• Published 9th Mar 2013
  • 9,080 Views, 10,169 Comments

Innavedr - Imploding Colon



A broken party of friends struggles to reunite. Rainbow Dash continues to fly east.

  • ...
44
 10,169
 9,080

PreviousChapters Next
Rainbow Dash Prime

"Mmmmf... b-but you got it all wrong..." Rainbow Dash's lips moved as she squirmed on the floor in her armor. "Spitfire... I j-just want her autograph. That's all..."

With a loud clash of noise, the entire ship shook.

Rainbow Dash's ruby eyes flew open. She hopped up—only to bang her prismatic head against the roof of the slender vessel's interior. "Gaaah!" She slumped down onto the nearby bench, rubbing her skull with a metal-laced hoof. "Uggh... right. This. I forgot about this."

"About time you woke up," Roarke grumbled as she piloted the vessel in a southeasterly direction. "Now maybe things will be quieter."

"Quieter?" Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Wait... speaking of which, what was that noise just now—?"

The ship rocked again, this time producing a sharp yelp from Rainbow as she clung to the shuddering hull of the craft.

"Yup..." Roarke hissed, her lenses pistoning in and out as she navigated a barrage of flak. "They're happy to see me."

"They?!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "Who're they?"

"The guardians of Searo Peak," Roarke droned. "We've been greeted."

Rainbow made a face, wincing from the sharp pain still shooting through her left side beneath all the armor. "You call that a greeting? They're trying to kill us!"

"I doubt they think we're anything but fellow warriors returning home."

"Why's that?"

Roarke's lips curved. "Because we haven't flown away yet." She slapped a lever and a porthole rotated open besides Rainbow. "Feast your eyes, sister."

Rainbow Dash blinked. She turned and glanced over her shoulder. "Oh... Hello..."

Roarke's ship wasn't the only vessel to be flying towards their destination. Several other mana-powered aircraft were roaring towards the same location, namely the top of a jagged series of rock spires that protruded from the dull morning mists. Perched upon the mountain like the top to a Hearth's Warming tree, a gigantic stone fortress loomed, armed with an insane array of cannons powered by flickering teslacoils. Lights streaked left and right as armored equines with mana-driven rocketpacks soared from one part of the stronghold to the other. Patrol ships orbited the summit with open platforms, upon which metal mares studied the incoming vessels from afar and fired warning shots whenever it suited them. One by one—with the sound of roaring engines—the vessels of bounty hunters returned from their prowl, lugging cargo—both alive and not—as they decelerated and glided their way into one of several gaping hangar bays.

"On the hoofrest, behind you," Roarke said.

Rainbow Dash blinked, being snapped out of her hypnotic gaze on their destination. "Huh?"

"There's a helmet," Roarke said. "Put it on."

"What?!" Rainbow frowned. "No way! I told you—I'm not gonna be one of your spoils of the hunt!"

"Unnnnghhhh..." Roarke groaned as she piloted the vessel slowly into a hangar. She landed the craft with a hiss and flipped a lever, shutting down the forcefield between the cockpit and the rest of the vessel. She swiveled around in the air, stood up, and marched towards Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow squatted in a fighting pose, her muscles coiling up. "That's right! You want a rematch?! I don't care if we have to Montrot Screwjob it in a sardine can! Make your move!"

"My move..." Roarke grabbed the helmet herself. "Is to get you to Imre." She tossed it at Rainbow.

"Ooomf!" Rainbow caught it awkwardly, her eyes blinking. "H-huh?"

"Think about it, feathernipples!" Roarke leaned in, hissing. "Would I really, really go through the effort of slapping so much armor on your blue keister—in the middle of my very own ship—just to go round six against a mare with her left wing broken?"

Rainbow frowned at her with squinting eyes. "Stranger things have been known to happen."

"Don't I friggin' know it." Roarke slapped a piece of metal to the back of her head. It attached to her metal plugs with a hiss, then wrapped around her mane and skull like a metal canteloupe, turning into a helmet. Soon, only her mouth was exposed beneath the red and black sheen. "Now get your flank suited up. I won't ask another time. The only thing shorter than my patience is the fuse of the dockmasters." She slapped a metal muzzle-piece over her mouth, and her voice now had a muffled, metallic ring. "By the way, they're waiting for us to trot out before they blow this vessel to Searo's harem in the sky. So let's move."

Roarke opened the door to the vessel and marched out with a clanking of metal hooves.

Rainbow Dash lingered behind, squirming in her metal suit. She glanced at the helmet, then winced as another wave of pain throttled through her left side.

"Nnnngh... why do I feel like I'm getting prepared for a rusted slumber party?"

She eventually slapped the helmet over her head, covering her spectral mane. Swiveling about, she trotted towards the ship's exit.

"Huh... y'know, this doesn't feel so bad—"

She proceeded to slam her skull against the doorframe.

"Augh! Lunapoop!"

PreviousChapters Next