//------------------------------// // Return // Story: The Descent into Madness // by FenrisianBrony //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash Rainbow slipped on the last piece of her armour, the breastplate sealing itself to the bodysuit underneath with a soft hiss. Considering the armour had been taken apart by Twilight and the other Arc-Tech scientists a few years ago, the armour had stayed remarkably strong and functional, almost to the point of it being exactly the same as it had been before they had taken it apart. There were some minor performance losses, but nothing that would seriously affect her in the field, and the benefits far outweighed the losses. Thanks to their study, Twilight and Luna had been able to manufacture five other suits of armour, each one custom fitted to the member of the team it had been made for. It was impressive really, and represented the largest leap forward in technology the planet had seen in years. Attaching her helmet to her waist, Rainbow quickly made her way into the armoury, watching as the rest of the Swooping Pegasi donned their own armour, each suit being subtly different, but similar enough to tie them all together. The biggest difference was clearly Gilda’s suit, the armour being larger to accommodate her larger flame, each plate also being thicker than any of the other armour, allowing Gilda to survive places where even Rainbow's more efficient armour may have cracked and broken apart. “Come on, let’s get moving guys,” Rainbow walked between the team, checking parts of their armour that they wouldn’t have been able to reach. “I called final deployment readiness ten minutes ago.” “Yeah, well you try getting into this armour,” Gilda muttered, hoisting her breastplate up and clipping it to her armour, before the Arc-tech took over and sealed the pieces together in a slow version of Rainbow’s purely technological armour. “Gilda, I got into mine quickly,” Rainbow chuckled, tapping her armour. “Yeah, but ours is heavier than yours,” Scootaloo pointed out. “The weight difference is minimal, it shouldn’t make this much of a time difference,” Rainbow chuckled. “I’ve got to agree with our Exarch here,” Spitfire nodded, being the only one of the team to have finished getting ready. “Plus we’ve had three years’ experience, you should be better at getting your armour on my now.” “Alright keep your feathers on you two,” Lightning chuckled, finishing suiting up and twisting her legs experimentally, checking that the armour wasn’t pinching anywhere, before nodding in satisfaction. “So, you never did tell us why we’re deploying. I thought we had a few weeks of leave.” “Change of plans,” Rainbow sighed. “I know I promised you all two weeks without any sort of missions or training, and I’m sorry I’ve got to cut this short, but this is the most important mission that’s come our way.” “What, even more important than stopping the Hippogriffs and Minotaur’s going to war?” Wavechill scoffed. “I doubt that.” “This is no longer a matter of the security of two nations, this is planet wide,” Rainbow explained. “Tell me, what’s the strongest defence for this planet?” “Us,” Gilda replied firmly. “Close, but no,” Rainbow shook her head. “It’s the Elements of Harmony. They are strong, and they can do more than just kill their foes, they can make them stronger.” “Ok, fine,” Gilda nodded. “And considering the fact you still hold loyalty, we can say that this team is the strongest as we have the ability to use that weapon.” “Why are you telling us this?” Spitfire asked. “Joint operation?” “Not quite, but I’ll explain after we finish suiting up and getting our weapons. I don’t want this taking even longer now do I?” “Fine, let’s get going then,” Spitfire nodded, walking towards the armoury. “Short deployment?” “Long,” Rainbow said grimly. “Very long, so make sure you pack everything needed for weeks in the field.” “Bikes?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. “Yes, and make sure to pack the extra rations. I’ve got a plan, but I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work, so we need to be ready for anything,” Rainbow replied, before chuckling. “Still, hopefully this will all be me overreacting and we’ll be able to get back quickly. But if it’s not…” “Better to be overly prepared than not prepared enough,” Spitfire nodded, opening the door to the armoury and walking inside, walking towards the rack of her personal weapons. When the team had first formed, Luna and Twilight had only created basic weapons for each of the team’s members, a simple sword and a version of her own las-blaster. As time went on however, and the missions that the Swooping Pegasi were called upon became more and more varied, Rainbow had realised that unlike the Swooping Hawks squad, they’d have to be able to handle any situation on their own. Now however, each of them carried vastly different weapons, each one tailored to each individual’s skills and physical ability. It had quickly shown itself to be useful almost immediately, and the team had become more efficient as a whole almost overnight. The only weapons that had remained constant were the weapons that Rainbow herself had decided were useful for the team, their blades, both the ones strapped to their rear hooves or paws, as well as the ones on their wings and the single sword they each wore. Other than that, each member was armed in a completely different way. Spitfire for instance, being one of the oldest and most patient of the team, had seen fit to arm herself with much longer ranged solid shot weapon. Rainbow had tried to talk her out of it, to preach the benefits of light based weaponry in terms of both long range accuracy and weight of the ammunition, but she’d insisted. Rainbow had grumbled about it, but she hadn’t been able to fault her idols performance in the field, and she’d owed her life to Spitfire’s deadly accurate shots more than once. Then there was Gilda, the almost exact opposite of Spitfire’s combat technique. While the older Pegasus liked to stay back and pick off vulnerable targets, Gilda was the tank of the team, wearing the heaviest armour and carrying two devastatingly effective weapons on either side of her body. They were almost like the melta weapons of the Fire Dragons, and they’d felled the heaviest targets that nopony else’s weapons would even penetrate, Rainbow still shuddered slightly as she remembered that rouge rock golem in the south. Spitfire and Gilda were the biggest differentiating members of the team, the others using fairly similar weapons, but still slightly different. Scootaloo for example used a slightly larger and heavier fully automatic laser weapon she had attached to her side, while Lightning and Wavechill both preferred the more standard approach, using slightly modified versions of their original weapons. Rainbow smiled as the others began to strap on their weapons as she grabbed her own, running her hoof along the power sword she had been given a lifetime ago, before grabbing her old las-blaster and turning to face the others. “Right then, we get our bikes and we head to Ponyville, the library to be exact.” “You sure this isn’t just an excuse to show off in front of your friends Dash?” Gilda teased, lightly hitting Rainbow on the head with her wing. “Oh totally G,” Rainbow chuckled. “I did all of this just to show off that I’ve got command of a kickass team of warriors.” “Hey Rainbow, do you think I can see the crusaders before we go?” Scootaloo asked, following the others towards the garage where the bikes were kept. “Sure, can’t see any reason why not,” Rainbow nodded, looking at her sleek bike before sliding her legs over it, waiting for the others to get on their much bulkier versions. “I need to organise a lot of things anyway, but I needed you all ready to move as soon as they are done.” “Are you going to tell us the plan? Or at least what’s happened?” Wavechill asked as the rest of the team prepared to lift off. “I guess,” Rainbow sighed. “You know Twilight was working on that new Arc-tech machine? The MAOM?” “Yeah, the Compensator,” Gilda smiled. “She hates that name you know,” Rainbow chuckled. “Why do you think I use it?” Gilda smiled. “But yeah, go on.” “She’s finished it, and it works far too well,” Rainbow sighed, slipping her helmet on. “Full head gear this time by the way.” “Do we have to?” Lightning groaned as the others pulled on helmets. “What, afraid it’s going to mess up your hair?” Spitfire laughed, staring her bike up with a roar. “Just put your helmet on Lightning, listen to your Exarch.” Rainbow cringed inwardly as Spitfire called her by her official title again. Very few ponies called her by that, mostly limited to the Princesses when she was on a mission, Spitfire herself, and most foreign dignitaries. She had turned down the title of Phoenix Lord, and would have been happy just as Captain at Arms, but both Luna and Twilight had managed to persuade her that if she was going to run a team outside of the military structure, she’d need a proper rank system. Thus, Rainbow had become an Exarch, while the rest of her team became Aspect Warriors. Each one above and beyond the military, answerable only to the Princesses themselves, and whoever Rainbow decided to work with. Lightning grumbled softly under her breath, but complied with Rainbow's orders, slipping the helmet on and activating her locator, adding her green icon to the other four in Rainbows modified HUD. “Alright, stay tight everypony,” Rainbow called over the roar of the engines. “Awesome, I can do what I want then,” Gilda shot back with a chuckle. “And every Griffon!” Rainbow roared, before pushing her Jetbike forward and shooting out of the temple, the roar from the engines of the six bikes echoing around the Everfree Forest as the Swooping Pegasi soared towards Ponyville. Even with Gilda’s slightly slower bike, they quickly reached the outskirts of the town before landing just in front of the library. Quickly dismounting from their bikes, the Swooping Pegasi formed up in front of the library, before Rainbow turned to address the team, removing her helmet. “Scootaloo, you can go and find Sweetie Belle and Applebloom if you want to, but come back here to have your conversations, and keep your communicator on in case I need you to return quickly.” “Will do Rainbow,” Scootaloo nodded. “I’ll be back in half an hour at most.” With that, Scootaloo took to the skies under her own wing power, as the others all filed into the library. Celestia, Luna, Twilight and the rest of Rainbow’s friends had moved upstairs from the basement, although they were all still in varying stages of sobbing their eyes out, Twilight seemingly taking the loss hardest, for good reasons. They all looked round as Rainbow entered, what little conversation there had been dying in their throats as the room went silent, save for a single soft ‘eep’ from Fluttershy. Rainbow sighed, but she really couldn’t blame the timid Pegasus. She had struggled just hearing about what Rainbow had been through while she was away, and now there was a whole team of Pegasi and a Griffon, who Fluttershy was already scared of, who were capable of doing much the same thing. “Exarch Dash,” Celestia nodded, looking at the team. “You’re an Aspect Warrior down? Where is Scootaloo?” “She wanted to go find her friends, and in light of recent events, I told her to make the most of it,” Rainbow replied, before looking at Rarity. “Do you have any problems with Sweetie Belle listening in? I told Scootaloo to bring her friends back here so I can brief my team all at once.” “No, not at all,” Rarity shook her head, her voice sounding horse from the sobbing, her make-up smudged across her face. “She should be around the Carousel.” “I thought she would be, I’ll tell Scootaloo,” Rainbow nodded. “You should probably tell her to get Big Mac and Granny Smith as well,” Fluttershy whispered. “I’ll tell her, thanks,” Rainbow agreed, before slipping her helmet back on and opening a link to Scootaloo's helmet communicator. “Scootaloo, bit of an update. Sweetie Belle is likely to be at Carousel Boutique, and I reckon Applebloom will be a Sweet Apple Acres. When you get to the farm make sure to bring Big Mac and Granny Smith back to the Library with you.” “Will do Rainbow, I’ve already got Sweetie Belle and I’m on my way to the farm. Be back in ten. Scootaloo out.” “She’s on her way,” Rainbow turned back to the others, removing her helmet and looking at Twilight, before glancing at Celestia and dropping her voice. “How’s she taking it?” “Not well,” Celestia sighed. “I’m sure with you here though, we’ll be able to formulate a plan that will help to set her mind at ease.” “I have a plan, and as soon as Scootaloo gets back, I’ll tell you what it is.” Celestia nodded, before turning back to Luna, exchanging a few hushed words with her sister while Rainbow looked over at her friends, sighing heavily as she tried to work out what her next step should be. She wanted to go over and talk to them, especially to Twilight, and try and offer some comforting words, but every time she thought about doing that, her stomach back flipped and made her feel sick to her core. She was about to propose something that she never thought she have to face, and not only expose herself to the harshness of the forty first millennium again, but had to lead five others into what could easily be called a mortals version of tartarus. She would never admit it to anypony else, but she was terrified right now, and while the others would no doubt be scared when they knew the plan, they didn’t know what was coming for them, and had the bliss of ignorance. She, on the other hoof, knew exactly what was waiting for her. “I’m back,” Scootaloo called, walking into the library, followed by the old Crusaders, Big Mac and Granny Smith. “Sorry it took a while.” “It doesn’t matter Scootaloo, please fall in,” Rainbow sighed, steeling herself for what she was about to say. “Ah don’t get it,” Applebloom started, looking around the room at Twilight and the others. “Where’s Applejack?” “Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, you may want to sit down for this,” Rainbow said softly, looking at the trio, before glancing at her team. “Alright, here goes nothing. An hour ago, there was a malfunction with the MAOM testing. The amplified spell went haywire when the teleportation test was run.” “Only a few apples,” Big Mac shrugged. “No, it wasn’t a few apples Big Mac, it was one,” Rainbow replied slowly. “Applejack is...missing, transported through the webway.” “What are ya’ll talkin’ about?” Granny asked slowly, walking towards Rainbow. “I mean that right now Applejack could be where I was six years ago, which would mean the remains of Hannibal. In no conceivable way could this be good. Hannibal was destroyed by the Tyranids and reoccupied by the humans. It won’t be good for her if she’s there,” Rainbow closed her eyes as she shuddered slightly, before continuing. “But I have a plan if you’ll hear me out.” No one replied straight away, the Apples looking like their world had just be torn in two, which on many ways it had, while the rest of the Swooping Pegasi just looked shocked. Finally, Spitfire managed to find her voice, croaking out like a dying frog. “W-what’s the plan?” “The MOAM still works, and although we had a problem, the theory is there,” Rainbow replied simply. “What I’m proposing is that we follow Applejack, we go through the webway and we get her out. With luck, she’ll be on Hannibal alive and well, or she’ll have been picked up by the Eldar.” “And if she hasn’t?” Lightning asked softly. “Then we find her,” Rainbow replied simply. “We go to Saim-Hann, they have archives there, vast repositories of knowledge. We will find her, I promise you Apples, we’ll find Applejack.” “You’re overlooking one thing Exarch,” Luna said softly, placing a wing on Rainbows back. “I’m not overlooking anything,” Rainbow replied, turning to face the Alicorn. “This is what we were made for, without Applejack, we don’t have the Elements. A darkness falling over the world.” “Maybe, maybe not,” Luna shook her head. “No, you have overlooked the fact that this spell was random, it cannot be recreated.” “I know that Luna. But either you, Celestia, or most likely Twilight can recreate another spell, using data from four years ago. Do that, and I know exactly where we’ll come out. We’ll be on Hannibal, and after that, we’ll make our own way to find Applejack, wherever she is.” “You’re sure of…” Celestia began. “I’m not sure of anything!” Rainbow groaned in frustration. “All I know is that this is the only way. I survived through luck and chance, can you say with certainty that Applejack will do the same? I don’t doubt her in any way, but I know the universe, and I’ve trained my team in the way I was trained. We are the only ones who have a chance. I don’t want to do this Celestia, I wish there was another way, but we don’t have a choice here. I won’t risk Applejack’s life because I was…scared.” She trailed off weakly, looking down at her hooves as she broke eye contact with the princesses, before she felt a presence move up beside her. “I’m with Dash,” Gilda announced firmly, walking up to Rainbow and standing beside her. “She’s trained us well. If she says we should do this, then we should.” “I am too,” Scootaloo nodded, joining Rainbow and Gilda. The rest of the team quickly followed the lead of Scootaloo and Gilda, standing beside Rainbow and facing the assembled ponies. Rainbow's let out a sigh of relief as her team stood beside her, dismissing the doubts that had been creeping into her mind. She wouldn’t have held it against any of them if they had decided not to follow her, and yet here they all were, ready to face down the howling darkness, with heads held high. “You have your answer Celestia, we stand ready to face the fire,” Rainbow proclaimed, looking over at her friends. “Then I give you my blessings, and offer you the services of the guard. They’re trained by your hoof, surely they…” Celestia began. “I told you when I built this team that the Guard weren’t suited for this type of mission Celestia. My team goes alone.” “You’re sure?” Luna asked. “Come on, let’s get on with it,” Gilda groaned in exasperation. “Where is this MOAM anyway?” “It’s…downstairs,” Twilight sniffed, getting to her hooves and moving towards the doorway. “I can…I can operate it if you want.” “If you’d like to, I’m happy to allow you,” Rainbow nodded, before turning to face the others. "Get the bikes in, we need to find a way to get them downstairs." "Allow me," Celestia murmured softly, before her horn lit up for a few brief seconds. "There. They should be waiting for you downstairs." "Thank you," Rainbow nodded, glancing out of the doorway and assuring herself that none had been left behind, before turning back to Twilight. "Twilight? We heading down?" “Maybe with this I can make up for some of the damage I’ve done,” Twilight sighed as she walked down the stairs, the rest of the ponies following her. As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Rainbow led her team towards the MOAM, checking her weapons as they formed up, Twilight once again donning the helmet. The rest of the Swooping Pegasi were likewise preparing themselves, checking weapons and making sure their helmets were sealed to their armour, just in case the atmosphere of Hannibal had degraded even further, before moving their Jetbikes together and straddling the saddles, locking themselves in place. “Rainbow, darling…are you sure about this?” Rarity asked, putting a comforting hoof around a silently sobbing Sweetie Belle. “I don’t have a choice Rarity, I can’t leave her out there.” “Scoots?” Applebloom asked softly. “Yeah AB?” Scootaloo asked, her voice slightly muffled by her helmet. “Find mah sister, bring ‘er home.” “Don’t worry Applebloom, we’ll find her,” Scootaloo assured her, before turning and nodding to Rainbow. “Twilight, do it,” Rainbow grunted, slipping her own helmet back on and sealing it to her suit as she sat down on her own bike. Twilight sighed, before turning the machine on, the loud howl of the mechanisms filling the room as Twilight's horn glowed brighter and brighter, filling the room with the lavender light. For a second, the glow seemed to turn the purest white, before suddenly compressing into a single beam, shooting out at Rainbow before enveloping the rest of the Swooping Pegasi. Rainbow felt an odd tingling in her body, her entire mane standing on end beneath her helmet, before her vision compressed into a multi-coloured spiral, the library disappearing from sight as the Swooping Pegasi left Equestria, entering the war torn universe of the forty first millennium.