//------------------------------// // Me and your borderline. // Story: Mysterious Mare Do Well:Rise of the Shadowbolt. // by Phoenix Kitten //------------------------------// So I started this chapter before Christmas,and now here I am just before New Years finishing it.It's been very busy.Mostly with me playing Tales of the Abyss on my new 3DS.Anyway,enough fooling around. *ahem*Fillies and Gentlecolts!Please enjoy the show! "To the left!" Pinkie's voice rang though an earpiece Rainbow was wearing under her Shadowbolt mask. She dove to the left, dodging a piece of the cobblestone road that the Mysterious Mare Do Well had bucked at her. "Holy Hay! She's strong!" Rainbow remarked as she watched her opponent stomp her left foreleg down and cause a piece of the road to launch up before pivoting on the leg still planted on the ground and bucking the stone at her. "Up up!" Rainbow climbed, feeling the stone brush against the tip of her tail. --- "Well this certainly is an interesting devlopment." Rarity said as she put down the stack of papers she had been reading. "But perhaps you could explain it in a way that's easier to understand." "I'll try." Twilight nodded. "You know about magical resonance right?" "Of course dear. It's the ability for a gem to resonate and amplify or subdue the innate or active magics employed by ponykind." Rarity smiled, showing the knowledge her craft had left her with. "Exactly. These gems" Twilight held up one of the gems. "Have unequaled amplification capabilities. But only to one particular kind of magic, for example, my teleportation or your gem manipulation." Rarity nodded thoughtfully. "So what would it amplify on non unicorns?" Twilight asked. --- Pinkie watched from her hiding place, in a bale of hay sitting with some others randomly placed on a rooftop overlooking Ponyville's town center. Many ponies had questioned the random bales of hay that were strewn about the city like a bunch of dropped pebbles. Pinkie didn't. She didn't care what they were doing there as they served to help her disguise of choice blend in. "Quick. Go down!"She called into her earpiece as she watched the Mare Do Well aim high with her kick. She sighed with relief as the villainess flew under the stone piece. --- Applejack couldn't believe it.All of her attacks, even her natural strength, had failed to even come close to hitting the Shadowbolt. She watched in disbelief as the dark mare dove to avoid the latest stone barrage before shaking her head and smirking, this is what she'd been waiting for. She charged forward in a full gallop leaping up above her low flying opponent and bringing her hoof back for a powerful punch. --- "If what you just said is true dear, then that means that Fluttershy's Geminus is enhancing her ability to summon her familiar, Pinkie's Muchourin was boosting her Pinkie sense to levels that rival precognition and Applejack's Musashi is" "Boosting her natural strength to rival that of a fully grown dragon. Also in Fluttershy's case, it seems to constitute a shift in personality." "Yes... she seemed to be enjoying herself a little too much when she summoned Seraphim, I could hear her through my earpiece." Twilight and Rarity looked at each other for a second. "Now imagine what it's doing to the Cutie Mark Crusaders." Twilight said. "Oh dear." Rarity gasped. --- Rainbow dodged another hoof strike, retaliating with a few of her own. She wasn't close to matching the raw strength Mare Do Well was exhibiting right now, but being a martial artist had trained her speed, reflexes and accuracy. Her strikes connected, knocking the masked heroine back and winding her. She wiped the sweat from her brow and took up her two legged stance again,ready to dodge and retaliate if she needed to. To her surprise her opponent decided to withdraw, slamming a hoof into the ground and smashing the stone that popped up to make a smokescreen to hide her retreat. --- Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in her hollowed out hay bale. Nopony had gotten seriously injured this time. She felt a little guilty, betraying her other friends to help Rainbow Dash, but if she hadn't, somepony might've died. Today, tomorrow, maybe even a few weeks later. She wouldn't allow that. "This is my borderline." She whispered. "What was that Pinks?" Rainbows voice buzzed through her earpiece. "Our borderline." Pinkie answered. "I've turned my back on my last alliance. This is me and your borderline." "...I think you mean Yours and mine borderline." Rainbow corrected. "I know what I said." Pinkie responded. "Whatever." Rainbow audibly shrugged. "So that's it. I've gone up against the other four Mare Do Well's at least once each. I can start planning my final attack. Something that will draw them all out. Can I count on you to help me Pinks?" "Of course you can silly." Pinkie smiled. "As long as you don't hurt anypony too badly." "I know I know. I won't. Or... I'll try not to at least... you understand things happen right? I can't be held responsible if an accident happens." The disguised pegasus sounded worried. "I know, but I'll be able to tell if it's an accident or not." Pinkie answered. "Just, let me know if you'll need my help with anything other than this." "Okay Pinks. See you soon." Was Rainbows response before the line cut out. Pinkie sighed and sat back in her hay bale, she had supplies hidden away in it. She could spend the night there if she needed to. It would certainly be easier than going home to Sugar Cube Corner tonight. "If Twilight had just let Rainbow catch me, or just not used me as a puppet after she stopped her... none of this would have happened." She curled up, her mane and tail deflating to a straightened style. She decided to spend the night in her hay bale. She needed the alone time.