The Battle of Cloudsdale Part 3
"There was never much hope... just a fool's hope."
-Gandalf, The Return of the King
"Please... just kill me," Scootaloo pleaded even as her forelegs squeezed tighter around Rainbow Dash's throat. Scootaloo barely had enough strength to move her lips and speak the words; there was simply nothing she could do to throw off Loyalty's control on her body. Her form was under his complete command, following his desires without question. She could feel the whispers in the back of her mind growing stronger, each demanding that she just give in and accept that Loyalty was right. It was the easy path... the safe path... the one that offered no more pain or suffering. The voices spoke of harmony and peace and it would be wonderful for her to do so and it was so easy for her to do it because it was only Loyalty who was offering and Loyalty was always right and if Scootaloo just listened to Loyalty and obeyed him and sided with him and killed that traitorous whore Rainbow Dash-
"Kill me!" Scootaloo wanted to scream, though it came out as more of a squeak. "Please... please Rainbow Dash... don't let me do this..."
And then her world was spinning and pain blocked out all the whispers, For a brief moment Scootaloo thought that Rainbow Dash had heard her pleas and that she had done the deed... and Scootaloo was happy. Oh, she didn't want to die, but better to die a pony then live as a monster. Better the fall then to live with the guilt…
But instead of a white light Scootaloo found herself staring at the enraged face of Rainbow Dash. The cyan alicorn lashed out, striking her in the face and making Scootaloo blink in pain. Scootaloo could feel her traitorous body heeding the command of Loyalty but before she could strike Rainbow hit her again, making her cough up blood. Scootaloo struggled, only to find her hooves restrained by some magical force as Rainbow Dash stood over her, glaring.
"I can't believe what I am hearing!" Dash snapped. "What the hay is wrong with you, asking me to kill you?!? You think I am that horrible that I would even THINK about doing that?"
Scootaloo sniffed, having so little control that she couldn't even cry. "Please... I... I don't want to kill you..."
"And you think I want to kill you?" Rainbow Dash shouted in frustration. "You think I could live with myself if I did that?" Rainbow leaned down, getting in her #1 Fan's face. Scootaloo was forced to look Dash in the eye and she felt her heart break as she saw the tears falling from the cyan alicorn's eyes. "Scootaloo, you have to fight this!"
"I... I can't-"
"Yes you can!" Rainbow shouted. "You aren't some weak-willed pony... you are Scootaloo! My biggest fan!" Scootaloo squirmed, her body still trying to fight itself free of the restraints. "You are a Cutie Mark Crusader... would a Crusader let some lame brain like Loyalty control them?"
"I... I..."
"You are Scootaloo!" Rainbow shouted, her horn flashing as she began to fill the pegasus with magic. Scootaloo reared back, nearly snapping her own spine as she felt to two warring magics fill her form. Her eyes twitched to her right and she saw, to her horror, that the golden threads Loyalty had shot at her were still tied to her body, yanking and pulling on her like she was some kind of marionette. "You are a daughter of Equestria! You command my guard! You are stronger than this! Stronger than some stupid golden ass! NOW FIGHT!"
Scootaloo grit her teeth, fighting against Loyalty's pull. She pictured everything she wanted to do, everything she desired, that she knew could only be achieved by breaking free of the golden abstract's grasp. The threads that ensnared her body tightened and cut into her skin but still she fought them, even as they threatened to cut her to ribbons. The ends of the golden string began to hiss and smoke before bursting into flames but she paid no heed. Scootaloo threw her head back and screamed as she severed the connection, ripping her body free from Loyalty's grasp. Upon her flank there was a flash… and the image of a wings flying high above a broken chain appeared.
The orange mare smiled weakly as her heart stopped beating.
"No... no, you don't get to go now!" Rainbow shouted, giving Scootaloo CPR. "You hear me, Squirt? I didn't do all of this just for you to die on me!" Rainbow pressed her lips to Scootaloo's and blew, forcing air into her lungs. "Come on... come on..."
Scootaloo remained still.
Rainbow screamed to the heavens as she pounded on the mare's chest. "Please... please... give me this... I don't care about anything else... I don't have to be a Wonderbolt... I don't ever have to perform the Sonic Rainboom again... please... don't let it end like this... please…"
~MC~MC~MC~
"I think you should keep'em!" Dinky exclaimed.
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at the filly, banking right to avoid a skyscraper. "Keep what, my dear?"
"Your wings! I think they are pretty!"
The Time Lord laughed. "I bet you do." He banked right again, searching for a break in the cloud buildings so he could begin his descent. The rest of the rebellion was following his lead, weighed down with cheering foals, fillies and colts. Every once and a while they could hear the sounds of battle and the Doctor and Clyde wanted to be well out of Cloudsdale before any pony realized that they had made off with the little ones.
"And mommy is waiting for us?" Dinky asked for the fifth time.
"That she is. I sat her down and told her to watch for us to descend!" The Doctor chose not to tell the filly that her mother hadn't responded or shown any sign that she understood what he was talking about; Derpy simply sat as she always did, staring blankly at the world and occasionally running her hoof in the air like she was petting an invisible cat. He’d forced several members of the rebellion to swear that they would watch over her, but never did the thought cross his mind of keeping her locked up. She would be there to see Dinky the moment they landed. "And once we meet up with here everything is going to be alright."
"Are you sure of that?"
The Doctor let out a cry as golden threads launched out at him, ripping the enchanted wings from his back and holding him and Dinky in place. The filly screamed as the cords tightened around them, forcing them to hold still and not move a muscle.
"Doctor!" Clyde shouted, skidding to a stop. He just managed to avoid he trap himself.
"Get out of here!" The Doctor shouted. Clyde stared at him in surprise but The Doctor merely waved him off. "You heard me, go! I'll find a way out... you need to worry about the foals."
Clyde nodded grimly, not liking the thought of abandoning one of their own but seeing the logic to the choice. He gave the order and the rebellion forces dove down into a side alley, leaving the Doctor and Dinky to face down the predator to their prey.
Loyalty.
"What have I caught in my net?" Loyalty teased, throwing a twitching Twilight into the air and sending out some more threads to hold her in place. "Two more little traitors."
"Hey! I'm no trainer!" Dinky called out.
"Traitor, Dinky, traitor." The Doctor narrowed his eyes, turning his glare upon Loyalty. "I know it is utterly cliché... but don't make me angry, abstract... you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
"The fury of a fly means nothing to a spider," Loyalty stated calmly.
"Huh?" Dinky squeaked, looking about for this ‘spider’ that Loyalty talked of.
Twilight fought against her bonds. She would have wanted to use her magic but all of it was being directed at the accursed threads that were trying to worm their way into her brain and take control of her. "Leave them out of this, Loyalty! This is between you and me!"
"I beg to differ!" Loyalty gloated. "You got them involved and thus they are now part of this. You and your foolish rebellion dared to stand against me and now... an example must be made."
The Doctor rolled his shoulders in frustration. "Your definition of loyalty and mine are quite different, abstract." The golden alicorn snapped his head in his direction and the Time Lord continued. "You claim to be about loyalty, but loyalty is built out of trust and friendship... you seek of obedience and slavery! You don't want loyal subjects, you want puppets."
"I want harmony!" Loyalty thundered. "I want things to be as they were in the days of my youth and I will do all I can to return this world to that grand design."
"...you're crazy!" Dinky exclaimed with youthful fury.
Loyalty scoffed. "A child's view matters little to me." The strings jerked and Dinky screamed as she and the Doctor fell a few feet. "As I said, an example must be made."
Twilight shouted in rage, sending out a blast of magic that Loyalty easily dodged. She let out a cry as the strings intensified their assault on her brain, forcing her to focus all her magical reserves on protecting her thoughts from Loyalty's control.
"You brought this on yourself, Twilight Sparkle. You sided with my corrupted brother and doomed Equestria. Everything that has happened is on your head... all the pain, all the suffering, all the horrible acts I and my siblings have committed... they were done for the greater good... a good that needs to come about because of YOUR actions. You forced me to clean up your little mess… remember that." Loyalty shrugged. "And these two's deaths are also yours to bear."
"NO!" Twilight screamed as the threads snapped and Dinky and the Doctor were sent plummeting to the Earth.
The Doctor gripped the filly tight as they fell harmlessly through the clouds that made up the great home of the pegasi. They tumbled end over end, both letting out cries as they burst out of Cloudsdale and fell towards the hard, unforgiving Earth below. All of The Doctor's plans and schemes were useless in that moment... there were none in Cloudsdale that would be able to reach them in time. No sonic screwdriver and clever quip would be able to stop their fall now.
There would be some, in the days to come, who would question all that happened at that moment. The Doctor clung to Dinkie, his great mind for once blank as the earth rushed up to great them. This stallion, who had fought gods and demons, closed his eyes and, for the first time, prayed. He prayed not for himself but for the child. He prayed that some pony would save the day. He called out to the universe and asked for a boon; how many times had he saved it? How many lives had been spared because of his actions? Would existence finally choose now to repay him… or had all his work been in vain?
He could not hear several members of the rebel scream as they tried to reach them, only to find that there was simply not enough time. He did not see Twilight Sparkle struggling against Loyalty, trying to find an opening to make a wish upon one of her stars and teleport the two to safety. He did not sense the others who watched on, terrified yet enthralled at the carnage that was to come, tears of grief falling from their eyes as they uselessly watched, unable to act.
None of this he knew.
But he did feel the forelegs that wrapped around his own.
"Ma....mama?" Dinky whispered as they were jerked upwards.
The Doctor stared, his mouth hanging open in shock…as Derpy Hooves, the pony that so many had signed off as a waste and of little value, the pony all had seen as a joke, the one so many held in little regard, the one that was seen as never being good enough, never the best, never the brightest, always picked last, always considered the lowest and the weakest and the dumbest and never good for anything, the one that only a few ever bothered to get to know… the mare that he loved… became the second pegasus in history to perform the Sonic Rainboom.
The light poured from her as she broke the sound barrier, a smile blossoming on her lips as she shattered that opaque wall and ripped through the sky, leaving a trail of color in her wake. All at once she was the sky and the clouds and they were her. Only two moments beat out the sheer joy the gray mare felt then: the first time she met the Doctor and the day Dinky was born.
"Don't worry, baby," Derpy said softy to Dinky as she strengthened her grip on The Doctor and her filly, the three of them rocketing over Cloudsdale and bathing Twilight’s night sky in a wash of light and beauty, "mommy's got you… and I will NEVER let you go again."
~MC~MC~MC~
“That… is why we will win,” Twilight stated, a tear falling from her eye before she snapped Loyalty’s threads with ease. “That… is why you’ll always fail.”
~MC~MC~MC~
A smile formed on the normally grim face of Clyde as he stared at the physically representation of one young mother's love for her child. “Good for you, Miss Hooves,” he whispered as he turned his group towards the rainbow trail.
~MC~MC~MC~
Rainbow Dash gasped in surprise as the wave of rainbow energy hit her, filling her heart with warmth. Her eyes grew wide as she saw who had performed the rainbow and her face broke out in a grin, all fear and sadness forgotten. “DERPY!” She screamed, and soon others were cheering as the gray pegasus raced over their heads. “DERPY!”
"Rain... Rainbow Dash?"
The cyan alicorn looked down, trembling as she looked at Scootaloo. The orange mare stared at the sky, her brow knitted in confusion. "Rainbow Dash... what-"
She never got to finish, as the speedster wrapped her up in a hug and refused to let go.
~MC~MC~MC~
Miles away… a group of scattered souls, who had been searching for a sign… saw the Rainboom… and turned towards Cloudsdale.
~MC~MC~MC~
“Hope… is kindled”
-Gandalf, The Return of the King
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A day early, but I am so excited about this chapter that I had to post it.
J.R.R. Tolkien talked of the need for their to be an opposite of a catastrophe... a moment when the world is at its darkest and suddenly a corner is turned and victory is achieved. Why should only bad be able to change fate so rapidly?
The rebellion was at its lowest point... all of them found themselves on the cusp of ruin... and then a mother's love reignited hope. They haven't won... but they now have a fighting chance.
Hope has been kindled... can faith be far behind?
And then Rainbow proceeded to rage and beat the sorry Abstract's flank
fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/021/3/8/doctor___derpy___dinky_by_sirhcx-d5sauvd.png
Now that's a family
And then Loyalty was frozen in time, wrapped in chains made of dwarf star alloy, trapped into a mirror, and then sent with the mirror into a Supernova event. The end.
The scenes, I can see all the happy moments in the story, like the Scootaloo moment near the end
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/225/400/sweetie%20belle%20that%20is%20beautiful.jpg
BRB, grabbing tissues.
there is nothing more beautful then the moment where a mother is reunited with their child, the moment when the world is pushing for the worst to happen and yet the little wonders of such moments are the truly memorable ones, these heartfelt moments are what i love about this.2007874
hehe i cried my ass off, but not of sadness out of happiness and joy.
this story....
Derpy is truly awesome. Truly, truly awesome. Bravo.
TAKE ALL OF MY 'STACHES!!!!
God damn it, Faith and Doubt strained my suspension of disbelief to its limits, but it wasn't bad in the end because you raised some points that are very poignant and more than a little unsettling when I look back at canon, namely Twilight's relationship with Celestia. And I won't lie, I always wished the way everyone abandoned Twilight during S2 finale would have an actual aftermath. I was disappointed at how such a thing could be completely dismissed.
But this sequel pretty much blows suspension of disbelief out of the water with just the synopsis. I'm really torn, you know.
AH MOST GRORIOUS DISPRAY!
That was beautiful right there. Dang it defender you've done it again, you've filled all of us with immense feelings of joy and happiness from the scene of Derpy rescuing Dinky and the Doctor!
Awesome by the way, Derpy is tied with Vinyl Scratch as my number one favorite background pony. Also liked the way the fight between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash turned out. I seriously thought Scootaloo had died right there but then you throw a curveball just as I expected and had her still alive! Nice work man.
Definitely waiting for the next chapter with great anticipation.
- Super-Brony12
totally loved it
Two words: Fuck Yeah.
That is all.
cant wait to see loyalty reaction when he ends up losing the battle
Wake up, see update, read update, now pumped up and ready for work!
This...was enjoyed.
Good for you, Derpy Hooves.
Look up in the sky... It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Super Derpy.
Now there's a great example at why Derpy Hooves is the best pony.
Truly an amazing chapter, but yet I wonder whether or not Scootaloo survives the battle or is she...
.
If so then I hope Rainbow Dash is willing to mess Loyalty up a bit.
Nice update as I cannot wait to read how the next chapter comes out.
2008277
Think about it: the so-called abstract of Loyalty, standing against a victorious army united by true, unquestionable loyalty and against him. The moment he is forced to admit he has betrayed the virtue he was supposed to uphold, the moment he may lose his name and fall, like Faith did.
Beautiful.
I don't think I've had this much fuzzy warm hope while crying since the finale of Puella Magi.
You are amazing, you know that?
(The song was a nice touch, BTW)
is anyone else amazed this entire war started by the fact twilight was shunned at her brothers wedding?
1990960
hope that last bit comes true
when derpy did the sonic rainboom i thought of this song(just watch it if you want no hate comment of 06 please)
the abstracts have a pissed off time lord on them please please tell me one of the other abstracts is gonna give loyalty the speech about just who the doctor is?
“Hope… is kindled”
...Dear sweet mercy...
...This chapter...
...So much epicness...
Seriously, if there was ever a favorite chapter, this will be the one. I-it is just so beautiful! I would normally say that you did a great job with this chapter, but that would just be understating the awesomeness of this chapter! I swear, I think this is one of the few rare moments that I am giggly over reading something. Congratulation!
The Battle of Cloudsdale has been won (well, it might as well have been won, which with all the warm hopeful feeling). Faith is free and on the rise! Oooh, if there's ever a sign that Doubt should be fearing right now, it would be this one.
2008967 More then ever now. Loyalty doesn't even care who he hurts anymore. He's gone off the deep end and needs to be taught a lesson! And Rainbow Dash and Twilight sound like just the mares to do it!
Then hopefully the other abstracts will realize that resistence is futile and will surrender peacefully. Of course that likely won't happen, much like the idiots in Congress the abstracts will likely refuse to suck up their pride. Alas as we all know "Pride goes before a fall."
really really good chapter loved it
You got tears coming out my eyes mate.
Great chapter, really nice to see the interaction between Scootaloo and Rainbow and Derpy was amazing in this chapter.
You have a way with words I cannot even begin to describe, you are a magnificent writer
the rainbow of light has been rediscovered...... once again....
the torch of peace has been been lit....
by one unexpected hero.....
Damn...that was awesome
YES! JUSTICE!!!!
That was way too awesome. I challenge you to top this moment in the story.
Derpy! Woooo!
That's real Loyalty, you deluded bastard.
2009392 But who will fight to keep that rekindled flame alight.
EPIC!
FUCK YEAH!!!! GO DERPY!!!!
AH HELL loyalty is in some deep shit now!!!
That was beautiful. Nothing else can be said. Just... wow...
Sooo, anyone else enjoying the fact that it's going to be real loyalty that defeats this guy?
Loyalty as an obligation of servitude, seems a but outdated to me. Maybe Equestria needs a new model for the concept?
2011551
Equestria is a bit backwards... is it a surprise that the abstracts, other than Faith, are a bit backwards as well (and let's face it, Faith is the way he is because he spent his time jumping from pony to pony and actively seeing the slums and the filth and learning to see more than the pretty picture Celestia paints)
It seems that whenever there is a forced Dr. Who insert in a fanfiction it cheapens the experience.
2011726 an excellent point, but that world is gone now. Whatever the Equestrians rebuild of their society if and when this ends, there won't be room for such an inflexible 'Loyalty'.
I look forward to seeing what they decide to do... assuming everything doesn't end with a smoking crater and a laughing madmare
Way to go Derpy!
WooHoo!
2007851
Edit to add: Gave you an upvote just because of this chapter.
This is the most epic cutie mark attainment I've yet seen. BRAVO!!!
And this chapter is so full of win and awesome that it's impossible to speak coherently of it.
DAT FEELS + SONG = ME LE CRYING
2017443
Wonder what Sweetie Belle and Appebloom's will be like?