just occurred to me; what is Discord was some sort of dragon as well before intense exposure to chaos energies turned him into his present form? He may have not been a being of pure chaos after all...
Started Disk 2 of Towering Above the Rest.
Dashie pulled a Han Solo on Nevlamas hm
5508796 I certainly hope so, or the next few books would be a bit off.
My bet is Axan was the voice.
Whoa whoa whoa. This is EXACTLY like Hiccup and Toothless hiding in the clouds in the final battle of HTTYD. That is AMAZING.
# times the word "sapphiric" is used in this book so far:
3
Is this Axan? That would be pretty awesome for her to swoop in and save the day from her sister.
8576346
I'm pretty sure it's the same part of Nevlamas that is left.
Think about it,she's the Divine of magic, no way in hell does she NOT have a few tricks up her scales.