//------------------------------// // Chapter Seventy-seven: Stormkeeper, Part 2 // Story: A Rather Large Adventure // by BradyBunch //------------------------------// Fighting in a storm was like when Rainbow had fought in the ocean with the seaponies against the possessed animals. There were three dimensions to consider instead of two, and it was all black, so she didn’t know which way was up or down. Blood was roaring in her ears and giving her a headache. Her skin was clammy and freezing. It was wet and windy from every direction, thunder boomed seemingly right next to her, and lightning flashed across every axis. There was also mocking laughter booming from the Storm King echoing everywhere. As Rainbow landed on a long stretch of cloud, she actually saw the Storm King be carried onto the cloud as well on the opposite end, lightning flashing all around him. Apparently Stormkeeper gave the wielder the ability to walk on clouds as well. “WEAKLING!” the Storm King bellowed, and it was like a boom of thunder. Lightning crackled from his eyes and fist. “THE ELEMENTS GAVE YOU STRENGTH?! SHOW ME, THEN!” Rainbow stomped on the cloud and raised up a poofy shield just as the Storm King fired a stream of lightning at her from Stormkeeper. The cloud dissipated the lightning, and Rainbow kicked the lightning-infused ball of cloud right back at him. With a slash he chopped through it. Lightning exploded off to the sides, throwing him into deep shadow. “THE WORLD IS ALREADY BECOMING UNMADE!” the Storm King roared at her. “WHY FIGHT THE INEVITABLE?! JOIN IT! YOU CAN UNMAKE THIS WORLD AS EASY AS IT WAS CREATED!” There was a dark edge in his voice that Rainbow didn’t like. Lightning threw him into shadow again, and Rainbow thought she saw some semblance of a terrible alicorn in his figure. His outstretched arms and mismatched horns briefly became bent wings and a long, ivory horn, and a wicked gleam of doom was held within his eyes as it bore down upon her. It sent a ripple down Rainbow’s skin that had nothing to do with the cold. “I like this world!” Rainbow shivered out, trembling with every fiber in her body. “And you won’t rise above it!” His snarl could have torn apart the sky, and he sure tried his best. Lightning poured into Stormbreaker, making the air ripple, and the Storm King slammed the golden blade into the clouds beneath them. The entire surface became electrified, branching out into the inky night sky and connecting with other black clouds. Rainbow was already in the air, though. Her flight path carried her above him, and with the help of a timed gust of wind, she flapped down and kicked the Storm King in the head with enhanced force, sending them both flying through the air in a sudden tunnel of air. Beaten though she was, this was her natural environment. The Storm King was playing on her turf. Lightning blinded the sides of her vision, and thunder dulled her ears, but Rainbow was able to keep her bearings. It was something innate in pegasi, and all other creatures of flight. All the Storm King could do was hover and shoot lightning, while she had the edge in maneuverability and control of the environment. Rainbow curved her wings to land on the edge of another cloud on the edge of the wind tunnel, and launched like a bullet at the flying Storm King. Their impact was charged from the static in the air, and they both collided into a stormy patch of black, like a platform of sorts. Electricity was sparking in her hair and fur. A furious look adorned her, matching the primal one of fury in the Storm King’s expression. She landed two or three blows on his face before he gripped her hoof with incredible strength and hurled her off him to roll on the top of the clouds. A slash of Stormkeeper followed as she was getting to her hooves. A quick lean back saved Rainbow from certain death, but it meant a long cut across her chest instead of across her neck. Rainbow barely felt it. She just charged back at him and plunged a hoof into his gut. But it meant she was close enough for him to uppercut her hard enough to send her flying, and he followed it up with a kick to the head from his artificial leg that shattered the fake foot and made her temporarily black out. The only thing that helped her regain consciousness, and saved her life, was muscle memory as her wings flapped on their own. When her vision cleared enough to see, the Storm King was swirling Stormkeeper in the air like a paintbrush, and lightning followed from the tip like a whip as he charged it up and lashed it at Rainbow, too quick to dodge. Even though she tried her best to twist out of the way, it struck her in the flank. Pain shot up her entire back and made her leg convulse, and a scream escaped her lips. She struggled to stay in the air from the crippling blow. “YIELD!” the satyr roared. “NEVER!” she roared back. Her numbed body felt like it was on fire. He lunged, slashing the golden sword, and Rainbow evaded once more. The door swung open with a sudden bang, and a storm creature was hurled into the room to crash into the desk and bed of the Storm King’s quarters, surprising a captive Freedom Fighter in the corner like a startled cat. In came Applejack and Tempest Shadow first, all serious faces and raised hooves, followed by the rest of the ponies. Twilight’s horn glowed, and his bonds quickly unraveled. He gasped as his gag was removed and rubbed his arms where the ropes bit into his skin. “Thanks, Twi.” He grunted as he rubbed a sore spot. “Took you long enough.” She shrugged, but she couldn’t hide a quick grin. “We were always coming back for you.” “And the Elements,” Pinkie put in. “Speaking of which…” “They’re in his wardrobe,” Freedom answered. Rarity quickly went to the wardrobe across from his now-ruined bed and opened it. “Where’s Rainbow?” he continued. “Fighting the Storm King,” Fluttershy squeaked. “...Ah,” was all he could say. “So, urgent?” “Hurry up, ladies,” Tempest urged with a hoof, though her tone was as laconic and bored as ever. “Get your jewelry on and meet the world with style and panache.” “Oh, Tempest, darling, don’t you know you need enthusiasm for that sort of thing?” Rarity replied, quickly distributing the proper Elements among the girls. “Style and grace! Put on a happy face! Dress in satin and silk and lace!” Pinkie burbled with a few bounces. “See what I mean?” Rarity emphasized, gesturing at the pink pony. “Who gets to be Rainbow Dash this time?” Spike spoke up dryly. “You made me the new Rainbow Dash last time.” “Oh,” Twilight recalled with a quick facehoof. She looked around the room before quickly depositing Rainbow Dash’s Element into Tempest’s hoof. “Well, uh, congratulations. Tempest, it’s your turn to be the new Rainbow Dash.” “Is there something I’m missing here? Freedom Fighter said with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah,” Firestorm emphasized. “It’s Rainbow that’s missing here!” “I’ll explain later,” Twilight promised. “Just hold onto that for now.” “Hold on,” Pinkie suddenly spoke up. “Technically speaking, isn’t Spike a better candidate for loyalty than Rainbow?” “Oh, come off it,” Applejack dismissed. “Rainbow’s the kind of gal that’ll stick with ya till the end!” “So is Spike, now that I think about it,” Rarity mused. “He did stick with Twilight for all these years, and he’d do anything for us! Well, specifically me. Pinkie’s got a point!” “Hey, hold up, could I see that Element again?” Spike asked, walking to Tempest with his hands reaching. “A-da-da-da-da-da,” Tempest reproved, putting a hoof on his head as he came near, lifting the Element of Loyalty above and away. “All of a sudden your little mind changes?” “Rarity’s really convincing!” Spike tried to justify as he reached for the Element in Tempest’s other hoof. “What’s our plan?” Freedom Fighter asked. “We need a ride out of this mess,” Starlight spoke up, coming to the front of the room near the edge of the wardrobe. “So we need to keep at least one airship intact, destroy the others, and recover Rainbow Dash--once the Storm King is out of the picture. In the middle of a hurricane.” “Wonderful,” Freedom Fighter droned, getting on his hind legs to stretch out some more sore spots. “Could this day get any better? “Well, we wouldn’t want to make this too easy,” Firestorm remarked, slipping his Element on. Beside him, Noble Blade had taken his sword and scabbard, and was in the process of tying it on his back. “How many do we all get to take down?” “I think one apiece,” Tempest reported. “Ten or twelve armored airships are accompanying this one.” “Aww,” Firestorm lamented. “Only one?” “What’s the big deal?” Noble asked him, adjusting a strap. “Just… I wanted more.” “Why do you now feel this compulsive urge to destroy?” Rarity critiqued, sliding away and slipping on her own Element after passing out the others. “...Because one of my favorite things in the world is telling people who think they have power, ‘No,’” Firestorm replied, but his voice wasn’t light anymore. “I want to be the one to… to spit in their faces.” Rarity gave a small gasp. “Oh, darling, don’t speak like that.” “Why shouldn’t I?” he shot back. “That’s what we’re all doing, isn’t it? We kill the bad guys. And isn’t there even a smidge of satisfying catharsis in destroying their attempts to destroy us? We’re the right ones here. This is okay. What’s the big deal?” “You’re sounding like him,” Tempest whispered. “I thought you knew better.” Firestorm went silent. But a misunderstood glint was in his shadowed eyes. A tremendous boom rocked the boat right then, shaking everyone to the side. “Thunder?” Pinkie asked, turning her bright blue eyes to the ceiling. Then she zipped to the wardrobe and put her ear next to it. “Or a secret knock?” “A cannon,” Twilight corrected. “One of the guards on this ship must have warned the ships next to us that we were loose!” “But soldiers should know better than to go to that extreme on a whim!” Freedom Fighter exclaimed, incredulous. “Are they really that brain-dead?” “Yes,” Tempest confirmed. “Yes, they are.” A second boom roared in their ears and a crash broke a terrible hole in the side of the captain’s cabin, replacing where the wardrobe once was. Wood showered them, knocked to the floor and scattered and cowering from the near-death explosion. But another sound made each of them pick their heads up again. It was a pair of screams. Starlight and Pinkie, who had moved closest to the wardrobe, had been sucked out of the hole and were flying about in the wind in two different directions. Their screams quickly became lost in the smattering rain and the winds in the distance. Before they could get too far away, Firestorm and Applejack had already launched themselves out of the hole. The orange pegasus dived for the plummeting Starlight, who had ignited her horn for a beacon. And Applejack’s Element sprouted a collection of glowing yellow whips that gripped the edges of the hole and quickly shot her out like a slingshot at a distant, flailing Pinkie Pie. Soon the bed had slid to the hole and tipped on its side, blocking the air pull the hole was creating and making it safe to at least stand up. The entire chamber was becoming depressurized, a vacuum in the making. But it was quiet enough for Twilight to yell. “New plan! Rarity, go after Pinkie and Applejack! Freedom, come with me and Spike! Tempest, you know these ships! Stick with Fluttershy and Noble here! See if you can’t take control of this ship somehow. If all goes well, come back here! If not, I’ll let you know! Got it?” Everyone nodded. Tempest, Noble Blade, and Fluttershy escaped as one group from the room through the doorway, leaving four remaining. “How am I supposed to go after them?!” Rarity screamed through the howling winds. “Use your imagination!” Twilight yelled from across the large bedroom. “Rarity!” Spike yelled, clinging to Twilight’s leg, but stretching a hand out. “I’ll come back! I promise!” It was a small promise, to be sure, but it made Rarity smile and stretch her own hoof just enough to tap Spike’s palm. “I’ll be waiting for you, my love!” Spike and Freedom, both inseparable from Twilight, gathered close to her as she charged up her horn with a whine and aimed it at the intact end of the bedroom. A single blast was enough to make a similar hole in the left side of the bedroom, exposing the left wing of the Storm King’s airship armada rocking in the swirling rain. Twilight spread her wings and took off, with Spike on her back and Freedom Fighter in her arms. Now it was all on Rarity. The order of business was to break the bed barrier and ride into the storm. So she levitated the bed up by three feet, and the sudden influx of air was enough to drag her through the narrow hole she had made, bashing her head on the bed frame before being sucked out into the storm. It felt like she was levitating in midair from all the strong winds in every direction. She wasn’t sure where she was going, or if she was falling or not. Her magic began to flare up, but she wasn’t sure what to do. Rarity felt helpless. What power did she have? Even though lightning flashed and thunder roared and the wind battered her in every direction, they faded into the background. Because the rain twinkling around her seemed like clear, liquid gemstones. The thought came naturally to her beauty-oriented mind. But something about the observation… lingered in her head. Gems and crystals were sparkling in every direction as far as the eye could see. She was like a white piece of ice drifting in dark outer space, and the shining rain was as innumerable as the stars, no matter where she turned her head. What made them twinkle like that? Why did they look like a rain of diamonds? The water was crystallizing and so cold. It hurt her skin. In fact- It hit her. Crystallizing! Her horn ignited in a brighter blaze of blue along with the Element around her neck. And all around her, the rain halted in its tracks. She was suspended in midair as well, and so was an increasing gathering of rain droplets in blue auras. Her magic reached deep into the inner working of the water drops and transformed the water in her grip into crystals. This meant ice. Slowly, ice as hard as rock gathered under her hooves and formed a large board that Rarity put her hooves onto gently. Then with a mental push, she was off. The water in her magic grip followed her and solidified, becoming part of a system of rings orbiting her like a planet. Rarity’s eyes, sharp enough to notice tiny details in fabric and spot a single stitch out of place, were scanning for any sign of pink in the storm. A whisper, a nudge, came to her brain. Was it Faust? Rarity figured if it was, it couldn’t hurt. So she followed the direction it was telling her to look. Down. A flash of lightning lit up the sky beneath her, and far away was the muffled colors of Pinkie and Applejack, their arms tightly around each other as they fell. Without another moment to spare, Rarity dove. It whipped at her eyes and cheeks, and her mane fluttered like a wild flag. But she finally came close enough to the falling ponies that Applejack could lash out with one of her orange whips and snag Rarity’s leg, and they were both soon trailing behind Rarity as she rose. “You’re safe now!” Rarity declared as they ascended. “We’ll all be okay!” But Rarity was looking behind her as she spoke, and not in front of her. She had gone up too quickly and at the wrong angle. It was too late before she realized with a scream that they were rocketing right into the armored balloon of a Stormship. With a quick succession of poomfs, the three ponies hit the balloon and began to fall once more. Rarity managed to find her grip on a bannister on the ship deck, and Applejack’s hooves wrapped tightly around Rarity’s rear leg, making her yelp. Applejack’s whips lashed out and caught Pinkie around the waist before she could go too far. This left them hanging awkwardly in a long line from the edge of the ship. “Woo-hoo-hoo!” came a laugh from Pinkie as she dangled from her belly. “All those hoof-holding teambuilding exercises we did are finally paying off!” “Yunno, Ah might be new to this whole rescue thing, but this seems like a step back, don’t ya think?” Applejack remarked loudly to be heard over the wind. “No, no, it’s okay!” Rarity encouraged, soaking wet. Her grip on the bannister was slippery. “We can figure this out!” A hoot from a storm creature on the deck drew their attention. Then the hoots grew in intensity and number, and sounds of weapons unsheathing reached their ears. “Ya need to stop talkin’,” Applejack advised. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was swinging like a filly on a swingset from Applejack’s whips, her Element glowing brightly on her chest. She eventually reached the ship deck and touched the surface with her front hooves, making the area glow an unnatural pink. She pushed off once more, and right at the edge of her arc, the side of the ship exploded, shaking the entire airship and making Pinkie fly up in a curve that pulled Applejack and Rarity along with it. Rarity’s grip was loosened at last, but the three ponies were already flying in the air to come down on the deck. Applejack landed first. Her whips lashed out at the creatures all around her like snakes. They sliced deep cuts into their flesh or burned like an oven, making those unlucky creatures howl and hoot and hop around. Applejack ignored them and sped to the opposite end of the ship. She had time to turn around and yell, ”Don’t worry ‘bout me! Take out the blimps on either side!” Rarity came down next, followed closely by Pinkie. While Pinkie got to work holding off the recovering Storm creatures with high-pitched karate yells and chops, Rarity focused once more on crystallizing the rain around them into ice. Rain swirled around her and froze into rock-hard ice, and the wet deck hardened beneath her hooves. But her attention was diverted when she spotted Applejack leaping from the edge of the ship. Rarity stared, paying no attention to her surroundings, as Applejack sailed out with orange whips flailing in every direction. Didn’t she have a plan? She could get killed by any number of things! A lightning strike thundered right next to Applejack. And a whip snaked out and latched onto the string of plasma! Right before the lightning disappeared, the whip tensed and launched Applejack further across the distance between ships, and she landed with a roll on the opposite deck. Applejack could whip and swing from lightning bolts. “Oh, that’s not fair,” Rarity mumbled in a semi-pout. Reassured that Applejack would be okay, though, Rarity’s gaze fell upon the ship far to her right, chugging out black smoke that fused effortlessly into the storm clouds. The faraway ship made the mistake of opening fire. A cannonball shot so close to Rarity that her hanging mane split and flew like banners. Rarity responded accordingly. Her will was unquestionable. The hardening rain floating near her head suddenly flew like pellets from a shell across the distance and shredded apart the exposed engines. A few of them also poked holes into the balloon holding it afloat. Soon tongues of flame and explosions bloomed like scarlet springbuds from the faraway ship’s rear. It began to dip and tilt in a perilous angle, and the further it deviated, the quicker it descended, until the balloon failed entirely, the rear end of the ship bursted apart, and the ship dropped like a stone into the churning waters far beneath. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had kicked plenty of guards clear across the deck and was bouncing around the rest, doing her best to get up to the pilot house. Rarity’s field of view was limited, but Pinkie stood out in any environment. Through the blur of the rain, she saw a pink pony-shaped thing escape through the Storm Creatures, lunging and stabbing and doing their best to nick the Element of Laughter. She didn’t even try to fight them, but instead bounced up a whole story to the command deck, where the pilot house was situated. Reaching the wheel, Pinkie grabbed a peg and whirled it as fast as she could with a high-pitched, “Whoopsie-daisy!” The entire ship quickly tilted down and to the left, making the remaining Storm Creatures scrabble for handholds as they slid down the deck, hit guard rails, flew over the side, and fell into oblivion. Rarity stayed where she was like a plant, being attached to the deck from her ice. Rarity and Pinkie’s airship was swerving scarily close to Applejack’s airship, which was also tilted to the side. Rarity could see blurry orange lines in the same place as the pilot house, which meant Applejack had taken control of her own. It would be a matter of seconds before the two ships collided. Rarity braced herself. With a cracking and snapping, the two ships impacted and flung splinters and iron up like fountains. It felt like a devastating earthquake that was doing its best to unhinge anything not bolted down. Cracks appeared at her hooves and chunks of both airships disappeared. Though ice was strong, it was brittle. The ice holding Rarity to safety shattered. With a shriek, Rarity found herself being flung. She hit the splintering deck and grabbed at anything that came near as she slid down the ramp. Her back collided with an iron protrusion and sent her tumbling out of control. And as her back hooves hit the fragile rails on the edge, they broke apart under her sudden weight. Rarity plummeted through the gap between the ships, screaming and reaching up helplessly. As if hearing her cries, an orange whip snaked down the side of the ship, wrapped itself around Rarity’s hoof, and snagged her descent in its tracks, making her lurch. It then retracted like a fishing line, dragging Rarity up as debris from the colliding ships continued to rain upon her. Soon, though, Applejack’s airship dove underneath Pinkie’s, breaking apart at the seams and bursting apart from the pressure. The edge of the ship passed under her hooves by just a few inches, making her curl up instinctively as she watched the mighty vessel plummet to its doom. Rarity was dragged back onto the sloping deck of Pinkie’s airship, which was righting itself with almighty groans and creaks. Applejack was holding on tightly to a ruptured board in the deck, and as soon as Rarity was settled down, the orange whip retracted back into her panting body. “You said you were new to rescue,” Rarity commented with a squeak, her hoof shaking from the near-death experience. “I think that was a lie. And here I thought you were the Element of Honesty!” Applejack guffawed, slapping her knee, of all things. Rarity hadn’t really meant it, of course. “You know I can fly by myself, right?” “That’s called floating!” Firestorm refuted, blinking hard against the wind getting in his eyes. “And I don’t want to waste your magic on staying in the air!” “I got plenty to spare, trust me!” Starlight tried to say. “And I got plenty of strength to spare too!” he retorted, carrying Starlight Glimmer bridal-style through the buffeting winds. Both of them were keeping an eye out for their airship, but there weren’t any defining characteristics to distinguish one from the other, never mind the stormy environment. So when they suddenly spotted a ship far above them, without regarding it as their own, they rocketed right for it. Firestorm drew close, deposited Starlight onto the deck, and landed beside her. “You sure this is the right one?” Starlight asked Firestorm. “If it isn’t, we’ll make it ours!” Firestorm reassured her, circling his arms to stimulate blood flow. An explosion from the rear of the ship made them stumble in place and dart their eyes accordingly. Storm Creatures could be seen rushing to the rear from all hands on deck. An ominous lurch made the ship begin to tilt out of nowhere. “That wasn’t me!” Firestorm swore, lifting his hooves up innocently. “I haven’t even done anything yet!” “They’re sabotaging the engine!” Starlight realized. “They’re not even gonna put up a fight! They just want to take us down!” “Ugh,” Firestorm moped exaggeratedly. “Now I’m gonna have to fly on my own? Whatever shall I do?” “Hurry up and get over there!” Starlight insisted, pushing him and rushing beside him in the process. “If they take out the propulsion, we’ll be ripped apart by the storm!” “Yeesh! Okay, I get-” But he quickly shut up as he spotted six or seven Storm Creatures appear on the top deck wielding primitive firearms. Firestorm gasped and quickly swept Starlight behind him to place himself between her and the muskets. But they never intended to aim at the ponies. Instead, they took their weapons and aimed at the balloon above holding them afloat. The volley fired. And the balloon became punctured. It was a pop, but it sounded like an explosion for all it was worth. Immediately, their altitude dropped with a jolt. And without an engine chugging them forward, their speed slowed to only what momentum could provide. Storm Creatures clamoring on the sides fell off, but it was impossible to tell if it was a voluntary leap or a jolt from the ship. The airship quickly became abandoned, and without a pilot, the nose tilted forward and to the left. The entire thing was on the verge of collapse. Very quickly, gravity began to claim it. Firestorm clung to the railing bordering the ship’s deck, his long wet mane whipping in every direction. “Keep the ship airborne!” Firestorm ordered Starlight with a jabbing hoof. Then he hurled himself off, his wings firmly at his sides. With a minimized profile, he was able to fall much faster than the dark, sluggish airship groaning beside him. With an expert thrust of a wing, he curled underneath the ship and quickly reached the keel on the underside. His first grasp of the hull ended up with him sliding backwards until friction stopped him. He gripped it awkwardly at first, but quickly adjusted himself so he was holding the whole thing on his back. He looked like a remora clutching to a shark many times its size. Now was the hard part. His wings began flapping. They were pushed back by the sheer windpower pushing him, but he simply gritted his teeth, squared his shoulders, and powered on. His wings soon developed a sort of slicing technique where by tilting them up, they came forward, and the wind immediately dove them down, giving him the power to repeat the process. The necklace around his chest glowed brightly, enveloping him in an orange aura and creating a streak that hung behind him like a comet tail. Firestorm felt his body temperature rise to meet the demands of the challenging environment. His wings began flapping more earnestly, and strength came to his arms. Firestorm began to push up. It felt like his biceps were about to burst in half, but Firestorm figured that was just another Tuesday for him, and he poured on power by using his core muscles as well. It was enough to make him let out a bellow of effort and agony. But slowly, slowly, he lifted the diving airship from the bottom up. His aura was pulsing so hard, the wooden hull around him was set ablaze from the Element’s power. It roared and crackled as soon, the entire bottom quarter of the ship began to catch fire. The pegasus never moved, and he didn’t feel the fire. The weight of his friend’s life was on his shoulders, after all. The monstrous craft in his hooves leveled out and began to speed up, supported only by a snarling, panting, wheezing Firestorm. The ship became surrounded in a new aura soon enough, though. It was a greenish color, though traces of pink were coating it too. Firestorm wondered about it until the obvious answer entered his head. It was Starlight! So that’s what she was doing to keep the ship airborne. Firestorm had figured she’d go for the pilot house, which was kind of what he meant in the first place. But if that was where the green was, what explained the pink? He turned his head to the right. There was a faraway airship shadow in the clouds that only became illuminated by a crack of lightning. Firestorm strained himself ever harder, adjusting his body slightly and tilting the ship to the right. Thanks to Starlight, it was easier than he had anticipated, and he ended up overshooting his turn. Their failing ship was aimed just slightly behind the shadowy one in the distance. Firestorm shook his head in frustration and tried to alter the ship’s direction a bit more. But by now, they were close enough to the other ship that, if he squinted, he could see who was on it. And there was only one purple alicorn that Firestorm was aware of. Desperately, he tried to tilt his deteriorating ship once more so it wouldn’t collide with theirs. But he soon realized that the further away he tilted his ship, the further away Starlight would be from Twilight. What do do, what to do? Twilight took to the sky, tossed about by winds from every angle, and limped her way to the edge of their husk of a ship. Firestorm couldn’t incline his head at an angle to see what she was doing, but he figured she was picking up Starlight. So he focused instead on not making the two ships collide. He put everything into going the wrong way at full speed, changing the yaw, pitch, and roll of the giant hull above him. It almost missed. The bow of his ship clipped the stern of the other diagonally, making both vessels bounce and jolt and shriek. It shook Firestorm from his spot underneath the hull and sent him spinning in the air. Too late, he tried to return to position, but the ships were already halfway through contact, scraping showers of debris from both ships and raining them into the ocean far beneath. So he quickly flew to the port side and pressed himself hard against the hull there, pushing the ships apart as best he could to minimize damage. The flaming aura covering him quickly ate through the fragile husk of his ship, though, and soon large areas of his ship were aflame that didn’t exactly help the situation. Firestorm gave up on that prospect immediately. Soon after that, though, both ships had completely passed each other by. Twilight was returning with Starlight in her arms, and Firestorm finally chose to give up on the quickly-disappearing airship and shot like a comet past the girls back to the one they controlled. Once Firestorm settled down on the soaked deck, he rolled his eyes as the girls came in behind him. “Oh, so when I carry you, it’s all awkward, but Twilight can do it, no problem?” “There’s a difference!” Starlight protested, clambering out of Twilight’s arms as she hovered above the deck. Spike was there as well, and Freedom Fighter. “What’re you doing out here?” Firestorm asked them all. “Getting you both,” was Twilight’s curt response. “Now go back to the lead ship! I don’t know if Rarity and the others are back, so we’ll go check. Tempest, Noble, and Fluttershy are waiting for you.” “What about Rainbow?” came Firestorm’s eager implore. Freedom Fighter’s scarlet eyes drifted up, blinking from the rain and occasional flash. “She seems to be on top of things.” Rainbow Dash was not on top of things at all. She was on the ropes, as a matter of fact, always driven back by the Storm King’s frequent brutality. A particularly heavy blast of lightning was desperately deflected by a balled-up cloud that Rainbow threw like a fastball. The impact exploded in a flash of light that made her stumble back. “TOO SLOW!” mocked a savage voice appearing beside her. Rainbow turned her head only to get a face full of fist from a gleeful Storm King. She was thrown through the air, crashing and rolling to a halt on top of the cloud platform they were fighting on. Rainbow felt hot blood pour out of her nose like a loosened faucet and run like a stream into her lips. She spat some out and quickly stood on all fours, keeping a lookout for his appearance. But he had already vanished from his spot. Rainbow had learned her lesson of standing still, though. She instinctively leaped into the air and curled up to minimize her frame. Not that it mattered. The Storm King was above her and simply swung downward. The hilt of the weapon struck Rainbow’s spine with all the strength the Storm King could muster. Rainbow felt a shock ripple her body like she had been struck by lightning--which, given his weapon, was entirely feasible. Pegasi were naturally resistant to shock damage, given their environment, but even they couldn’t shrug off everything. As Rainbow spiraled away from him, she knew if he kept this up, she’d die for certain. Should she escape? She could draw him away and expose him in clearer skies… but that just sounded like an excuse for running away. Or flying away. Whatever. Was Rainbow really so scared of that? Of him? Of course not. So what was the big deal with the growing knot of fear tightening in her heart? If it meant the Storm King would destroy her friends instead, then of course she’d be scared. All of this registered in a blazing second in her head. It was a wakeup call of sorts to get her focus elsewhere. Rainbow glided in a sharp curve to change her straight trajectory and aimed elsewhere. Not at the churning oceans far below, or the airships floundering blindly in the hurricane. She didn’t even aim at the Storm King, who was standing triumphantly in the heavens and hoisting his blazing sword into the sky like a gladiator. She aimed up. And she made sure the Storm King could see her do it. “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?!” the Storm King bellowed, waving his sword at her ascending figure while grinning madly. “GONNA TRY AND RUN?! HA HA HA HA! I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE A COWARD!” Rainbow didn’t even try to respond. Her focus was elsewhere. She knew his pride wouldn’t allow his prey to escape. And sure enough, looking back, she spotted the golden beacon of Stormkeeper flying far behind her. She needed to lose him. More speed! More! She added a spin as well, and it managed to help with the drilling as she plowed through one dense storm cloud after another, leaving holes in her wake. Plus, it was a cool trick. Rainbow felt weightless as she flew up and up. Nothing could harm her anymore. The rain on her skin was numbed, the cold felt warm, and the winds simply carried her higher and higher. Finally she emerged above the dark cloud line and entered heaven. No more rain or wind. This was peace. It was an endless expanse of dark stars in every direction, illuminated like a spotlight by the moon above. Rainbow’s body felt freer than ever. She even managed to lazily reach a hoof out, as if to grab a gem in the night sky. The world slowly rotated, and Rainbow found herself reaching for the dark clouds suddenly above her head. But she wasn’t plunging. Rainbow was rising. She broke through the cloud line and entered the storm headfirst. Dark clouds swirled around her like a wind tunnel as she raced upside down. Or was it the world that was upside down? With a faraway flash of lightning, Rainbow could see the silhouette of the Storm King shooting the opposite way upside down, only a few feet away. Or was he right-side up? Rainbow didn’t care. Stormkeeper erupted lightning from the tip. Rainbow quickly fashioned a ball of clouds with her hooves and it absorbed the lightning. Both fighters shot towards each other, but Rainbow closed the gap first. A vicious strike from her rear hooves made the Storm King tumble in place, flailing his arms with his head bleeding. Rainbow didn’t let up, however. She shot right at him once more, grabbed hold of his burly neck, and locked his neck in place with her front hooves. The Storm King struggled madly, wheezing and roaring for breath and doing his best to bend his sword arm in the right way to pierce Rainbow’s flesh. But Rainbow used one of her rear legs to wrap around his arm and lock it straight out to the side. It took all of Rainbow’s strength to keep it up. The Storm King tried his best to use his left hand to pry apart Rainbow’s grip from his neck, but Rainbow never had the intent to let up. Finally, in an explosion of pure rage, the Storm King started channeling lightning into Stormkeeper nonstop. The constant light blinded her and weakened her grip on the Storm King. He wrenched his right arm free and swiftly grabbed Rainbow by the neck with his left arm. “THE GOD OF THE HEAVENS HAILS JUDGEMENT UPON YOU!” the Storm King roared. His mad, wild eyes sizzled with lightning as he jutted an overloading Stormkeeper into the sky. Like a rocket, he shot up. Rainbow’s breath was short. The tightened windpipe, the rushing wind, the lack of oxygen the higher up they went… it was everything she could to gasp for air. And the idea struck her right then and there. If it was the case for her, it would be the same for him! Unfortunately, he seemed to realize that as well. That or he was just impatient. But either way, he simply hurled her into the air, and before she could correct her course, he let out all the condensed power in Stormkeeper. In exchange for more power, Stormkeeper had reduced accuracy. Roaring streaks of lightning as thick as tree trunks erupted in every direction except for where she was. The magnitude of such power ripped clouds into shreds and blew rain away. Rainbow knew staying in place was no option. She rocketed right at him, dipping under persisting streaks of lightning splitting the sky and quickly dodging new ones only a few inches away. It made her skin ripple and her hair smoke, but Rainbow didn’t stop. The Storm King himself looked like a tree trunk with dozens of ethereal white branches striking out. She didn’t know why she hadn’t gotten it before. It was so simple, what she should have done! Evading several strikes of lightning in her general direction all at once, she dipped right underneath the Storm King, puffed her wings quickly to halt, reversed direction, aimed, and shot like an arrow at his right elbow. Stormkeeper was ripped from his grip with a snap of his arm, accentuated by a boom of thunder. Rainbow lunged for the falling glint of gold, and so did the plummeting Storm King. Rainbow’s hoof and the Storm King’s claws seized around the wet handle at the same time. Both of them bellowed as loud as they could at each other with pent-up battle rage, and inadvertently poured their combined power into the golden sword. Without a specific command to keep it contained, more lightning simply erupted from the tip, supercharging their surroundings. Neither of them could see, neither knew which way was up or down. But Rainbow felt her torn mane flip upside down, and the issue of balance was restored. She knew her direction, while he didn’t! Rainbow could be in control now! With the Storm King refusing to let go of the sword, Rainbow adjusted herself and flapped as hard as she could, and they sailed upward once more. Water streaked from all over her body, and her hooves felt number than ever. But still she persisted! She had to! The highest storm clouds eventually parted, revealing the two of them against the midnight sky. They almost looked like they were dancing, if not for the white net of electricity emanating off them both and the struggling taking place. Rainbow aimed for the moon above. Her wings strained harder than ever before, but Rainbow didn’t know if it was as powerful. She flew higher and higher, weightless and without resistance. She felt frost cake her hair and felt her breath thin out. Her hoof grasped the slippery cold sword ever tighter. Her wing joints felt like they would fall off if they kept this up, but they kept working anyway. And for all her suffering, it was having results. The Storm King was looking frightened and freezing. Beneath him, the storm clouds seemed infinitesimally small. The slight curvature of the planet could even be seen. The lightning on the sword sparked, fizzed, and went out entirely. “NO!” came the hoarse, desperate scream of the Storm King. His breathing became more erratic and thin, but the sword was the only thing that could save him. That meant he was entirely at Rainbow’s mercy. “PLEASE!” Rainbow spared him a look. And she continued to rise ever higher with the sword in her hoof. Whatever it took to get his grip off, it would be a price she could pay. “YOU’LL KILL US BOTH!” the Storm King yelled, coughing at the end. “THAT’S THE IDEA!” Rainbow screamed, also hoarse and out of breath. Her wings began to slow down. Rainbow couldn’t ascend much further. The Storm King didn’t dare let go of Rainbow’s hoof on the sword, but his other hand, on his broken arm, was already at work unscrewing the fake horn on his head with groans of agony. Rainbow only noticed it too late, and she didn’t have much strength to react to how he held it like a mace. “I! AM! KING!” the satyr screamed, ripping his throat to pieces, and with a swift swing struck Rainbow in the chest with a sickening crunch. The Storm King’s arm bent entirely the wrong way. Rainbow was flung away with splatters of blood, and the world spun in every direction. But more importantly, she dropped Stormkeeper. And by extension, she dropped the Storm King. The Storm King, flailing and screaming, plummeted back down into the hurricane far below, followed by the miniscule glint of gold. And Rainbow, after righting herself, saw both of them quickly disappear. Without a second thought for her own safety, she decided she couldn’t let either of them escape, and rocketed right after them. Rainbow felt like a meteor. It felt so good to fall instead of rise. But regardless of the strain put on her wings, she kept flapping them, reaching otherwise unattainable speed for a pegasus. The air itself rippled at her approach, and a small shield appeared around her as she plunged once again into the hurricane’s dark swirls. Heat coated her body, giving a relief to her freezing body. The clouds were ripped apart in her path as the heat shield continued to form around her body and streamline itself to her shape. Wind whipped her body the wrong way. The static electricity she was building up was enormous. A roaring buildup sounded in her ears as her teeth clenched and her eyes watered. She was approaching supersonic speed. And though he was but a speck in her eye, she was close enough to see the Storm King desperately reach out and tap the end of the nearby golden sword, sending it spiraling anew. He continued to reach, for his life depended on gripping the sword. Rainbow needed to reach it first! Her heat shield suddenly streamlined and grew taut, like a bent bowstring. Rainbow poured on more speed, and she closed enough distance to see the Storm King reach out one last time and grip the handle of the golden blade. And he pointed it right at her and unleashed a fountain of pure lightning. There was no way Rainbow could dodge it. But she also didn’t have to. The lightning hit the shield surrounding her and deflected off to the side or ran in her wake like a boat in the water. Rainbow didn’t even notice most of it. The lightning somehow wrapped itself around Rainbow’s outstretched hoof, shielded by the bent bowstring of energy. Rainbow, bombarded by a constant stream of lightning, closed the distance in the blink of an eye. The last thing the Storm King ever saw was Rainbow Dash. Mane torn, singed and wet, hoof outstretched and filled with electric power, and surrounded by an aura. And a wide, gritted smile was on her face. What he couldn’t have known was that Rainbow Dash was thinking of a reply to the Storm King’s vehement last words. And I… am… the Stormkeeper! She broke the sound barrier right as she crashed into his fists holding the golden sword. The impact turned the charged blade the opposite way and effortlessly pierced it right through his chest, emerging from his back and cutting right through his spinal column. The Storm King bursted with electricity from every pore. His mortal shell could not contain the sheer amount of energy flowing through it. And at the same time, an electrical Sonic Rainboom erupted with a thunderous explosion, the likes of which was unprecedented. The titanic horizontal circular rainbow expanded faster than the eye could follow, tearing apart each and every airship that was lost in the storm. Explosions and shatters followed their destruction, and the wind blew them in every direction once they turned into little more than debris. The pure destructive force that resulted from this was enough to fling Rainbow away. The Storm King had been completely incinerated by both Stormkeeper and the explosion of the Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash didn’t know which way was up or down, or north or south, as she tumbled through the sky. But soon, she didn’t need to. Her back collided with a wooden slab of a ruined ship, knocking the breath out of her and sending her scrabbling for a grip in the middle of nowhere. Her hooves managed to grab ahold of something--she didn’t know what. And something golden flew past her ear and embedded itself into the wood around her. Rainbow’s eyes were so heavy. And her body was utterly spent. Her job was finished. Though the world was full of chaos, she finally allowed herself to fade into the world of rest. Images passed her by in quick succession, with flashes and roars. The grinning Storm King. The gathering clouds. Tempest Shadow. The pouring rain. The blinding lightning. The roaring thunder. The flying blood. The midnight sky. The shining stars. The shocked screams. A golden blade, rotating in view… And her blue hoof reached to claim it. Who controlled who? Stormkeeper’s title was quite clear. It was a terrible weapon with vast potential. She could be a conqueror. But she would also be a slave to its power. Or she would serve the blade, but at the same time become its master. There was wisdom in humility. In loyal service. In pressing your face into the dirt. Or sand. Sand. There was something about sand… She was back in the real world. The next thing Rainbow knew, she was hearing a gentle, dull swishing, and she felt herself bobbing up and down. Heat was pressing into her back, making her woozy as she opened her eyes. And a bitter taste was in her mouth, which got her spitting and coughing, her throat and nose burning and blistering from… the salt? Rainbow slowly got to all fours, adjusting her vision by blinking. She had been lying on a board of wood, floating in a small puddle of seawater on an ugly grey rock-and-sand beach. The gentle swishing was the sound of the ocean rushing into her little puddle and bobbing her up and down. The heat was of the sun, high in the sky already. “Rainbow!” came a distant voice, making Rainbow swivel around. It made her realize there was water in her ear, which she shook her head furiously to get rid of. There was sand and seaweed in her mane, which she brushed and peeled off quickly with a few icky sounds, like bleaugh. Sand was between her teeth, making everything grind and grate against her teeth. Every inch of her limbs felt sore beyond comparison, and a raging headache felt like a spike of pain in the forehead, making her freeze for just a second and hiss. There was bound to be other cuts and tears in her as well. The one good thing about it all was that, embedded into the wooden planks Rainbow had arrived on, the golden blade Stormkeeper stood upright. Rainbow’s eye was quickly drawn to it. It just looked so… enticing. Gold was a great conductor of electricity, but the metal itself should have been soft and ineffective as a weapon. Yet it was just as strong as the Guardian’s weapons, or even a Black Blade. Rainbow’s hoof drifted to the handle, gripped it, and yanked it out of the wood. She held it up to her eye, and the gleam on the edge sparkled in her wide, rosy irises. It hummed in her grip contentedly, though that could have been the electrical current running through it. Rainbow gave it a few experimental swishes, even though her arms were totally wrecked from the fight with the Storm King. Which reminded her, what happened? Did she just inadvertently destroy the entire remaining fleet? Along with a ship the others could have taken out of there? That must have been how she ended up shipwrecked like this. Where were the others? “Rainbow!” cried the same voice again, and Rainbow Dash spotted Spike running to her from further down the beach. He soon came near, panting, and offered his hand. “Need any help?” “Where-” Rainbow started, drooping the sword arm. “You’ll see,” Spike finished for her. So Rainbow flapped into the air, ignoring how sore her wing joints were, and came to Spike. She didn’t get far before they gave out entirely and she dropped to the ground with a grunt, and she resorted to walking with three legs beside a concerned Spike. Many other debris pieces had washed up on shore as well. Splinters poked up from the sand right where Rainbow was about to step, wrapped in balloon scraps and molded by the sea. Rainbow didn’t know if the wreckage was from one airship or many. After an extended period of silence between them, and after what seemed like half a mile, Spike and Rainbow came upon the only other two ponies in sight. Both were sprawled on the beach and exhausted. Rainbow couldn’t believe it. “Twilight? Freedom Fighter?” Rainbow asked, bewildered at their loneliness. “Where’s Fluttershy? O-or Firestorm? Applejack? Pinkie?” She became increasingly desperate with each nonexistent reply to the names she associated most closely with. “Are they… Don’t tell me they’re d-dea-” “We don’t know,” Twilight replied with a heavy sigh, sitting up. “We’ve been looking for hours, but us four are the only ones around.” It felt like a punch to her gut. And the worst part was, it was her fault! If she simply hadn’t created that Sonic Rainboom, they’d all be together…! “I-I’m sorry,” Rainbow quickly stammered out. “I just wanted to take him out! If I’d known, I just--Oh, I can’t-” “Rainbow, it’s okay,” Freedom Fighter assured her. Much of the front half of his bodysuit had been ripped apart, leaving nothing but strips and tatters. “Nopony’s blaming you but yourself. Trust me, blaming yourself sucks. And think about it! If you hadn’t fought the Storm King, we’d be in a much worse spot with cages and leashes.” “Yeah! Thanks for everything,” Spike continued, hugging her leg briefly. “I mean, not that this is a good spot, but…” “What we’re trying to say is,” Twilight finished, “is that we’ve been thinking it over before Spike found you. And we came to an understanding. In our eyes, taking him on headfirst and alone so we could have a chance to escape is… one of the most selfless things we’ve ever seen. You’re headstrong, and impulsive, but it was loyal and true. I… can’t express how thankful we are to have a friend like you.” Rainbow was stunned. She thought they’d be frustrated or rash, Twilight in particular. She didn’t hate the princess, she simply thought that the journey had whittled Twilight down to an irreparable husk. She’d seen examples time and time again. So it was a shock, albeit a pleasant one, to see her compassion and understanding. She had been expecting a full-out rage, after all. “Yeah…” was all Rainbow could find. Expressing honest admiration was always a hurdle in her life that had only begun to be remedied by Firestorm. “I’m really happy you’re mine too.” Rainbow dropped Stormkeeper as Twilight gave her a surprise hug, which Rainbow reciprocated awkwardly. “Now that’s a worthy weapon,” Freedom Fighter remarked, examining the sword by putting his face close to the blade. “That’s nothing compared to what my Element can do,” Rainbow brushed aside, escaping the hug. “Do you guys have it?” At this, Twilight couldn’t meet her gaze. Spike ruffled his spines while rolling his eyes, and Freedom Fighter coughed uncomfortably. Her stomach sank. “No.” “We gave it to Tempest Shadow for safekeeping,” Twilight informed her. The princess’ dejection was written all over her. “Listen, you were lost in the middle of a hurricane, and we were stuck on the ships. There wasn’t much we could do to return it to you.” “Well then, where’s Tempest?” Rainbow demanded, desperation creeping into her as she instinctually flapped into the air. “I-I can’t have lost it! We need us all at full power!” “We just said we don’t know,” Spike insisted. He sighed and kicked the sand. “Now I really do wish I could have become the new Rainbow Dash again! We wouldn’t be in this mess!” Here Rainbow lifted an eyebrow. “Huh?” And Spike froze in place. “U-uh, hey, forget what I said about-” “Oh. You don’t know, huh? Well, remember when we first fought Discord and you, um, abandoned us in the hedge maze?” Twilight informed her. “We kinda, sorta, had to replace your role. And Spike was the only one we could spare.” “And I said if you found out I had been impersonating you, it wouldn’t end well,” Spike spoke up, though it seemed to be more directed at Twilight instead of Rainbow Dash, judging from the irate eye roll he sent Twilight’s way. Rainbow blinked. “Wait a sec, you actually thought that?” “This was at a very discordant time!” Spike tried to defend, spreading his tiny arms. “Nopony was acting the way they should.” “Aww, c’mon, Spike,” Rainbow tried to reassure him. “If anyone had to take my place, I’m glad you fit the ticket.” Spike blushed and looked down as he squirmed and kicked the sand to hide his smile. “Aww, shucks.” “So that’s what you were talking about,” Freedom confirmed. “You sure do get around a lot.” “I’ll say,” came a new voice. The four of them swiveled around. Standing higher up on the rocky beach was an individual that could boil blood with his presence alone. “Erm… hi,” the red dragon said. His voice was gruffy and snobby. “Listen, Spike, I know what this looks--AAAAH!” Twilight grabbed him with her magic and shoved him on his back. Freedom Fighter instinctively drew out his staves and assembled them into a glowing yellow staff, and within a few seconds the end of it was pointed at the dragon’s skull. Finally, Rainbow leveled Stormkeeper at him. All four of them drew closer suspiciously. “H-hey! Stop it! Don’t attack me!” he whimpered. Nopony had an accepting eye for him. Especially Spike. “Garble?” Spike incredulously asked. His fists were balled. “What are you doing here?” “Me? What about you?” Garble demanded, trying to sit up but failing. “You’re here at the same time I was? I-it was a coincidence! I swear!” “You and I both know there’s something behind every word you say,” Spike said, an edge in his voice. “You’re nothing but bad news.” “Is there something I’m missing here?” Freedom Fighter asked, adjusting the grip on his staff. “I feel like I’m asking that a lot nowadays.” “Garble,” Twilight said through clenched teeth, “is a duplicitous bully and a brute. When vying for the throne in the Gauntlet of Fire, he planned to pillage Equestria and burn whatever remained if he won. Do not trust him.” Garble sighed and whispered, “I shouldn’t have said that. I should not have said that.” “You shouldn’t have been that,” Rainbow corrected. “You got a lot of nerve talking down on ponies and then pleading for them to spare you.” “Things have changed! I swear!” Garble cried, scooting back from the end of Freedom Fighter’s weapon until he hit a boulder just behind him. “I-I mean, not between you and me, but… But there’s a bigger issue here!” “Lay aside your pride and look me in the face. Tell me, right now, what’s your deal?” Spike asked. Garble closed his eyes; he couldn’t look at them. “Look, I hate asking for this as much as you hate me. But… I need your help.” It sounded like someone was twisting a knife in him. Spike crossed his arms. “No.” Garble opened his eyes in obvious shock. “What?!” “You’re looking at me weird. What, you expect me to say yes every time you call on me? I’m not stupid, Garble. I’m not falling for your tricks ever again. You expect us to help when you’ve done nothing but unapologetic harm?”  “Fine! I’m sorry, I was wrong. Now let’s be done with it!” Garble pleaded, becoming irritable. “Listen to me, Spike!” “We’re busy,” Rainbow Dash bluntly told him. “We don’t have the time to put up with you. I don’t know why you’re out in the middle of nowhere, but-” “I was banished!” Garble insisted. “Dragon Lord Malice has been hunting me! He thinks I killed Ember, but I swear, I couldn’t! I only ran because I thought I would be killed next!” It was like a punch to the gut. Only one major thing had registered. “Dragon Lord who?” Spike and Freedom Fighter asked simultaneously in fear and rage.