“Graast sennu besin thriel!” the first of several Xonan warriors shouted as he stood upon the muddy crest of a hill. Breathless, he turned and motioned wildly towards the early morning sky. “Haveraan! Haveraan! Zenkor messu thielen!”
Several more tattooed equines climbed out of the trenches along the eastern battlements, gawking at the blazing airbattle sending thunder and flame rippling across the western sky. They stammered in awe, their jaws dropping as they leaned on their crossbows and scimitars.
“Lavanna kiel messul…”
“Rekkunem thrielen hastana cleem?”
“Dreit. Ledomulien zenkorra drenna denden thiul trenna!”
“Ledomulien?! Hayt-hayt!” A sharp-eyed Xonan pointed up high. “Veranna clast!”
Several stallions gasped as bright lights flickered around the Lightning Bearer in the shape of chaos serpents. The monstrous summons soared towards the Steel Wing, engulfing the vessel from bow to stern.
Amidst the rising commotion, an aged Xonan with scarred features and a gray mane trotted up. He took one squinting glare at the sight and hissed venomously. “Hayt. Haydenzien Ledomul. Lasairfion Xon-Malekken rekka thiulen siel…”
Several of his comrades grimaced in disgust while the aged warrior spat on the ground, his eyes locked on the dazzling phenomenon that had taken over the battle.
“Denden!” Arcshod shouted as the air whistled with the zipping scales of ethereal serpents all around. “Rekkeen drenna drenden thiulen Ledomulien!”
Xonan mages lined the partially demolished deck of the Lightning Bearer, summoning more and more portals from which the reptilian abominations slithered. With dripping fangs, they shot westward, flocking towards the Steel Wing and beyond.
“Heesul thrasta kenzen thiul!” Arcshod, breathless, spun and gestured towards a pair of ponies struggling to operate a pivoting port side gun turret which had been damaged from cannonfire. “Jeesuul masseniul drendeneen!”
The Xonans nodded, giving the base of the cannon a zap of telekinesis. At last, the weapon swiveled free, pivoting towards the Steel Wing that was being engulfed in demonic serpents. As they prepared to fire the Lightning Bearer’s first return volley, a blue streak zoomed by, bucking the weapon barrels hard. The Xonans gasped in surprise as their cannons fired off-target, impacting a mountain far behind the Steel Wing.
Arcshod jerked, looking up with a snarling expression. A hovering blue pegasus reflected off his cold, angry eyes.
“Hey! You gotta stop this! It’s over, don’t you see?!” Rainbow’s voice cracked. A serpent or two streaked by, lashing at her mane. She ducked down, dodged the rifle blast of a Xonan defender, kicked him into a line of gasping guards, and came to a skidding stop in front of Arcshod. “I’m not kidding! Pull this attack off! All you’re gonna do is kill and get killed!”
Arcshod carefully backtrotted from her, slowly approaching an overturned pile of smoldering metal crates. The deck wobbled beneath the two as more of the Steel Wing’s flak cannons impacted the air around them. Hissing serpents and shrieking pony voices added to the turbulent bedlam.
“Don’t pretend like you can’t understand me!” Rainbow frowned, dodging another guard and bucking him up the muzzle just in time to blurt, “Nevlamas is down!” She rolled her eyes, growled, and shouted, “Nagu’n is defeated! She’s down for the count! Tell Lasairfion she no longer has backup! Her plan has failed! This is only going to end in tons of ponies’ death!”
“Dreit…” Arcshod slowly nodded, his muzzle warping into a crooked grin. He reached behind himself, stealthily pulling a scimitar out of the metal crates with the crook of his hoof. “Dreit, Oss Tray Oh.” He sneered. “Trentte rekka drenden siulen!” Jerking forward, he slashed high at her skull.
Rainbow Dash jerked back, flapping her wings forward. The sword sliced just above her ears, lopping off a few multi-colored strands.
Air burst between them, causing Arcshod to fall back hard on his rear. As he collapsed, a line of valiant guardponies had formed, and they charged Rainbow Dash viciously with blades and bayonets swinging.
"For crying out loud, knock it off!" Rainbow Dash backflipped in mid-air, dodged three serpents, landed with her hooves against a metal mast, and kicked off before a thick line of manabullets could render her to ribbons. "What's the friggin' point of this--Gaah!" Bullets grazed her wingfeathers. She clamped her mouth shut as her body bravely twirled off the damaged port-side, plunging just in time to avoid the exchange of cannonfire between the two dreadnaughts.
Her flight turned into a plummet. She gazed straight up, and her breath left her.
While the Steel Wing was being punished with bright bursting shells, several dark shapes detached from the bottom of the Lightning Bearer. In tight formation, six large managliders flew loose, and half of them dove down towards Rainbow Dash with manacannons blazing.
Gritting her teeth, Rainbow Dash took the only course of action that could keep the energy blasts from frying her alive. She soared low, twirled about, and skimmed the sundered landscape of the battlefront below. The three managliders fell close behind, screaming after her tail, leaving no single patch of air unheated from their punishing weaponry.