//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: Always connected- Aftermath // by The-rogue-shadow //------------------------------// Rainbow Dark tore through the griffin army as they attacked her in force, with every move she made ending in the death of one of Gilda's kinsmen. She was one minded, focussing on getting herself to the griffin camp and ending the war once and for all. Some griffins retreated from her, as her irises glowed blood red and the smirk on her face grew. Rainbow Dark gripped one of the griffins by the throat and squeezed, laughing as she watched the light drain from his eyes. She looked around, and saw that she was alone in the sky, the clouds around her were splattered with blood and the ground below her was littered with corpses. She closed her wings and nosedived toward the ground, picking up speed as she positioned herself above the Minotaur forces that were charging at the pony camp. The resulting impact sent a wave of rainbow coloured energy rippling outward and tearing through the exposed flesh of the Minotaur. She let out a loud war cry that echoed across the now silent battlefield. Black Diamond nervously made his way toward her, and Rainbow Dark could smell his fear. "Rainbow… Are you okay?" He asked, slowly walking up to her, one step at a time. She smiled, as the glow of her eyes dimmed and her heavy breathing began to slow. "I'm fantastic!" She exclaimed. Diamond looked at her and Rainbow started to enjoy the fear she saw in his eyes. "What's wrong Diamond? It's just me." She said, walking closer to Diamond. She caressed his face with her hoof, leaving a blood stain on his cheek. He nodded, not reacting to the blood on his face. She circled him, looking at the bandages and scars that covered parts of his body. "I thought that you were still too injured to fight." Said Rainbow Dark, facing him once again and staring into his eyes. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to bring you back to camp. The Doctor thinks that he can help you settle your powers." He explained. Rainbow snorted, much to Diamond's apparent puzzlement. "I can't quit now. I've got them on the ropes. I can end this war today, and all I have to do is break Gilda's neck and give the body back to Gregor." She told him. Diamond shook his head, moving closer to Rainbow as he did. "That won't end the fighting, that will just create more problems. Gilda needs to be exposed for what she did to you and Applejack. Only then will we be able to go home." He said, pleading with her. Rainbow smirked and pushed Diamond back. "You couldn't understand. She has ruined the lives of my friends, ruined my life, all because she was jealous." "I know, but revenge isn't the answer. It will only make her a martyr. Please listen to me. I'm your friend and I only want to help you." He said, holding out his hoof to her. "No Diamond! If you were my friend, you would want me to kill her; you would help me kill her. Look at Fluttershy; she wants to stick that dagger of hers into Gilda's heart. That is friendship." She yelled, her eyes flashing bright for a moment. Black Diamond took a step back, and Rainbow Dark noticed that he had a hidden blade strapped to his forearm. "What's that for Diamond? Were you planning on ending me?" She asked, moving into a fighting stance. Diamond shook his head again. "No Rainbow, it's just in case I'm attacked." He told her, and her eyes narrowed. "Well then, you made a good decision." She said, diving at Diamond and knocking him down. Diamond got his back legs on her belly and kicked out, throwing Rainbow off him. She did a front flip and fell onto her head. Within seconds, she was back on her hooves, and watched as Diamond slowly made his way back upright. A look of pain on his face. "I don't want to fight you." He said, rotating one of his shoulders. Rainbow Dark laughed. "Too late." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Applejack frowned as Applebloom went into an uproar, protesting the plan that Applejack and Big Mac had come up with in order to combat the fortress that Flame had created in the town hall. The plan was for all of them to assault the town hall en masse in an attempt to break the hold over Ponyville that Flame and his Minotaur gangs possessed. "We can't just attack them! We'll just get cut down before we get close." Yelled Applebloom, standing in from of Spike in the hopes that she could shield him from further injury. Big Mac shook his head and walked up to Applebloom. "No we won't. You aren't coming with us." He said, and turned back to Applejack, giving her a sly wink. "What! You think that you can just leave me out while you get killed, no way!" She yelled, poking Big Mac in the chest. "You have no skills that we can use. I'm strong and can fight with this shield; Applejack has a multitude of powers. DuskDrift can use magic, Spike can breathe fire and Applethunder can fly and is a great archer." He told her. 'What is he trying to do? We need Applebloom.' Thought Applejack, as Applebloom shouted and stormed off into her room, slamming the door behind her. "Big Mac! What are you doing?" Exclaimed Applejack, punching Big Mac in the shoulder. He just smiled and gave her a wink. "Wait for it." He said, walking over to Spike and checking out his cast. A few moments later, Applebloom's door flew open and she rushed out and stood in front of Big Mac, two large, bulging saddlebags draped across her back. "What's this? Are you running away?" Said Big Mac mockingly. Applebloom shook her head. "No, I'm not running away. I'm going with you. These bags contain a bunch of potions and stuff that Zecora gave me. I'm quite good at healing ponies. So that's what I'm going to do… Be a medic." She said, sticking out her tongue at her brother. He nodded and the group began to gather up stuff that they would need for the attack. Applethunder put on her armour and started to string her bow. DuskDrift wrote down some spells that she thought would be the most useful and Spike tied his cast closer to his body with the help of Applebloom. DuskDrift cast a spell on his cast to make the plaster fire proof, meaning that Spike could set his costume alight again. Applejack smiled, pulling her mask back over her head and taking a deep breath. Big Mac turned to her with a huge grin on his face. "What do you think? He asked, pushing his chest out in pride. Applejack giggled. "I think that it ends today." ----------------------------------------------------------------- Rainbow Dark and Black Diamond wrestled in the red dust of the battlefield, with Rainbow Dark's rage fuelled attacks hitting nothing but air as Diamond ducked and dodged. Occasionally, Diamond's injured body would make him falter, giving Rainbow Dark an opportunity to actually hit him, and she would be merciless, all of her strength going into each punch and kick. Diamond refused to hit her back, hoping that she would come to her senses before she killed him. Around the two, a small crowd had formed; a strange mixture of ponies, griffins and Minotaur alike watched the spectacle. Rainbow Dark caught Diamond with an uppercut and sent the stallion sprawling. "What are you waiting for? Fight me!" She yelled, spittle flying out of her mouth. Black Diamond shook his head, slowly easing himself off the ground as Rainbow Dark started to circle him. "I won't fight you Rainbow. I care for you too much." He said, keeping his eye trained on Rainbow, waiting for the next attack. "You're weak. No wonder the war hasn't ended yet, if you are what we have as a commander, hey, you can't even protect the mare that you say you love. What happened to Rarity was your fault." Said Rainbow, before she was cut off by Black Diamond. He punched her in the face and she grunted as her jaw broke. She didn't have time to recover however, as Diamond pushed her backwards with a flurry of attacks that were so fast that Rainbow couldn't even see where she was being hit. He hit her with an uppercut, which threw her head back. Rainbow Dark caught a brief glimpse of the sun before her vision was invaded by Black Diamond's body as he brought both of his front hooves down together on her face. Rainbow's head slammed into the ground and blood spurted out of her mouth. She was suddenly dragged to her knees by Black Diamond, as he gripped her mane. His eyes burned with an anger that Rainbow Dark had never seen and for the first time, she felt fear. The transformation began to reverse as Rainbow Dash took back her body. Tears started to flow down her face when she realised what she had done. "Diamond…. Kill me. Please, otherwise Rainbow Dark will never stop. When she's finished with the griffins, I have no doubt that she will turn on the ponies. Kill me." Said Rainbow. Diamond's eyes went wide when he realised that he was talking to the real Rainbow. "I…. I can't Rainbow." He said. Rainbow started to transform back to Rainbow Dark. "Of course you can't. You couldn't even kill a skinny yellow unico-" She was cut off by Black Diamond's hidden blade sliding into her throat. Her eyes went wide as she looked at the face of rage that was Black Diamond. "You will heal from this, but in fifteen seconds, you will pass out as your brain becomes starved for oxygen. So I have time to just say this to you Rainbow Dark; there are some things you just don't say to a pony like me. That was one of them. Next time you take over Rainbow, who is like a sister to me. I will kill you… and you know I can." Said Black Diamond as Rainbow Dark's vision blurred and eventually went black.