//------------------------------// // After the Pride // Story: Swooping Pegasus // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// How did this happen? An entire Wind Host had landed on Hannibal, and according to the Exodites, it was a much larger force than what any Craftworld would have sent. They’d been so confident in their abilities to beat back the swarm, and where had that got them to? Dead on the battlefield. Killed to a warrior. Ren’lof had stuck to the plan, smashing the Wind Host into the side of the Tyranid swarm, attacking from an angle that the Exodites wouldn’t have been able to, and sowing confusion throughout the swarm. They even gave the rest of the Exodites the chance they needed, and in a stroke of luck and brilliance, the swarm was cut in two, separating the number of Tyranids that would have to be killed into a more manageable number. Then the Titans appeared. While the Wind Host was occupied fighting the main swarm, three monstrosities, the likes of which Rainbow had never seen had strode out of the forest, making the Dragons in Equestria look like ants in comparison. Ren’lof and the rest of the Wind Host had changed their attack targets, and charged valiantly at the leading monster. It was glorious, like the old knights of Equestria. And it was foolish. The lightly armed Wind Host had nothing even remotely capable of even scratching the armour of those things, and had been slowly slaughtered, until only Ren’lof remained. His body pierced by countless claws, his armour corroding off his body from bio-acid that had splashed onto him, and his jetbike smashed beyond repair, he had bellowed a wordless warcry, and charged the swarm. Now he to lay dead, surrounded by the corpses of both friend and foe. Without the Wind Host holding back the second half of the swarm, it focused its entire attention on the Exodites. Surrounded, the last true army of Eldar was systematically destroyed, leaving the battlefield slick with blood. And then the ripper swarms came. Rainbow had thought she had seen the worst the Tyranids could offer when the Titans had appeared out of the fog, but the Rippers were what she would have nightmares about until the day she died. The tiny creatures, more teeth than flesh, had swarmed across the battlefields, consuming all the dead and dying they could find, Eldar and Tyranid alike. And now they followed the swarm. Wherever the Tyranids attacked, the Rippers accompanied them, no longer even limited to the dead and dying, Rainbow had seen women and children ripped apart, still screaming, still crying out to her for help. And Rainbow had watched. She had followed the rest of the squad, the last combat trained squad on the planet, or at least squad who had experienced combat in Rainbows' case, as they retreated through village after village, lending a hand where possible, but usually just charging headlong past them, intent on reaching the place where they had decided to make their last stand. Elariques’ home village. And now it was all that remained. Two days after the Saim-Hann Eldar had landed, and now the village was the last vestige of Eldar territory on the planet. It had changed dramatically in those past couple of days; defences had sprung up around it, in a futile and desperate attempt to stop the swarm. A wall had been made from everything from vehicle wrecks that had been recovered to the corpses or both Eldar and Tyranid. The idea of something like that existing had made Rainbow want to throw up. The reality of helping construct it had been worse. For the last day, Rainbow hadn’t stopped crying, no longer even trying to hide the tears that spilled over her muzzle. In Equestria, she had been Rainbow Dash, the fearless element of Loyalty, the best flier in all of Equestria and future Wonderbolt, even if she may have blew her chance when she came here. On this planet however, she was a different mare. She had fought the swarm tooth and hoof, trying desperately to convince the rest of the squad to stand and fight, but being blown off each time. She had grown bitter, and had grown to hate the Tyranids with all her heart. She was going to fight them here, and she wasn’t going to move from the village, even if that meant she was going to meet her end here, cut off from her friends and species. When the swarm attacked, as everybody knew it would, it wouldn't find a defenceless area like it had when it took the other villages. This time, it would face a fortress; its walls filled with every remaining Eldar on the planet. Thousand year old village elders had taken up arms alongside children, scavenging what remained of the Saim-Hann supplies to outfit themselves with any sort of weapons and armour they could find. A Fire Prisms turret had been removed from the inoperable and wrecked body of the tank, and now stood with its gun pointed defiantly in the direction of the Tyranid swarm. The entire remaining population of Eldar on the planet stood defiant against the oncoming swarm, in numbers that made Rainbows first fight at Aspoh fields look like a scouting party. And still it wasn’t enough. The swarm had attacked the village three days after the Wind Host had fallen, striking as the sun fell in the sky, causing an un-natural twilight descend over the battlefield, and causing their void black carapaces glisten, and their demonic yellow eyes glow. Ten minutes after the swarm had been sighted, it had breached the first wall, Carnifexs smashing though it as if it simply wasn’t there, and causing a mass panic from the Eldar there. They may have had more numbers than those at Aspoh fields, but they had no training, and no experience to speak of. And now they were slowly being pushed back into centre of the village. The swarm pressing on all sides, and cutting off all avenues of escape. Whichever way Rainbow looked at it, this was her last stand. “I’m out!” Screamed Rainbow, her voice cutting through the din of the battle, as she fired her last shot into the swarm, cutting one of the disgusting Ripper creatures in half, before ducking down below the window frame she was taking cover behind. “Here.” Screamed another Eldar, throwing a core over to Rainbow from the other side of the room. “Make ‘em count.” As she threw the core, she stood up just a fraction. But a fraction was all that was needed. A shot smashed through the window, and struck her in the side of the helmet, tearing her head from her shoulders, and covering Rainbow in more Eldar blood, joining the blood she had gotten covered in the last couple of day, and staining the last part of the Cyan pony a deep crimson. One more Eldar body hit the floor. One more soulstone glowed as the Eldars' life fled into it. One more Pegasus tear stained the ground. Blinking the tears away as best she could, Rainbow hunched down behind her cover, sighting down the barrel of her shuriken rifle, and loosing off a shot, nailing a Hormagaunt in the eye, and causing it to fall to the ground, the razor sharp disc imbedded in its brain. The swarm kept coming though, and Rainbow dropped to the floor, before crawling towards the door at the back. Passing by the still convulsing body of the Eldar, Rainbow crawled out into the street, getting out of the building just as the Tyranids jumped through the windows she was covering mere moments earlier. Taking off into a gallop, before taking flight and skimming just above the ground, Rainbow flew towards the middle of the village, passing by barricades with cowering Eldar manning them. It wasn’t long ago that Rainbow would have been doing the same thing, cowering and waiting for someone else to save her from the monsters that were even now ripping through more defenders. But that was before she had been made to fight. For three days she had fought an enemy that gave no mercy, and was innumerable in number. It may have only been three days, but three days of constant warfare and fighting could make even the greenest recruit into a hardened veteran, or at least, that was what Aranel had said. Rainbow emerged into the village square, and saw that even in the centre of their fortress, the Tyranids were still present. Elarique and Dorgolmar were fighting back to back, repelling more of the Genestealer creatures that had apparently been infesting the villages from the very beginning of the invasion, while Egarion was silently taking shots at distant Tyranids, putting her newly acquired rifle to good use. Rainbow didn’t stop to help though; instead she flew up, gaining a better vantage point, and allowing her to gain an unprecedented firing line all around her. Thank Celestia that there hadn’t been any flying Tyranids sighted yet, and if they hadn’t been seen fighting so far, Rainbow doubted that they would show up now. Looking around, Rainbow could see the entire battlefield. A sea of black writhed around the village, Chitin and claws glinting in the light of the rising moon. And in the centre, surrounded on all sides, was the last vestige of Eldar controlled territory on the planet. Sparing a quick glance into the cloudless sky, Rainbow could just make out the trails of the remaining Eldar fleet. Most of it had been destroyed shortly after the Wind Host had made planet fall, and the rest was sure to follow. Tearing her eyes away from the grim spectacle that she could do nothing to influence, she returned her gaze to the grim spectacle that she could have an impact upon. Sighting down the barrel of her weapon, Rainbow began to pick out targets, her Pegasus eyesight allowing her to see perfectly over the long distances, even though the tears still streaming from her eyes. Taking a shot, she struck a warrior beast in the chest, staggering it, but not killing it. Taking aim again, she fired into the same spot, breaking the through the armour and felling the creature. Not wasting time in celebration though, Rainbow Grimly turned her attention to another target. Finding one quickly, she saw a group of children desperately trying to stop a rampaging Carnifex. Its armour was slowly being stripped away, but on it came, ripping through the children without a care for their cries of anguish and fear. Screaming in rage, Rainbow dived, firing as she went, emptying half of the remaining core into the things face, and drawing its attention. It looked up at the crimson spot diving down at it, and that was all Rainbow needed. Taking aim, she fired everything she could at the creature’s face, most of the shots bouncing of its armour, but a few managed to find soft spots. The eyes, the gaps in the armour, and most importantly, the brain. As the gun emptied, the Carnifex fell, and with a wordless scream, Rainbow landed on top of it, trying desperately to fire the now empty rifle into the swarm. Realising she couldn’t, Rainbow opted to throw the weapon at the swarm, and instead drew the sword she had claimed at Aspoh fields, opting to hold it in her mouth to leave her hooves empty for running, before beginning to move back towards Elarique. Passing by the children, she could see the fear in their eyes. Not that she could blame them really. With a pang of guilt, she realised that they weren’t directing all of their fear towards the swarm, but rather at her. Catching sight of her reflection in a window, Rainbow could appreciate why. Gone was the Cyan mare from Ponyville, in her place was a crimson monstrosity, a blood drenched sword clenched in her mouth, and countless scratches and scars decorating her hide. Tearing her eyes away from the macabre reflection, Rainbow once again broke into a gallop. Reaching the centre again, she caught sight of Elarique again. Rushing over to him, she jumped into the air, slicing apart another ripper as it jumped for Dorgolmars’ head. “You’re still alive Rainbow? I thought you perished at the first wall.” Elarique grunted, as he shoved another Tyranid away from him. “Yeah well, I had help. A lot of Eldar didn’t make it. It just adds to the blood on my hooves, and on your hands.” She spat. “You must realise that we couldn’t have saved all the villages Rainbow.” He shouted at her. “You. Could. Have. Tried.” She screamed, slamming her sword into another Tyranids head, venting her rage into one blow. “It wouldn’t have helped. Better to lose those villages to make a last stand here than fall in defence of them with no chance of even hurting the swarm.” “Look around you bucking idiot. We’re not going to do anything here. We’re not even a blip here.” Rainbow screeched, throwing her sword away as it finally read as having dissipated the last of its power field. “I need a weapon.” “Here. Catch, you crazy Pegasus.” Dorgolmar shouted, chucking a strange looking rifle towards her. “Courtesy of our late friends the Wind Host. Catching the rifle, she span on her hooves, and pressed the firing stud. Instead of the shrunkens she had been expecting, Rainbow was shocked by the bright red lasers that spat out of the gun, cutting clean through the armour of an oncoming Tyranid. “What is this?” She shouted. “Lasblaster.” Elarique groaned, firing into a mass of rippers. “The Swooping Hawks use them.” Rainbow looked around the square again, and for the first time since she had been fighting by Elariques’ side, she saw how truly alone they were. Only around twenty Eldar were in the square with her. Sporadic burst of fire were punctuating the screams from the rest of the city. “This truly is it.” Murmured Egarion, jumping down from the balcony she had been occupying. “Hannibal’s final stand.” “Maybe not.” Giggled Dorgolmar, pointing upwards. Casting her eyes skywards, Rainbow easily picked out what he was pointing at. It would have been hard to miss to be honest. Falling through the sky was what looked like an entire ship, a ball of debris burning from the front to the back, and falling almost directly towards them, bits of flaming debris already beginning to flake off and land amongst the swarm. “And how does that help us.” Asked Egarion dryly, aiming through the scope of her rifle and taking the head off another monster. Before anyone could answer, the debris impacted. Crashing down just outside the village, it carved a deep groove through the swarm, crushing half the village at the same time, and more importantly, opening up a route through the swarm. To Rainbow, it felt like the world was ending. The ground shook with such ferocity, that if she hadn’t taken to the sky, she would have been sent sprawling by the resultant shockwaves like the rest of the Eldar. “We have our exit.” Dorgolmar squealed gleefully. “Elarique. We take them all.” Rainbow said darkly. “Even if that means slowing ourselves down.” “It won’t help, this is it. There is nowhere else to…” he was cut off by the sight of something in the sky, at first it could have been mistaken for a piece of debris, but as it drew closer to the ground, it revealed itself to be some sort of craft. “KZZZZTTT…This is…Falcon…Ishas’ Maiden…Any surviving…please respond…KZZZZTTTT.” Crackled the Rainbow comm. From the look of things, the others had heard the same message. Hurriedly putting his hand up to his ear to cut out a bit of the sound of battle, Elarique began to search for a way to return the transmission, while Rainbow and the others prepared for the inevitable attack from the Tyranids. So far, they seemed stunned by the crash, and Egarion theorised that they had possibly lost the main synapse creature leading the swarm, not that that would give them much respite. “Ishas’ Maiden, this is Elarique, commander of the Exodites left planetside. We need a pick up. Advise.” “KZZZT. Elarique, get…close to…wreckage as…can. Far side…possible clearing…Only space… six.” The radio crackled, before going dead. Rainbow balked at this last statement. There had to be at least twenty Eldar left on the planet, and they were saying they could only save six of them? “We need to move.” Elarique said simply, before running off to another group of people, and whispering commands in their ears. With a grim nod, the pair walked over to a barrier, crouching down behind it, and taking aim. Elarique did the same thing with three other pairs, before coming back to the group. “We need to go. Those who are remaining have said that they’ll try their best to hold the swarm here for a long as possible.” “No! We can’t just leave them here!” Rainbow screamed, flying up to Elariques’ face. “We have no choice!” He shouted back. “We either all die here, or six of us get out of this. Only SIX Rainbow! There were thousands of Exodites here. You think they don’t want to be avenged? I know you don’t want to leave, but your death won’t accomplish anything here, but it may still accomplish things out there.” Staring around the battlefield, Rainbow could see the fear in the eyes of the others. She guessed it was true. One more death here wouldn’t help. Wouldn’t it be better to run and fight another day? NO! She was the element of Loyalty, Celestia damn it. And she wasn’t going to leave the Eldar to die while she ran. “I’m staying.” She said firmly, before a hand reached out and touched her shoulder. Looking back, she saw a child reaching out to her, its face covered in blood, but its eyes filled with fear. “Pony. Please, go. Find your home, and die defending that. Don’t die without your friends” He sniffed, before returning to the barricade he had come from. If Rainbows’ eyes had been dripping before, they were now positively gushing with tears. Blinking them away, she looked around, trying to find the child that had spoken to her, but couldn’t pick him out. Reluctantly, she turned back to Elarique. “Let’s go.” She whispered, he voice wavering. Without a word, Rainbow followed Elarique, as he lead eight others out of the village, and down into the trench that the space debris had caused, and as one, the group broke into a run. Flying above the others, Rainbow was the first to catch sight of the Tyranids beginning to swarm into the crevasse with them. Giving a wordless cry, she raised the Lasblaster to her eye level, aiming at Termagant. Relaxing slightly, she pulled the trigger, and sent a beam of light out towards the beast, impacting one of its legs, and brutally tearing it from the rest of the body. Not waiting to see if the creature was dead, Rainbow flew down to the rest of the squad and continued to run with them, occasionally turning and firing a shot at the pursuing creatures, before catching back up with the squad, who were still running. Praying that they were faster than the swarm. They weren’t. The squad was almost at the point the pilot had mentioned, and were still running, when the swarm finally caught up with them. The first indication they had that the Tyranids were in range, was when one of the Exodites fell to the ground, writhing in pain as one of the smaller organisms that the Tyranid weapons fired erupted out of her chest. She screamed and fell to the floor, only to be left behind as the remainder of the squad kept running. Her screams got louder as the swarm approached her, before forever falling silent. Another body. Another soul stone filled. Another tear shed. “Keep moving!” Shouted Elarique, twisting his pistol over into the swarm. “You don’t say? And here I thought I could just sit down and have a picnic.” Dorgolmar said, dousing a creature attempting to jump at him in fire . “Stow it wise ass.” Egarion yelled. Another scream sounded from behind them, as another Eldar fell to the claws of the Tyranids. Another body. Another tear. Finally, they managed to reach the extraction point the pilot had spoken about. The falcon was already hovering there, and as they ran towards it, its guns roared into life, ripping apart the remaindered of the small swarm that had been following them. Rainbow gulped, as she realised that if this was all that followed them, then there would still be millions attacking the village. Quickly, the seven Eldar and one pony ran towards the waiting transport, its back door opening and an Eldar beckoning them in. “We said we only had room for six. Not eight.” He shouted over the roar of the engine. “We needed the numbers to get through the swarm!” Rainbow shouted, “You can’t just leave two of us here.” “What are you? Some sort of pet? We can’t take animals on-board instead of Eldar. Leave her.” “No.” Elarique shouted, casting a nervous eye towards the village. “we can’t let you…” The pilot started, but was cut off by a low rumbling sound, that cut through the din of the battle. “What in the…” Egarion started, but was cut off when the very earth behind her erupted into the air. Bursting up from the ground, a massive Tyranid appeared. Six huge claws decorated its serpentine body, and its maw looked wide enough to swallow the Falcon whole. “TYRGON!” screamed Elarique, firing his pistol futilely into the creatures body. Rainbow screamed, as the Tyranids that were even now swarming out of the tunnel behind the Tyrgon open fire, catching to more Eldar in their opening volley, and ending two more lives. More bodies. More Tears. “Get in!” Screamed the pilot, gesturing to the open transport. Quickly, everyone began to run towards it. Elarique and Rainbow bringing up the rear. As the remainder of the squad jumped into the waiting cavern of the Falcon, Rainbow turned quickly to fire one last shot at the swarm. That was when she saw the creature advancing on her. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, as the warrior beast advanced upon them, a spasm showing across it ribcage, and a flurry of hook like tentacles fired at her. It seemed to take them forever to close the gap, and Rainbow saw her life flash before her eyes. A little filly, praying that Cloudsdale would host the Equestria games. Getting her cutie mark. Meeting Twilight in Ponyville, and countless other memories beside. Slowly, she closed her eyes, and waited for the sting of the claws. She wouldn’t give the creatures the satisfaction of a scream. She felt blood splatter across her body, mixing with the rest of it, and sighed. She then realised that she didn’t feel any pain whatsoever, and her eyes shot back open. What greeted them horrified her. Elarique was standing in front of her, facing towards her and smiling. Protruding from his chest however, were four massive barbs, and as she watched in horror, they began to retract, slowly pulling Elarique towards the waiting creature. “NOOOOO!” She screamed, and with one powerful flap of her wing, took to the sky. She aimed at the creature, and flew towards it, burning through the rest of the power clip, but managing to sever the hooks from its body, along with its head being severed from its torso. Not relenting, Rainbow dropped the gun, and flew at the Tyrgon. She flapped her wings harder than she ever had before, pushing herself to her limits, and feeling a familiar presence surround her body. In a blinding flash of light, the Mach cone that had surrounded her condensed, before forming a point in front of her. At the same time, she felt herself rocket forward, a ring of Spectra flashing out from behind her. She aimed her entire body at the Tyrgon’ chest, and slowly began to spin, getting faster and faster until she was nothing but a spinning blur. Still spinning, she hit the Tyrgon straight in the chest, and carried on through, ripping through its entire body and exiting from the other side. The creature swayed for a spit second, before collapsing to the floor, crushing the more Tyranids underneath it. As she flew back around, Rainbow caught sight of the remainder of the swarm around her. Most of the creatures were standing bolt upright, not moving even as the rest of the squad poured fire into them, and thankfully, the ripper swarms seemed to be dying, writhing on the floor before going limp. Rainbow flew back to where Elarique was lying, and was met by Dorgolmar and Egarion, who were already at their commanders side. “Quickly, get him to the transport!” Yelled Dorgolmar, staying unusually sane for once. Together, the three dragged Elarique back towards the Falcon. “Stay with us damn it.” Sobbed Rainbow, looking desperately towards the Falcon. They would have medicine, they would be able to fix him, she wasn’t going to lose someone else. Even as she thought this, Elarique crushed her hopes, coughing up a glob of blood as he tried to say something. “Shhh. Don’t talk now, save your strength.” Egarion said softly, pulling Elarique into the transport. As soon as the last of them had got on board, the back door slammed shut, leaving the room bathed in an artificial light. “We need medical supplies.” Shouted Dorgolmar, slowly beginning to extract the spines. “We…we don’t have any.” The attendant said softly, not looking at the trio. At this, Rainbow rushed over to him and thrust him against the wall. “What the buck do you mean!? How can you not have anything?” She screamed, but the fight was slowly fleeing from her eyes. Defeated, she slipped down the wall and crawled back over to Elarique, who was now lying in an alarmingly large amount of blood. “Rain…bow.” He coughed, spilling yet more blood onto the floor of the vehicle. “I’m here.” She sobbed. “I’m not going anywhere. “What…was…that?” He asked weakly, before descending back into a fit of coughing. “My Sonic Rainboom.” She sobbed quietly, barely able to be heard over the roar of the engines. “So that’s…what that was.” He smiled weakly. “You did say…you would show me it someday.” “I’ll show you again someday. Just don’t give up. We can help you. We can…” She trailed off, unable to continue the sentence. “No Rainbow.” He coughed, “I’m done. Please, promise me…you won’t lose yourself…out here. Promise me Rainbow.” He said with conviction, weakly grabbing one of her hooves and pulling her closer. “I..I Promise.” She sobbed, and she watched as a smile played out across his face. “Good…good. It was an…honour, Rainbow Dash…to fight by your side and call you my…friend.” He said weakly, before his eyes slowly closed, and his hand slipped off her hoof. Rainbow was stunned for a minute, before she threw her head back and uttered a wordless cry into the confines of the Falcon. She poured all of her anguish, and rage, and pain into the cry, letting it fill her with its sound, before finally, the adrenaline from the past few days wore off, and she collapsed into a dark, dreamless slumber.