"You are so certain of this, Rainbow Dash?" Princess Celestia's voice rang.
"Grfff..." Rainbow gnashed her teeth. The constant rocking of the Stardust threw her off-balance, and she had to cling to the edge of the port-side railing in order to keep from rolling across the deck. "Just... looking at the p-pattern of things, Your Highness!" She tilted her pendant towards the stars while gazing across the choppy waters. "All of the things that have led me to and beyond Starkiss have also led my biggest adversary in Rohbredden to certain despair."
"What makes you so certain that this... 'Commander Seraphimus' would still be in pursuit of you?"
"Why wouldn't she be?!" Rainbow blurted. She then rolled her eyes at herself and muttered: "Since I first set-hoof on dry land, she's been strategically, emotionally, and spiritually driven to capture me. The only thing she ever cared about was the lives of her husband and kid. Now they're both dead—and the only pony that the entirety of Rohbredden has to blame is me. How could she possibly know the truth behind Verlax?! I'm convinced, Your Highness, that she won't stop at anything until she makes me suffer for what's happened to her family."
"That seems highly illogical," Princess Celestia remarked. "After all... a military veteran of her standing would strike me as well-accustomed to loss. Even if she falsely accused you for the deaths of her loved ones, how could she be expected to gain anything from ending your life now that the damage is done?"
Water splashed violently against the ship's hull. Thunder rolled, and Rainbow Dash spoke towards the silvery sky. "With all due respect, Princess... not all the ponies in this world see things as sensibly and harmoniously as you and I did back home." She gulped. "This crazy, bent world is chock-full of idiots, and even an awesometastical trip to the Midnight Armory isn't a straight-forward guarantee to fix all the stupid."
There was a slight delay in Celestia's response. "I believe you, Rainbow Dash,"she said. "You would think I would learn from that attempt I made to reason with Axan so many months ago." The enchanted air shuddered beneat the thunder. "I've been so fixated on maintaining the chaos here in Ponyville that I find myself having to be constantly reminded that discord and malice is widespread beyond the influence of my sister and I."
"Hey... you've had your job and you've stuck to it," Rainbow Dash said. She took a shuddering breath. "And I've got a job to do as well, Your Highness." She gulped. "And... and if Seraphimus gets in the way by threatening that—"
"I see the nature of your dilemma," Princess Celestia said. "And, quite frankly, I can understand the reasoning behind your most recent contemplation."
All of a sudden, Twilight Sparkle burst through Rainbow Dash's chest and shouted ghostily: "But Princess Celestia! You can't possibly excuse actual murder!"
Rainbow groaned. "The Princess can't hear you, Twilight..."
"My good and faithful student?" Celestia's voice rang. "What troubles you?"
"I think she's about to give one of her usual moralistic speeches on the depravity of murder—"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight frowned. "Don't downplay the severity of this matter!" She gazed skyward with quivering eyes. "I know that Rainbow Dash has had to do several questionable things to get where she is now! And... and..." She took a deep breath. "I've forgiven her for the Quade. After all, I think she's suffered enough for it. But the line has gotta be drawn somewhere!" She spun to face Rainbow. "Just because Verlax has arranged so many things up to squeak like a well-oiled machine doesn't mean it's necessarily perfect! In the end, your decisions are still yours, Rainbow! And just who says that Seraphimus can't find a better, more prosperous life for herself—free of anger and vengeance—now that her Queen and Family are gone?! If Seraphimus tracks us down, she's in your hooves! Not Verlaxion! I refuse... utterly refuse to believe that every single blasted thing that we do from here to the Midnight Armory will have somehow been pre-determined by that accursed Divine of Frost!"
Silence. The ocean crashed and the thunder roared.
"I trust that it was a good speech," Princess Celestia's voice said with no small amount of amusement.
"Eh..." Rainbow waved a hoof. "The usual stuffy, eggheaded affair."
"Rainbowwwww!" Twilight pouted.
"Twilight, will you just chillax?" Rainbow droned. "Okay, so maybe I was just... speaking in the moment. Y'know?" She gulped. "The stuff that Echo had to say... it really hit me in the gut. Soooooooo... maybe I got a bit passionate."
"Rainbow, darling..." Rarity phased through a metal bulkhead, staring evenly with her. "I get passionate from time to time, but when the moment hits me—I come up with a dress pattern." Her eyes hardened. "Not a recipe for murder."
"Ohhhhhh... come off it!" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "We're not talking about stabbing a defenseless puppy in its sleep!"
"Don't make light of it, Rainbow!" Rarity's eyes narrowed. "We are not out here to play 'goddess.' I don't care how many roguish lives you've torn through before."
"Now Rarity, that was uncalled for." Fluttershy floated in with a frown. "Has Rainbow done unthinkable things? Yes—that cannot be denied. But as much as I deplore something as cruel and unkind as killing, it's obviously not something that Rainbow delights in doing. She's been led to distressing positions with no alternative."
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie floated in, hovering just alongside Fluttershy. "And think of her friends! Where would most of them be if Dashie hadn't carried the burden?" She pointed at herself. "Where would we be if she hadn't gone against the rough?!"
"I don't believe that Rarity is trying to paint Rainbow Dash as cold or heartless," Twilight said.
"Of course n-not!" Rarity stammered. "I just believe that Twilight is right to say that we mustn't accept a no-win situation! Rainbow, after all, isn't the kind of pony who likes to lose!"
"Yeah?" Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "And what's she to do when she has to lose to move on?"
"What are you even talking about?!" Rarity sputtered. "Now's not the time to be nonsensical!"
"Now with the 'nonsense card?!'" Pinkie barked.
"Ah-ah-ahem..."
Rainbow and her spectral companions spun towards the bow of the ship.
Kepler smiled down at them. "Arre you sufferring a moment of philosophical conundrrums, my frriend?"
"Uhhhhhhhhh..." Rainbow fidgeted on the lower deck. "...maybe?"
Kepler shook the water droplets off his glasses. "Because you've been standing idle forr the past minute, starring into the abyss. I also fearr you've left yourr beloved monarrch frrom home rreeling. Ha-Hah!"
Rainbow winced. "Uhhhhh..." She glanced into the thunderous sky. "Your Highness? Would you... uh... would you mind if the girls and I had a little chat below deck where it's quieter?"
"I perfectly understand, Rainbow Dash," Celestia said. "Please. Deliberate among yourselves as you see fit. But—whatever you all may or may not agree on—do know that you've more than won my trust and confidence after all these months."
Rainbow Dash smiled as she trotted through the open door and into the cabin. "That's a good start for once..."
Twi...reasoning with Seraphimus will only lead to a bad end.
Though frankly, I'm convinced that there's going to be some sort of bad end after all this gets sorted out no matter what path is taken. I just worry about to whom...singular or plural.
I suppose in the end, murder is murder. Seraphimus isn't Shell just yet. She doesn't cut down entire towns just to snag the Rainbow. Still a chance for a peaceful resolution here.
Chicken is murder!
I guess if we take this purely from Rainbow perspective as she has no knowledge of what happened with Seraphimus after they last met, you could say that it would be premeditated murder. However I think you would have a really hard time proving that in a court or debate if it came down to them fighting and her dying from that.
Of course I really don't like that Twilight and Rarity instantly assume that Rainbow wouldn't at least try to reason with her and only kill her as a last resort. Which is what I think Rainbow is actually planning of course, in a situation like this it is a possibility that you have to plan for and really you would be a complete moron not too.
Does anyone else find it odd that Dash is so focused on Seraphimus, when its just as likely, and tragic, that she and her Herald might end up killing a lot of Central Guard too? Or Keris or any of the other members of the Talon?
One weakness Dash never seems to overcome is her inability to think about matters clearly and logically while maintaining a moral stance. You'd think at least Twilight would have realized some very obvious problems and started considering methods to counter them.
Big problem Number One: You're on the ocean, and going to the edge of the world. Bleak's Plummet has been described as a place with barely any landmass, just a few rocky spires at best, and no doubt the waters there are going to run fast towards the edge like a giant waterfall. So one of Dash's biggest issues in fighting anyone in such an environment is that even if she tries to use non-lethal force there's huge risk of those she's trying to disable to still fall into the waters and get swept away. Also the entire Central Guard contingent except for Chandler are fliers. And so are the sarosians. Which means most the fighting is likely to be in the air... where if you disable your foe they're going to fall to a watery death.
Now what precautions could Dash take to mitigate this? Avoid air combat if at all possible for one. Failing that, focus on breaking limbs rather than bashing heads. An unconscious pegasus will fall to his or her death, but one with a broken arm or leg isn't likely to keep fighting, but can still fly.
I also still advocate the idea of confronting the Central Guard before getting to Bleak's Plummet, where the situation will likely be very chaotic and difficult for Dash to control. Whereas if she diverts from Bleak's Plummet and finds another spot along the coast to lure the Guard to, she can create an ambush situation that will allow her and the Herald to control the pace and nature of the engagement to minimize casualties.
Seraphimus is a problem, but honestly how much trouble could she be if you break every limb she's got? Including her wings. Once she's on dry land, of course. Just saying, Dash beat up Shell a lot, but she never bothered crippling him, and I doubt he could have destroyed Lerris with a broken horn and paralyzed below the waist. Just saying. You don't have to kill someone to remove them as a threat.
Then again, I think Seraphimus isn't after Dash simply to kill her. I think Seraphimus is after Dash to kill herself. Suicide via Rainbow Rogue.
HHHHNNNNNNN... It's taken me almost six months, but I've finally managed to catch up!
I really don't want RD to kill Sera. She might be a fanatic, but deep down she genuinely cares about others' well-being. There's still hope that she'll turn out for the better!
While it is extremely unlikely to work, Rainbow has to at least try to reason with Seraphimus before actually killing her. Otherwise she will become just like Shell in that regard.
It's not murder if it's a fight to the death between two consenting adults.
7445371
you do know that leaving someone without the ability to do anything may be considered a state worse than death right?
I agree that we should try to reason with Seraphimus, but I doubt it will work. They keep throwing around the "murder" word though, and I get that as creatures of harmony, causing death is abhorrent to them, but death of another in defense of one's life is another matter.
7445411 welcome to the noble jury!
7445371
There are crueller fates than death, and to inflict such a fate on someone, would it not be as abhorent, if not more so than murder?
7445926
7447732
Thanks!
I actually made this account just to keep track of which chapters I've read in this story.
KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD! KILL THE CAT-BIRD!
What? I'm not crazy. She is!
7450546 aww, but I'm a nice cat-bird I swear
Murder and killing are indeed two different things. Or, well, hyperonym and hyponym. Also, philosophically speaking, the only kind of impossibility that can be proven without testing it out is logical impossibility - so you'll just have to wait and see if Rainbow manages to let her live or not.
AJ sure seemed quiet in all of this...
I think that Twilight and Rarity need to stop putting themselves in a protective moral bubble and being ignorant of the situations that occur beyond Equestria. This isn't a peaceful land, and things run quite differently. One must adapt to survive, so when in Rohbredden . . . or however you spell it.
Aaaaaand Twilight continues to annoy me.
Ouch, Rares.
Twilight Is really starting to get on my nerves with her 'moral compass fallout'.
Rarity also did a number to earn herself some malus points from me, at this scene.
I'm with Pinkie, who once again shows how rational she can be, and Fluttershy, who knows the burden of sacrifice for the good.
Her manticore story certainly convinced my.
When will they ever learn that there is no good and evil? especially Twilight. For an academic, she sure is dense inside her noggin to adjust to new rules and environments, or concepts for that matter.
When she speaks about the injustice of killing, or its absolute 'heresy', she might as well sound like Seraphimus in reflection, or any religious zealot of the council.
Sera could not be convinced by her comrades, two people very close to him counting Wildcard, she defies the explanation of truth that Keris has given her, she has given up hope on life itself. Her only fulfillment as she believes, outright pursues with incomparable amount of effort, is to take revenge on Rainbow, which is the only thing that makes sense to her in this world anymore.
She is simply to far gone, and if Dash doesn't want her friends to be killed, or herself, she'll have no choice but to kill Seraphimus.
The less merciless alternative would be to absolutely incapacitate her to further pursue the heralds any in the future, but that is something hardly achievable. It would mean breaking a lot of her bones, which is hardly any better then killing here.
Beating her to defeat would only stall her so much, and with every confrontation she would get better in reading dash, and her comrades, increasing the chance that she might be able to kill them.
In addition, compared to their previous fight that was easily managed by Dash, this Sera has a much deeper and fueled reason to exterminate Dash, to avenge her family.
Is Shell truly the only person she’s ever killed? I don’t think so, it seems like there was more.
Someone remind me.
8881922
She definitely killed some soldiers. She may not have snapped their necks but I remember a couple times when she through them off airships.
8441021
Spoken like a truely sensible person.
I see this playing out as Rainbow saying to Twilight something along these lines:
"Twilight, I'll narrow this down to a simple choice. If i don't kill Seraphimus, *she* will kill **ME!!!"**
Because when it comes to acting on emotions, it comes down to just this.
Look Twilight and Rarity, I love you girls...but like...had you been confronted with the insanity of Shell when we were in Perris, would you have been able to say that he should have been SAVED?
I'm not advocating murder, but if someone is gonna try to end Rainbow's (and by extension, all five of you), can you really say that she should stop and try to friendship them? It might not work.
Like....I understand, but it's so frustrating that those two are gonna try and tell Rainbow, who has seen bloodthirsty and evil right in the face, to try to not end that dangerous of a threat. It says a lot that Pinkie and Fluttershy, while they don't agree, acknowledge that Rainbow might have to do something unsavory in the future to save everything.
Killing the murder turkey is not murder. SHE coming after Rainbow. This is self defense. Also I don't count how Rainbow killed Shell as murder.
Murder is a premeditated killing that was not needed.