"Rnnnngh!" Rainbow Dash galluped to a running start, hopped over a lunging beast, then jump-kicked her way violently into a separate pair of monsters. "Htttt!" They fell back and tumbled off for several feet as Rainbow came to a sliding stop. Panting for breath, she peered across the blood-stained field of battle.
There was another ripple of ruby light. Pale heads rolled, and there went Seraphimus—screaming bombastically—as she threw herself at another wave of beasts. She twirled both swords with ease, lopping off claws and sending wet sprays of black blood staining the air in opposite directions. There was a beauty to her carnage—a primal efficiency lying beneath her brutal exterior. She met the mindless charge with louder and louder shouts, seemingly frightening the otherwise unflinchable heart of the attacking enemy.
"Raaaaaaaugh!" She stabbed forward, impaling a beast—then throwing the weight of it into a flanking charge. She spat and snarled her way through a suffocating curtain of blackish blood. "I am the Right Talon of Verlaxion! Your putrid lives—as you once knew them—end here!"
The battle shifted, with the beasts lumbering in her direction. There was a ripple of twilight, and Rainbow's ghostly friends briefly reappeared—all of them surprised and slack-jawed.
"Rainbow Dash..." Twilight Sparkle wheezed, eyes twitching. "Please tell me you didn't just free her to—" She vanished, replaced by a casually yawning Discord.
"Now you've got some explaining to do with the Missus."
Rainbow was startled by the sound of claw-scraping footsteps pounding towards her six. She spun to meet the ambushing attack—
Thwissssssssh! Wildcard dove in, staff first. WHACK! He uppercutted the beast before it could puncture Rainbow from behind. Thw-Thw-THWACK! He twirled Bard's weapon against another skull, clearing the Curveside flank of enemies. The Desperado huffed, weathering the pain of the wound in his shoulders.
"Wildcard..." Rainbow wheezed. "What are we going to do about—?"
Wordlessly, Wildcard dove past her and sailed towards Seraphimus. Rainbow watched, wincing. When Wildcard landed, it was with a violent downswing that pinned a random monster's skull to the floor. WHAM!
Seraphimus didn't even flinch. She merely shifted her weight to the left, and soon both griffons were standing back to back as a fresh line of monsters closed in around them from all sides.
"Silt Prefecture!" Seraphimus shouted. "The mountain dredge smugglers! Alpha position!"
Wildcard responded with two swift wing gestures. Then—coiling his feathers to his side—he twirled the staff while strafing sideways to the left.
Seraphimus likewise side-stepped, swinging and slicing at every enemy that dared invade their dual circle of impenetrable defense. In such a fashion, the two former Talon members delayed the rush of chaos brutes.
Discord vanished again, and Rainbow's friends reappeared. "At least tell us if this was planned, sugarcube!" Applejack exclaimed, still shocked at Seraphimus' presence.
Rainbow gulped. "If it was planned, then would it be working nearly as well?"
"That's it..." Twilight tossed her hooves, eyes rolling. "I give up!"
Pinkie stuck her tongue out. "Wuss!"
"Can we just smash heads and then get out of here?!" Twilight groaned.
Rarity threw a look back towards Curveside. "They appear to be attaching the rocks to the hovercraft as we speak!"
"Are they nearly finished?" Fluttershy stammered.
Rarity shook her head. "Not nearly."
"Well then..." Rainbow flexed her wing muscles. "Head-smashing it is."
"Oh good grief..." Twilight face-hoofed.
"Go, Dashie, go!" Pinkie cheered—
—as Rainbow charged back into the fray, sailing towards the thicker line of advancing beasts. "Here's mud in your eyes." Rainbow grimaced, preparing a savage drop kick. "Black muddy blood..."
She came into violent content with her foe. Pinkie and the others vanished—leaving Discord to reappear with a black cowboy hat. "Bah gawd!" he hollered out one side of his muzzle, fang glinting. "If I'm my own witness, they're broken in half!"
Logan's feverish eyes were locked on the distant battle. He clenched his jaws and sweated...
"Head in the game, Big Show!" Flynn snarled.
Gulping, Logan turned to assist his friends in slapping the chaos rocks onto the bed of the hovercraft. "Can you really get this shit to fly?"
"I'm not the miracle worker today!" Flynn frowned at him. "I still can't believe you actually let that turkey buzzard go!"
Logan huffed, shouldering his axe as he assisted his friends with the wagon. "It's working so far, isn't it?"
"Yeah?! And what about later on?! You've just given our worst enemy an avenue to escape and eventual vengeance on the Austraeoh!"
"She ain't the same as she was two months ago," Logan growled, fastening more and more clumps of chaos metal in a frenzy. "She's going to give us the edge we need to survive right here and now!"
"Big Show—"
"I bet you a hundred bits!"
"Like money means anything over here—"
"Fine!" Logan spat. "Fifty bits and I don't get to bend your head back into your own ass, ya cheap bald bastard!" He shook his hoof. "I've spared you for this long, haven't I?! Now get this stupid-ass boogey board to fly again!"
"Almost done with the application, brrotherr!" Kepler sounded off.
"It's now or never, Flynn!"
"Grnnnngh..." Flynn stepped back and aimed his horn at the ring of material. "...I should just change my name to Mr. Migraine... I swear."
"Just do your job!" Logan growled, turning to look fitfully Edgeside. "I'll thank you later." He nevertheless trembled slightly, gripping his axe as he watched the skirmish from afar.
Who are you and what have you done with Twilight?
Well, there are going to be quite a few interesting conversations once this is all done.
Flynn, your worst enemy ain't Seraphimus. Its the entire entropic nature of the plane you're currently trudging across. Even if Sera tried to decapitate Dash two seconds after the battle is over, that's still a better result than the group getting TPK'd by the current encounter. Honestly its better this way, even if Sera does go full murderous psycho the moment the battle is done, because at least then you can get the whole bloody affair over with now instead of later on at a less opportune moment.
...Ugh, it makes me feel utterly out of sorts having to agree with Logan on things.
BRING ON THE TROLL BEATDOWN!!
8513358
I concur. LET'S GET 'EM!
8513329
She has realized the head smashing is inevitable and merely wishes to get it over with as quickly as possible.
Like ripping off a band aid.
i.imgur.com/WCpXrMD.png
-Through the path long forgotten, into the darkness long begotten. Ofolrodi.
8513347
Ya know, RD might be able to survive a temporary loss of brain matter. Pop off her pendant and let chaos regen take over. Probably still something to be avoided though.
8513425
She pretty much has regened from that.
When the Jury crushed her to paste against the mountains outside Val Roa.
And here I was thinking she just she-hulked her way out of the chains through raw destructive power. Good one on you Big Show.
It's too early for a credit roll.
8513467
Talk about god mode.
8513425
Yeah, her chaos form is pretty dang near unkillable, but she's nowhere near comfortable enough with that side of her to take advantage of it or tell the Herald about how much she can regenerate from while in that state. One of the reasons she'll need to come to terms with chaos is so she can use that form. I think with the right mental balance and Discord’s cooperation she could use it without going full monstrous murder machine. Gonna be a looooooong time, I'm thinking, before she's willing to even entertain the possibility.
To quote a certain heavy weapons guy:
NOW IS COWARD KILLING TIME!!
Glad to see Sera is working out her issues.
Oh shut the fuck up, Discord.
8513531
But....imagine if she DOES...
the serpentine twistyness, the claws, horns....
....wonder if she could edit it a bit?
Aww look at Sera and WC falling back into formation like it was nothing. Almost like she didn't try to murder everyone in a 1v6 fight off the edge of the world.
Sera is so Canute here, at least she has a better chance than a mere king. Logans itching for the battle, but has to stick with the Plank because it isnt a wipeout party but race the curl ride?
They hope?
8513654
They are professionals. They know to separate business from feelings.
starecat.com/content/wp-content/uploads/best-friends-off-the-court-sworn-enemies-on-it-athletes-understand-man-playing-basketball-with-a-roe.jpg
Aww I think Sera really needed that. She'll sleep well tonight.
The battle rages on as Logan and Flynn try desperately to get the cart up and running. Will they succeed in time?
Find out in our next exciting episode "Bashing Heads and Taking Names" or "Skullpture Garden!"
8513704
Prince Eine has really grown up fast.
At this rate they're going to make retreat superfluous rather swiftly.
That being said, with how they're holding them back now, the Herald might have been able to easily defeat those things to begin with.
They're putting up an admirable defense, but they really need to skedaddle.
They're holding them off for now. Not sure how long that's gonna last though.
Discord, stop. You're no Jim Ross.
8514094
"That chaos monster had a family!"
As much as Seraphimus dislikes the Herald, she'll fight for Jordan. She has begun to see that there is something driving them forward more than blight.
How long, I wonder, will it be before she fights not only in reaction, but in preemption, as well?
She is wasted in shackles.
Mah gawd! That troll has a family!
Alright, fess up. Who taught Seraphimus Jar'Kai?
8513552
Some ponies think they can outsmart me. Maybe... I've yet to meet one that can outsmart hoof.
At least these chaos creatures are allowing Seraphimus to vent.
Depends on the plan I would imagine, her plan to catch Chrysalis worked quite well. It needed some adjusting partway through, but that is the cost of a plan, it never survives contact with the enemy.
11/17/2017
16:56 UTC
I can't believe how appalled the girls would have been at a literal bloodbath going on around them not but last book. Of course, a literal fuck ton happened in Utaan, so . . .
Contact instead of content?
Man this reference doesn't even fit.
I feeling the girls are just distracting rainbow when she fights. They should just let her concentrate.
8952693
I mean, it's Discord, so
9773362
That doesn't mean anything, it has no relevance to the scene and random memes fuck with immersion. Like if Rainbow was pulling a wrestling move or something it could fit but it's just slapped on the end of the scene like a dead fish on a table.
OOOOOHHH now this is the good shit.
Logan, you're a better dude than you think.