//------------------------------// // Upon Swift Wings Our Heroes Fight // Story: Upon a Falling Feather // by ezra09 //------------------------------// Daring Do rolled into a dive, body shaking with adrenaline as the ground rushed closer. She flared her wings, pulling up and climbing. Her teeth rattled with the sudden change and her ears popped. Tilting her wings, she rolled sideways and shot off in a new direction. Sweat poured into her eyes and her wings began to burn. The Shadowbolt stayed with her through every move. Nightshade was fast, agile, and didn’t even seem to be tiring. Daring Do flipped, reversing direction and diving under Nightshade, but the Shadowbolt copied the move instantly, closing the gap even more. With a hiss, a dark form struck Daring from the left. She tumbled through the air as Charger bore down on her. Or maybe it was Storm Front. Daring decided it didn’t really matter at the moment, and started thinking of a way to keep them from splattering her on the hard ground. She twisted, managing to roll them over and kick off. She’d only gained a few feet before the other male Shadowbolt hit her from the other side. She rolled with the blow and kicked, sending him crashing into his partner. She straightened again before immediately rolling sideways. Just as expected, the third Shadowbolt fell through the space she would have been in. Daring used the precious moments Nightshade would need to recover to climb higher, angling away from the group. She might have slipped away, if it hadn’t been for a fourth Shadowbolt slamming into her from above. They fell together, flailing through the air as they tried to separate and straighten out. Daring managed to orient herself and pull up, reducing her speed before hitting the ground. The impact jarred her. Her head whipped forward and her hooves went numb, but she was alive. The Shadowbolt wasn’t able to take the landing well. He smashed into the ground back first, bouncing as his entire body whiplashed violently. He smashed into a wall ten yards away and slumped into an unmoving heap. Daring watched in fear, thinking for a moment the pony was dead. The fear turned into astonishment when the pile shivered and started melting into the shadows. Within seconds, it had disappeared entirely. She was shaken from her shock when Nightshade hit her from behind. She tried to fight the Shadowbolt off, but didn’t have the room to maneuver or the leverage to move her. In moments, she was pinned. “Search her,” Nightshade said. “Take the coin.” Charger came forward, reaching between them and patting down the pockets of Daring’s vest. She struggled, trying to get one of her hooves free, but Nightshade was too strong. A sudden crack rang across the empty road, and the Shadowbolts looked up in surprise. Storm Front slid to the ground a few feet away eyes sliding closed. Behind him was Braeburn. The cowpony held a thick metal pipe in one of his hooves, leaning it back across his shoulder. Charger, acting in accordance to his name, leapt forward, wings blurring as he closed the gap in a single second. Braeburn had been ready for the charge, and simply pulled his hoof down while shrugging his shoulder. The pipe swept down in an arc and caught the Shadowbolt at the end of his rush. Charger stumbled, wings going slack as his hooves crossed and he rolled past Braeburn before coming to a stop. “Now,” Braeburn said, “why don’t ya just let Miss Do up? I’d rather not hit a lady.” Nightshade glared at him before glancing between her fallen comrades. “We will be back with more. Give us the coin now and that will be the end of it.” “Jus’ get out of here.” With one last glare at him, Nightshade began to fade away, melting into the shadows around her. The two unconscious Shadowbolts did the same, and within seconds Daring and Braeburn were alone. Daring stood, shakily stretching her wings to be sure nothing was hurt. “I thought I told you to run.” “And I thought you were gonna be running with me,” Braeburn countered. Daring smiled. “Thanks for coming back.” Braeburn answered with a smile and a tip of his hat. “But what did I tell you about calling me Miss?” Braeburn chuckled, but before he could answer another voice called out to them. “Excuse me?” They looked across the street to see a tan earth pony waving to them. He trotted over and nodded. “Hello. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation back at the tavern.” Daring nodded, recognizing the stallion. “What about it.” “Well, I think I might be of service to the two of you.” Daring glanced at Braeburn, eyebrow raised skeptically. “Okay? Who are you?” “I’d rather not say just yet.” He pointed to the hourglass cutie mark on his flank. “Call me Time Turner for now.” ***** The Rainbow Wake climbed higher as it charged the Falling Feather. The wind shook the ship and the core roared, sending vibrations through every nook and cranny of the ship. After only a few seconds, the Feather began to climb too. “She’s lighter than us,” Dash called, working the controls, “but we’ve got more power. It’ll be close.” The ships climbed, staying level with each other. Dash had to pull the helm hard, turning the Wake just enough to avoid colliding with the Feather. The two ships passed so close to each other that Twilight could have reached out and touched the hull of the Feather. After a moment, the ships separated and began circling about, still climbing. Twilight shivered as the air became just a bit thinner. “Why aren’t they firing?” “They know we’re more heavily armed,” Shining said. “But we have allies aboard their ship, so we don’t want to risk shooting them down. If they start shooting, we’ll have no choice but to return fire.” Dash grunted in agreement as she pushed the large wheel even further. The Wake creaked and popped as it spiraled upward. “Captain!” Twilight called, hooves up on the bulwark. “There’s another ship approaching.” “Ponyfeathers! It’s their reinforcements. We have to end this now.” The Wake and Feather charged each other again, and again the Feather turned at the last moment. Dash pulled hard on the wheel, turning the Wake in the same direction. Their bows collided at a glancing angle, sending a bone jarring crash between the two ships and swinging their back ends around. Dash managed to keep her hold on the wheel and spun it wildly the other way, trying to force the Feather into a dive. The other ship gave a few feet before it’s own core growled with effort and it began pushing back. “This Rarity isn’t half bad,” Rainbow grunted, putting all of her weight on the wheel. “How far off are the reinforcements?” “A mile or so, and closing fast.” Rainbow glanced up to see for herself and blinked. The approaching ship was massive, almost as large as the Feather and Wake combined. It was like a brick, floating along without any care of the laws of physics, probably too stupid to understand any of the rules it was breaking just by existing. The front end was squared off with a heavy metal grid. Two metal spears, like giant bull horns protruded from the grid. “That’s the Juggernaut,” Dash said through her confusion. She shook her head quickly and shouted back to her crew, “It’s Iron Will!” “The Minotaur you bucked into the angry mob?” Shining asked. “The one and only,” Dash answered, grin spreading across her face. “How close is he now?” “About half a mile,” Shining answered. “We need to get out of here before it’s too late.” “Just give it another fifty seconds.” “Are you crazy? He’ll be on top of us by then!” Rainbow didn’t answer. She held their course steady. Her front legs began to shake as the Feather and Wake pushed against each other. The next minute seemed to take hours, but finally she fell back, spinning the wheel in the opposite direction and diving beneath the Feather. The Falling Feather began to spin as its stern began to drift out of control. It struggled for a long second as the captain fought for control. In the confusion, and being understaffed, they didn’t see the Juggernaut until it was too late. The massive ship hit the Feather near the back, spinning it the opposite direction. “He’s helping us?” Shining said, staring up as the impossibly large ships grinded together. “Iron Will isn’t going to let some friendly rivalry keep him from a cut of your princess's treasure,” Dash said with a laugh. The Feather fought for control as the Juggernaut knocked it back. After a moment, its core buzzed and it slipped out from behind the giant metal horns. It rushed along side the Juggernaut, ready to make a run, but Rainbow Dash was ready. She’d gained the altitude she needed to get ontop of the Feather and start forcing it down. They sank down below the peak of the mountain. Dash managed to match the Feather’s movements well enough to keep it from climbing. Finally, in a rather impressive move on the Feather’s part, it swung out from under them. Twilight caught a glimpse of the ship’s crew all leaning over one side of the ship, and noticed the Feather was actually leaning into the turn. Before the Feather could slip away, the Juggernaut flew in from the side. The ship’s horns caught the Feather full on and drove the smaller ship into the mountainside. With an earsplitting wail it ground to a halt. The Wake sank the last few feet to come hovering above them, and Dash leapt up to the front. She smiled arrogantly down at them. Twilight recognized Captain Rarity on the Falling Feather’s deck, glaring up at the rainbow maned pegasus. “Well,” Dash shouted down before tilting her head toward the Juggernaut. Iron Will stood on the deck, arms crossed. “It looks like you’re caught between a rock and a hard case.”