//------------------------------//
// Fragments: Red Blade  
// Story: Twilight's Nightmare 
// by Nightsclaw 
//------------------------------//





It may have been unnamed, and it may have only had a vague purpose, but by blood and by magic, the reformed enchanted weapon was enough of Twilight to know what was about to happen.

The sun dimmed, and without hesitation, it moved. The shifted weight spun Dash, shattering the rainbow-powered speed to a controlled tumble. But that was unimportant. No doubt came from Rainbow. Only trust and the immediate need to act she was known for. She looked back the way she had come, her eyes seeking threats, and that saved her sight.

The contingent magic only just snapped into place. A magenta shield was the only reason Rainbow's feathers did not ignite from the near miss.

Rainbow caught Gilda, catching a ride instead of a painful collision. The air outside the protective field shimmered with heat haze as wild thermals tried to throw them around.

Rainbow's magic reached out and stole control of the local air from the attack. As the pair's flight stabilised, the true extent of the threat was revealed.

Long lines of magma spread in a fan from a glassed crater. One even burnt a tunnel right through Mount Canterhorn.

The blade felt small, helpless in a way it had never felt before. That level of wanton destruction was something it could not block or parry, and there was not even any blood.

"Buck!" Rainbow breathed out momentarily, stunned by the sight.

"Dash…" Gilda started.

"Yeah?"

"What's the chances that magenta skeleton's our boss?"