“RAINBOW DUCK!” Shadowfang yelled.
The blue mare ducked down, the black insect-like pony narrowly missing her head. Her back hooves kicked out, bucking the creature in the face. “Ugh, what ARE these things?” she snapped, before dashing up and narrowly avoiding a green beam of magic from another of its kind.
“I don’t know!” the stallion yelled, before gripping one by their hooves, turning in a tight circle and flinging it down into the ground, making it bounce a few times.
The last one readied itself for a dive at Rainbow, before stopping and backing away. It finally turned tail and fled. She prepared to race after it.
“Rainbow, stop, our job!”
The pegasus froze in mid motion, before sighing. “Right, right,” she muttered, lowering herself to the ground. “So, Poindexter, you good?”
“It’s POINT Sculpture. And yes, I am fine,” a purple-coated unicorn with a red mane said, adjusting his glasses. “Please, just call me Point. It’s absolutely fascinating, these creatures...”
“Yeah, hardly seems fascinating to me,” Rainbow muttered.
“That’s because you lack the necessary mental--”
“Don’t insult my partner,” Shadowfang snapped, grinding a hoof into the ground.
“Ugh. Fine. Either way, creatures like these are unheard of in our lands. I would love to take the time to study one. They don’t seem to be capable of speech,” he said, inching towards one of the downed ones.
“No, they don’t,” Rainbow muttered. “And, as such, please don’t touch them. We need to keep going. If the town is in any--” Her eyes widened. “STORM!” she called.
“Huh? But the skies are clear, why would--” The unicorn was cut off by the sound of lightning, turning to see the flashes illuminating the night sky, the cloud cover quickly making its way towards them. “Curse this canyon and its strange weather!”
Rainbow shrugged. “I’ll disperse it in a minute. Wait--”
“With all do respect, Rainbow,” Shadowfang said softly. “You’re the lead pony, right? I should be the one dispersing it. If they come back--”
“I’m lead pony,” she said with a shrug. “I decide who does what. I’m faster at this. You just keep our scientist friend safe. Got it?” she said before taking off to the sky, flying at the clouds.
Her frustration was growing. She didn’t know WHAT those insect ponies were, but they’d been pestering them for the last few hours. Only three or four at a time, but it was disconcerting. The strange weather on top of it only made things worse.
The most terrible thing of all? There’d been a huge bout of food poisoning at the fort they’d picked up the professor in. The only reason Point had avoided getting sick was he had been so engrossed in a book that he’d forgotten to eat dinner. Most of the guards at the fort had been completely knocked out, leaving just her and Shadowfang to keep him safe. Which, if all they had to do was disperse the weather, would have been fine. As it was, she was getting more and more frustrated. All the attacks from the darkness were getting on her nerves, even worse since the creatures seemed to pop out of nowhere. They were so loud, with their buzzing wings, yet it was almost like they popped out of the ground somehow.
The mare zipped through the cloud, bucking and kicking as she went. She got the occasional zap, but nothing too strong. Before long, the storm was gone entirely and she dove back down towards the others.
In time to see Shadowfang get struck by a massive bolt of green light, slamming him into a wall of the canyon. Unfortunately for the attacker, though, the green light had illuminated the creature easily, while Rainbow was almost invisible in her Shadowbolt outfit. This bug was far larger than the others, almost the size of Nightmare Moon. Anypony would have paused at the sight of it.
Rainbow wasn’t anypony. She slammed into it, her hooves out and driving down into its chest, landing on top of it and riding it across the ground, leaving gouges in the dirt before it crashed into a rock, cracking the stone.
The creature let out an almost pony like groan, staring up at her, only to get two quick hoof blows to the face. The pegasus then darted back, leaving the unmoving creature behind. “Shadowfang! Are you okay?!” she yelled.
“O-only my pride hurts… a-and my wing,” he said with a light chuckle. He tried to spread it out, only to let out a hiss of pain.
Rainbow moved to his side and let out a low groan. It was bent in a way that wings were definitely NOT supposed to bend. She stared at it for a long, long moment, before shaking her head. “It’s broken.”
“W-what?!” he asked, his entire body jerking before he tried to straighten it, only drawing out another cry of pain.
“Idiot, don’t move it!” she snapped. “It’s broken. That’s it, we’re going to get this braced and then we’re going back to the fort.”
“But those ponies, they--”
“Need us? Maybe. But we’re not going to make it like this,” she said firmly, shaking her head. “We need a bigger escort. More importantly, you need medical attention. It’s about a day away from here by hoof. You’re in no state to fight, I can’t keep fighting AND dealing with the weather. More importantly, whatever these things are ponies need to know about. If they’re some… early assault from the dragons, they-- POINDEXTER!”
The unicorn yelped, stepping back from the large one. “I-I was merely examining it!”
“Don’t! Touch! It!”
“But it’s truly fascinating. Look at the holes across its body, it’s definitely pony-like. And they have magic, though it seems to be of a different type than ours. Why, the strange growth on its head is almost like a crown. Perhaps this one is the matriarch of its hive?”
“Its hive?” Rainbow asked with a sigh.
“Perhaps. Maybe we have ventured into their territory and it’s their ‘queen’?” he offered. “They definitely appear to be more insect in nature, even with heavily pony forms. Perhaps--”
“Yes, yes, study them more when they’re NOT attacking us,” Rainbow said. “Come on, we gotta go.”
Shadowfang growled and shook his head. “No.”
“No?” she asked.
“No. We need to keep going. With these things here, that whole village is in trouble. We can’t just abandon them! We--”
Rainbow cut him off. “NO! We GO back! We do NOT rush forward and get ourselves killed!” she snapped. “Listen, I’m all for brave, exciting adventures! And if it was just me? Fine. I’d do it. But I am NOT getting anypony ELSE hurt by MY actions! My command. My decision. We’re going. Back. Now. That’s an order.”
“But--”
“This is not a discussion. Poindexter, come on!”
“It’s Point! Sculpture!”
“Words do not explain how little I care right now,” she said flatly, the frustration only growing inside her, making her struggle to resist lashing out. “Shadowfang. Come here and let’s get that wing set as best we can. Move it, now. Double time.” She tossed off her pack and started going through it, searching for the wing brace.
The stallion growled, but slowly began to trot towards her.
------
“You were right,” Shadowfang muttered, shaking his head. “I’m sorry for disobeying.”
“I know,” Rainbow said back, not looking at him. Instead, her focus was ahead, where Point was walking and examining every little thing they passed. There hadn’t been any attacks in a few hours, so she was hoping whatever those bugs were, they had decided to let them leave in peace. She really hoped it was just an issue of them going near their territory.
“I was being reckless. I felt bad since… well. I got hurt and it’s why we had to turn back. I didn’t--”
“We should have turned back after the third attack,” Rainbow muttered.
“I’m sorry?”
“They kept coming. The weather was terrible. If I’d been smart, we’d have turned back. Instead, I kept pushing us forward. I was reckless and it got you hurt.”
“This isn’t your fault...”
“But it is,” she said with a shrug. “I decided to keep going, regardless of the dangers. I didn’t examine everything and make the smart choice. Instead, I got you hurt.” She felt a light tingle down her back, the almost invisible scars on her back itching. “I’ve done that a few times. But this is the right choice, I’m sure of it. I… hate leaving the village like that but...”
“It’s better we get help so ponies know, rather than we get ourselves killed and others as well, trying to find out what happened to us.”
Rainbow nodded. She then glared. “Point! Stay away from the edge!” she snapped.
The unicorn snorted. “Oh, so you DO know my name,” he said, before stepping away from it.
The pegasus rolled her eyes. She HATED this part of the trip. The canyon they’d had to travel through was fine, if rocky. But to get into it they’d had to travel down a long, narrow, winding path. If she fell, she’d be fine. She could fly. But now both Shadowfang AND Point were grounded. Right on cue, she felt that light shift in the winds around them, as well as the pressure shift. She glanced up.
“Tornado is brewing,” she whispered.
“What? It’s not even raining yet or--” He was cut off as a mix of rain and hail began to fall around them, pelting the ponies.
“It’s going to start. I’m going to nip it before it gets bad,” Rainbow muttered. If they were caught in a tornado now, everything would go bad. She had to stop it before--
She heard the hisses and saw the green beams of light ahead of them, narrowly leaping to the left and avoiding the magic. Six ahead of them. Behind her, she could hear more. An ambush. She glanced back and could see the glows of their magic illuminating more of them. Worse, she could see that really big one again. This wasn’t just an ambush, it was a full on assault.
“Buck.”
Rainbow started to step forward, only to have Shadowfang block her way. “You need to deal with the tornado.”
“W-what?” she asked.
“I’ll hold them off. But if that hits us now, we’re toast. You know that!” he said, moving in front of Point, who was backed against the canyon wall. “I can fight, even grounded. And my wing isn’t going to get much worse. So move it!”
Rainbow stared at him for a moment, her heart pounding. She had to make a choice, and neither of them were good options. Worse, she felt the guilt rise up. Everything could have been avoided if she hadn’t been so stubborn. “Fine! Just a few minutes! I’ll take care of this!” she snapped, before taking off as quick as she could, rising into the air.
For now, the clouds were just swirling, though already she could feel the shift. It wouldn’t take long for everything to fall down. She could already see the bottom of the cloud beginning to slowly lower itself, like a giant, spinning finger reaching towards the ground. Towards the ponies she was keeping safe.
She made it to the tip within three seconds, a new personal best. She began to spin around it, opposite its direction, her wings flapping as hard as they could while she cut through the air and cloud. She’d LOVE to have said it was easy, but it was probably one of the most dangerous things she’d ever done.
This was the fastest way to stop a tornado, but it was incredibly dangerous and was only ever supposed to be attempted by teams of pegasi. One could do it, but there was just as much chance of her being caught in the winds and killed, as there was her getting enough force to stop it. No, a much higher chance of the former, at least for a normal pony.
Already she could feel the winds trying to pull her back. The resistance pushing against her hooves, as if she was trying to fly through hardening cement. All it would take was one mistake. One flaw. One missed movement and she’d be sucked in and never be able to stop herself.
She couldn’t do this. She could feel herself slowing. She could still break free, though. Still escape. The winds were powerful, but she could escape. She couldn’t stop this.
And it would hit Shadowfang and Point. There was no way they could get out of it in time. They had no cover, no protection. They’d be torn apart.
He was her partner.
He was her responsibility.
She growled and pushed harder, her hooves slicing through the air. “I AM RAINBOW DASH!” she yelled, though there was nopony in the winds to hear her. “I AM THE GREATEST FLIER TO EVER FLY! AND I WILL NOT! LOSE! TO A STUPID! BUNDLE! OF AIR!” She felt the resistance only getting stronger, but she shoved through it. “I AM A SHADOWBOLT!” Her hooves pierced the barrier, though it felt like now going through solid rock. “I! WILL! WIN!”
Her world shattered. But in the best possible way. It was as if all the resistance was gone, the winds town apart by her hooves. And suddenly, there was light. A rainbow colored explosion that seemed to originate from her. No, swirled around her. While she moved, the winds scattered in all directions, the clouds dispersing while a wave of rainbow light flew off her in all directions.
The tornado was gone, but there was still one more threat. She dove, the rainbow light trailing behind her. She hit the ground, digging her hooves into the ground and skidding, deep gouges torn into it. The rainbow light seemed to be radiating off her. “Does anypony ELSE want some?!” she yelled, looking around. The rainbow light seemed to be dimming, though it illuminated the area. The insect creatures had been in the midst of a scuffle with Shadowfang, though it seemed everypony had frozen at her entrance.
Her words shook them free, however. The creatures scattered to the winds, grabbing their downed brethren and fleeing.
Rainbow watched them leave, before letting out a sigh of relief. The light was almost gone now, but she couldn’t see anything in the dark. After a moment, Point’s horn lit up, illuminating the quickly darkening area.
“That… that was… what WAS that?!” Point asked.
“That, my dear professor, was the sonic rainboom. Only one living pony can do that,” Shadowfang said with a low whistle. “Nopony is going to believe it.”
“I don’t know if I believe it,” Rainbow said, stretching out. After that, she felt she should be exhausted. But she didn’t. She felt like she had enough energy to race all the Shadowbolts in succession. “But it was AWESOME!”
“Y-yes, it was. Though, err… you’re going to need a new uniform.”
“A new uniform? W--” Rainbow was cut off, her eyes staring down at herself. Her uniform had been torn to pieces, almost entirely shredded. The winds and the magical burst had just been too much for it. “Well… Spitfire is going to kill me.”
“Not when we tell her how it happened.”
“Heh. Yeah. I was pretty awesome. Err, right! We need to go, though. Now, come on,” Rainbow said quickly, beginning her trot and putting on her most serious face.. Once she was ahead of them, though, she couldn’t help the wide grin from forming on her lips. “Eeeeeeee...” she whispered to herself.
------
“Are you sure we should let them go, your highness?” one of the insect ponies asked, watching the three ponies make their way away.
“Yes,” the largest one said, staring at the blue pegasus in particular. “It seems we underestimated these ponies. Our invasion will need to take a less… direct route. Do not worry. Soon, there will be enough to feed us all...”