Rainbow’s eyes fluttered open. She tried inhaling, but gravity had turned her lungs to mush in her upper chest. She saw hazy splotches of dark metal looming high above, growing more and more distant. Gray Smoke was sailing away, and the pegasus was cognitive enough to know that soon she’d be plunging out of reach of the city altogether.
“H-help…” She pleaded, though she didn’t know to whom. There was a glint of red light off in her peripheral vision, followed by the dull roll of rockets, but she was already twirling over, wheezing helplessly into her own dizziness. “Please, h-help them…” A lavender glow pulsed to the upper west, and it made her want to vomit towards the billowing clouds below. “My friends… Khao… The Herald…” She squeaked. “They’re gonna hurt… going to h-hurt my...”
Up above, Roarke dove as swiftly as she could. Moisture condensed across her visor, turning into a fine frost along the edges. She seethed as she saw a heavy black shape looming in the path of Rainbow’s descent. “For Goddess’ sake…” She murmured against the whipping winds. “Help me, Searo…”
A large freight zeppelin was puttering along a lower air current, with a skeleton crew that was minding its own business. Unbeknownst to the ponies on board, a blue pegasus was about to be impaled on their ship’s front propellor blades.
“Dammit, Searo!” Roarke hissed as she fired her rocket thrusters to the melting point. “You owe me, bitch!”
Just as she said that, a while yell hollered from two zeppelin spaces away. Roarke jerked, glancing out the side of her helmet.
A blonde figure was swinging along a length of reinforced chain suspended from a small steam-powered dinghy. She flew in the direction of Rainbow Dash and swooped the winged pony up within the crook of her forelimb. “Hooo-haaaa! Guess who earned her biscuits tonight!”
Roarke hovered to a stop, relaxing her thrusters as she panted into the confines of her suit. “I don’t friggin’ believe it…” She switched on the sound stones in her helmet and shouted, “Props! Is that you?!”
“I sure hope so!” Props swung about and landed nimbly atop the bobbing aircraft, laying Rainbow Dash in the rear seat of the swaying vehicle. “Because if I’m dreaming, it’s missing at least four muscular stallions and five buckets full of whipped cream! Heeheehee!”
Roarke landed heavily on the craft, unwittingly throwing its weight off. Rainbow nearly fell off, but Props--flailing--threw herself forward and swiftly caught her.
“Whoah there, girlfriend!” Props gigglesnorted. “You gotta wait until after we’ve eaten before you try to make me toss my cookies! Otherwise you’ll forfeit the game! Heehee!”
“How on earth did you know we were in trouble?!” Roarke asked.
Props’ blue eyes blinked. “You were in trouble?” She raised her goggles and tapped her chin. “Huh. I thought you were just playing steam tag with explosions.”
“Props…” Roarke grumbled.
“The b-book…” Rainbow Dash hissed, her face covered with sweat as her petite body recoiled from the source of the lavender glow. “It’s… out of its cage. I c-can feel it…”
“You’re sure of this?!” Roarke opened her helmet to shout. “Is this what’s causing you to collapse?”
“What else c-could it friggin’ b-be?” Rainbow grunted through a pained frown.
Props gasped long and hard. “No way!” She stomped her hooves, causing the dinghy to rock some more. “Who would dare soil Nancy Jane’s womb?!”
“Props…” Roarke turned to the mare. “Fly up to the western industrial district. Scan for a manasphere. Once you’ve found Pilate, bring him and Rainbow to safety.”
“Aren’t we already in safety?”
“Not even in the damned slightest.” Roarke closed her helmet, perched on the edge of the airship, and leapt off. “And if you see any strangers in cloaks, shoot to kill!”
“You mean like ‘bang bang lie down you’re dead’ kill or the ‘Frolicker’s Maremorial Home for colonial wasters of life and limb’ kill?”
“Just draw blood first! Damn!” Roarke hissed as she roared off in an angry plume.
“Hmmph…” Props folded her forelimbs. “I don’t care how gruff she is. I can smell the whitewash from a mile!”
Rainbow Dash threw her head over the side with a wet, hurling noise.
Props gasped at her. “Rainbow! You cheated!”
One hoof at a time, Kera crawled out of the Nancy Jane’s cockpit, shaking the heavy layer of soot off her body. She saw several zealots milling about, picking up their fallen or injured comrades and shuffling towards the bow of the ship. Kera felt a cruel wave of heat, and she squinted towards her side.
Beyond the ship’s port side, the hangar was on fire. Smoke ran like an upside down river rapid across the ceiling, spilling out into the afternoon sky--turned dull and brown from the intense blaze. An obese shadow hung before the mess, stirring with a deep-throated tone.
“Josho!” Kera gasped. She looked towards the recovering Heraldites, then back at Josho. Biting her lip, she abandoned the unconscious bodies of Floydien and Simon, dashing over to the ex-enforcer’s side. “Come on, fat pony! Get up! There are bad guys around! Can’t you kick their butts a little more?”
“Can’t…” Josho hissed, his eyes tearing as a fine layer of grit lined his nose, lips, and muzzle. “C-can’t breathe. Friggin’ steam sucking cloud cowards… unngh…”
“Big guy, come on!” Kera shoved and nudged and shoved him again. It was like a dove trying to shove a mountain cross-continent. “I mean it! You gotta get into action mode again!” She panted, glancing over his figure at a glinting object. “Here!” She hopped over him. “I’ll grab your gun!” But as soon as the filly picked it up, she winced, for the barrels had blown apart like an inside out, smoking umbrella. “Ewwww… that’s kind of crudtastical.”
At that moment, she heard a loud vibration enter the air of the hangar.
Suppressing the urge to cough from the smoke, she hid behind Josho, peering over his round belly.
A large managlider glided through the open doors of the hangar. Piloted by other members of the attacking party, the zealots brought the vessel to a calm hover beside where the Noble Jury was moored. Several ponies on room cleared room in the center of the deck and latched a wooden ramp down, connecting the small airship to Floydien’s larger one.
In the meantime, several shadows rose up out of the stairwell near the bow of the Noble Jury. Kera watched with bright eyes as the cloaked ponies carried a large cage containing the floating, shimmering sight of the runic tome.
“No way…” She coughed quietly, wheezed, and spoke through tearing eyes. “They took it…”
Shouting directions at each other, the two groups came together, lifting and sliding the cage onto the smaller craft. With bursts of steam, they flew off the deck of the Noble Jury, collected their injured, and took their seats in the escape vehicle.
Kera blinked, and in that moment, something inside her snapped. She spat up grimy saliva and snarled. “No… it’s not theirs…” She stood up on quivering limbs. “It’s not theirs!” She grinded her hooves, bounded over Josho, and galloped straight towards the starboard side of the vessel. “That belongs to Rainbow Dash!”
“Unnngh…” Josho stirred, his pained eyes squinting open just in time to spot the darting image of the filly. “K-kid…?”
The bridge between the two ships unlatched. The zealots veered off, turning the managlider around so that its stern faced the hangar’s entrance. The caged book flickered with each swaying motion the ship took as it made a hasty exit.
“No!” Kera shouted, this time in full gallop. “Give it back, ya ugly clowns!” She met the starboard edge of the Noble Jury.
One pony saw her. Spinning about, he aimed a dart gun and fired.
But the filly did something he didn’t expect: she jumped clear off the ship, utterly dodging the projectiles by a mile. Her body went airborne like a green-haired hoofball, and she slammed into one stallion, horn-first.
“Ooof!” He fell back, his skull colliding painfully with the cage.
Two ponies stood up to grab her.
“Munch on some mana!” her voice cracked as she aimed her horn at the two equines.
They fell back, blown to their haunches by the shocking display of telekinetic force.
“Nnngh!” Kera tilted her head neck and right, shoving each pony back as hard as she could while the ship puttered its way towards the exit.
When half of the zealots were lying on their haunches, Kera took the moment to dart ahead, grasping the cage with two hooves.
“Hnnnnnnngh!” She grunted, squealed, struggling to yank the container off the deck of the ship. “Come on, ya stupid bird cage! Budge!”
A heavy-set stallion took the opportunity to stomp over and pull her up by her tangled tail-hairs.
“Whoah! Let go! Let me go--” A hoof stretched over her mouth as another pony rushed in, wielding a taser.
“She’s gonna fire more magic!” the stallion shouted. “Try to cut off the leylines!”
“I-I’m trying!” a mare’s voice stammered from beneath her hood. It took several jostling attempts, but she finally zapped Kera’s horn with the taser.
“Aaaaaugh!” Kera hissed in pain. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she went limp in the stallion’s grip. “Unnnngh…”
“How in the Host’s name is a child that powerful in m-magic?” shouted the driver.
“The Harbinger must be inspiring company.”
“Speaking of which…” Another pony pointed.
Several of the equines on board turned to look.
Bellesmith, Ebon Mane, and Eagle Eye were galloping down the stairs from the Bronze District. They braved the smoke and flames, descending until they were at even level with the docks. While Belle and Ebon stumbled through the smog, it was Eagle who froze in his tracks, gasping.
“Oh blessed Spark,” he murmured.
Belle turned to gawk at him. “What is it?!”
“Th-they got the book.” Eagle gulped. “And Kera…”
Belle’s jaw dropped. She spun about with a numb expression.
“Hey!” Ebon shouted, snarling as he raced towards the edge of the Noble Jury. “You creeps! Give her back!”
“If the Harbinger sees us attacking any more of them…” one stallion on the ship murmured.
“Khao’s waiting for us!” Another slapped the cloaked shoulder of the pilot. “Fly!”
“But we can’t just--”
“We’ve lost too many of our brothers and sisters to waste another second! Now fly!”
Gritting his teeth, the pilot put the vessel into a higher throttle. The ship sped forward.
“No…” Belle shrieked, galloping limply towards the edge of the Noble Jury. ”No! Kera!”
Josho wheezed. He clenched his teeth and stood up, galloping past a helpless Ebon Mane. He took a deep breath--ignoring the caustic taste of smoke along his throat--and plummeted clear off the ship. His horn sparkled like the burning head of a flare. “Raaaaugh!”
The group of zealots were nearly one hundred meters away from the edge of Gray Smoke when a heavy sack of living meat materialized above them.
“Heads up!” a stallion shouted as he aimed a dart gun up high.
But then, Josho landed, his heavy body tipping the managlider viciously towards its port side.
The assailants on board shrieked. The thug with the dart gun was flung forward, receiving a savage hoof to the face, courtesy of Josho.
Without a wasted breath, Josho bashed another zealot with his skull, bucked a third, and reached a hoof forward, grasping desperately for Kera. His hoof brushed against her mane, then clutched at her slumbering face.
“Hnngh!” A stallion kicked him square in the face.
Josho spat blood. He reeled back, then sparked more mana through his horn.
The stallion threw his whole body into it this time, forcing the entire vessel to reel as he kick two hooves into Josho’s chest.
“Guh!” Josh fell.
The glider regained balanced, fired its steamthrusters, and rocketed skyward towards a red-tinted speedship bursting out of the clouds right then and there.
“Call ahead!” the pilot shouted. “We got the Relic! Now to meet Khao at the rendezvous point!”
Josho barely heard this, probably from the violent gusts of air ripping past his aching ears. He fell like a lead boulder, yelling with each spin of his flailing body. With very little grace, he plummeted into a criss-crossing line of traffic, and his body came into contact with the bulbous read balloon of a market dirigible.
“Ooof!” The inflatable surface bent with his impact, and he slid down until his body got caught up in the roped webbing surrounding the structure. “Mmmmf… unnngh… friggin’ flankswipes!” He panted, coughing up smoke and blood. His ear twitched at the sound of rocket thrusters. The ex-enforcer looked out the corner of his eyes.
Roarke was ascending from the shadowed underbelly of Gray Smoke. Upon first glance of Josho, her helmet jerked aside.
“Don’t stop for nothin’, lady!” He howled as she soared by. He flung a fat hoof towards the red vessel above. “They’ve got Belle and Pilate’s little scamp!”
The air around Roarke exploded in response. She accelerated her ship until pieces of the suit flew off. She winced from the heat seeping through and burning her flesh. And yet, just as she was within a missile’s toss from the two escape vessels…
The managlider docked with the speedship. The aircraft twirled about, extended three planks of glowing red crystal, and shot off like a crimson comet, burning due west.
“Rrrrrgh!” Roarke shouted into her cracking helmet as she fired a full salvo of missiles. The projectiles flew ineffectually into a cloudbank, exploding in the hot vapor trails left by the escaping vessel. She hovered to a stop, her suit cooling as her breaths grew hotter. “Skystone!” she growled. “Putrid mother filth!”
The thunder of the exiting ship dissipated, and Roarke found herself surrounded by clouds and chaos.
Her body slumped in mid-air. With a dull sigh, she twirled about and descended towards where Josho precariously hung.
“Bad news, fat loins…”
“Unngh…” Josho fought and struggled with the roped webbing as she hovered to his side. “You don’t friggin’ say?”
“Yeah…” Roarke grumbled. “I’ve suddenly run out of idiots to kill…”